1998 Monaco Grand Prix

The 1998 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monaco on 24 May 1998. The race was won by Mika Häkkinen, his fourth win of the season. Häkkinen recorded a grand chelem, having taken pole, set fastest lap, and led every lap of the race.

Qualifying Summary

The biggest surprise in qualifying on the Saturday was Giancarlo Fisichella. He managed to put his car up into third place, behind only the two McLaren-Mercedes. At one stage Fisichella was the fastest driver. Michael Schumacher, who was fighting for the world championship qualified fourth which was a big disappointment for the thousand of Italian fans who travelled to Monaco for the race.

Race Summary

A perfect start from both McLaren-Mercedes saw them lead through the first corner, with Häkkinen ahead of Coulthard. Fisichella and Schumacher were running 3rd and 4th. In the early stages the two McLaren-Mercedes pulled ahead, netting 12 fastest laps between them from laps 4 to 12. The pack stretched out behind them, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen succumbed to pressure from Eddie Irvine. On lap 18 David Coulthard retired with engine problems.

Michael Schumacher was first to pit for fuel on lap 30. One lap later Giancarlo Fisichella went in, although he came out of the pits behind the Ferrari. Soon Michael came up behind Alexander Wurz and tried to get past him at all costs. When the two came to the Lowes corner, Michael went down the inside but the Austrian did not give way. The two cars touched and the Ferrari was damaged. Michael went in to pit for repairs, and he eventually came out three laps down on the leader Mika Häkkinen.

Wurz appeared unaffected by the contact, but his suspension broke due to damage from the collision and he had a huge accident coming out of the tunnel, finally stopping at the Nouvelle chicane. After Wurz's second accident on lap 42, the order was Mika Häkkinen followed by Giancarlo Fisichella, Eddie Irvine, Jean Alesi, and Mika Salo. However five laps from the end Jean Alesi experienced gearbox problems, and he was forced to pull out of the race, promoting Pedro Diniz to sixth. Michael Schumacher attempted to pass Diniz in the chicane, but they made contact. This second accident broke his front wing, and Michael finally ended up two laps down in tenth place, out of the points.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Lap Time	Gap
1	8	Template:Flagicon Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:19.798
2	7	Template:Flagicon David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:20.137	+0.339
3	5	Template:Flagicon Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	1:20.368	+0.570
4	3	Template:Flagicon Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:20.702	+0.904
5	2	Template:Flagicon Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome	1:20.729	+0.931
6	6	Template:Flagicon Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	1:20.955	+1.157
7	4	Template:Flagicon Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:21.712	+1.914
8	17	Template:Flagicon Mika Salo	Arrows	1:22.144	+2.346
9	15	Template:Flagicon Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	1:22.157	+2.359
10	12	Template:Flagicon Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot	1:22.238	+2.440
11	14	Template:Flagicon Jean Alesi	Sauber-Petronas	1:22.257	+2.459
12	16	Template:Flagicon Pedro Diniz	Arrows	1:22.355	+2.557
13	1	Template:Flagicon Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Mecachrome	1:22.468	+2.670
14	18	Template:Flagicon Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	1:22.540	+2.742
15	9	Template:Flagicon Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:23.151	+3.353
16	10	Template:Flagicon Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:23.263	+3.465
17	19	Template:Flagicon Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	1:23.411	+3.613
18	11	Template:Flagicon Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot	1:23.536	+3.738
19	22	Template:Flagicon Shinji Nakano	Minardi-Ford	1:23.957	+4.159
20	21	Template:Flagicon Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell-Ford	1:24.024	+4.226
21	23	Template:Flagicon Esteban Tuero	Minardi-Ford	1:24.031	+4.233
DNQ	20	Template:Flagicon Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell-Ford	1:25.737	+5.939

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Template:Flagicon Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	78	1:51:23.595	1	10
2	5	Template:Flagicon Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	78	+11.475	3	6
3	4	Template:Flagicon Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	78	+41.378	7	4
4	17	Template:Flagicon Mika Salo	Arrows	78	+1:00.363	8	3
5	1	Template:Flagicon Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Mecachrome	77	+1 Lap	13	2
6	16	Template:Flagicon Pedro Diniz	Arrows	77	+1 Lap	12	1
7	15	Template:Flagicon Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas	77	+1 Lap	9
8	9	Template:Flagicon Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	76	+2 Laps	15
9	22	Template:Flagicon Shinji Nakano	Minardi-Ford	76	+2 Laps	19
10	3	Template:Flagicon Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	76	+2 Laps	4
11	21	Template:Flagicon Toranosuke Takagi	Tyrrell-Ford	76	+2 Laps	20
12	14	Template:Flagicon Jean Alesi	Sauber-Petronas	72	Gearbox	11
Ret	12	Template:Flagicon Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot	56	Gearbox	10
Ret	11	Template:Flagicon Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot	49	Wheel	18
Ret	10	Template:Flagicon Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	44	Suspension	16
Ret	6	Template:Flagicon Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	42	Spun off	6
Ret	19	Template:Flagicon Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford	30	Suspension	17
Ret	7	Template:Flagicon David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	17	Engine	2
Ret	18	Template:Flagicon Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	11	Suspension	14
Ret	2	Template:Flagicon Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome	9	Collision	5
Ret	23	Template:Flagicon Esteban Tuero	Minardi-Ford	0	Spun off	21
DNQ	20	Template:Flagicon Riccardo Rosset	Tyrrell-Ford

Standings after Grand Prix

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Template:Flagicon Mika Häkkinen	46
2	Template:Flagicon David Coulthard	29
3	Template:Flagicon Michael Schumacher	24
4	Template:Flagicon Eddie Irvine	15
5	Template:Flagicon Alexander Wurz	9

Constructors' Championship standings

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Template:Flagicon McLaren-Mercedes	75
2	Template:Flagicon Ferrari	39
3	Template:Flagicon Williams-Mecachrome	16
4	Template:Flagicon Benetton-Playlife	16
5	Template:Flagicon Sauber-Petronas	4

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes

• Lap leaders: Mika Häkkinen 78 (1-78)