1998 French Grand Prix
| 1998 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 8 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | June 28, 1998 | ||
| Official name | Grand Prix de France | ||
| Location | Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours, France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.411 km (2.74 miles) | ||
| Distance | 71 laps, 308.77 km (191.8 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny, warm | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Time | 1:14.929 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | |
| Time | 1:17.523 on lap 59 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First |
| Ferrari | |
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
The 1998 French Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Magny-Cours on June 28, 1998. The race was won by Michael Schumacher.
Qualifying Summary
Mika Hakkinen took pole posotion at the 1998 French Grand Prix, beating Michael Schumacher by 0.2 seconds. David Coulthard qualified third, and Eddie Irvine took fourth place. Throughout the qualifying session, Michael and Mika exchanged first placed, until Mika finally took the pole.
Race Summary
At the beginning of the race, Jos Verstappen stalled his Stewart, meaning that a restart had to be called for. At the second start, Mika Hakkinen was overtaken by both Eddie Irvine and Michael Schumacher. This meant that Mika had dropped down from first to third, and Michael lead Eddie in a Ferrari 1-2. After this start, Michael begins to pull away; and sometimes, he was pulling away at one second a lap. While Michael was pulling away, Eddie Irvine was holding both the McLarens behind him. On lap 20, Mika Hakkinen tries a suicidal move on Eddie Irvine. His attempt fails, and he drives into the graval trap. However, he manages to keep his car going, goes into the pits for more tyres, and rejoins in fourth place. However, he regains his third place when David Coulthard has problems with his pitstop. David went into the pits, but due to a fuel filling problem, David has to do another lap, and then go into the pits. After this second set of pits, Mika is back behind Eddie Irvine, and Michael is some way infront. Eddie holds off Mika to take second, but both drivers are 19 seconds behind Michael Schumacher. After David Coulthard's error in the pitlane, he finished sixth.
Classification
Standings After Grand Prix
Drivers
- 1 Mika Häkkinen - McLaren-Mercedes - 50
- 2 Michael Schumacher - Ferrari - 44
- 3 David Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - 30
- 4 Eddie Irvine - Ferrari - 25
- 5 Alexander Wurz - Benetton-Playlife - 14
- 6 Giancarlo Fisichella - Benetton-Playlife - 13
- 7 Jacques Villeneuve - Williams-Mecachrome - 11
- 8 Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Williams-Mecachrome - 8
- 9 Rubens Barrichello - Stewart-Ford - 4
- 10= Jean Alesi - Sauber-Petronas - 3
- 10= Mika Salo - Arrows - 3
- 12= Johnny Herbert - Sauber-Petronas - 1
- 12= Pedro Diniz - Arrows - 1
- 12= Jan Magnussen -Stewart-Ford - 1
Constructors
- 1 McLaren-Mercedes - 80
- 2 Ferrari - 69
- 3 Benetton-Playlife - 27
- 4 Williams-Mecachrome - 19
- 5 Stewart-Ford - 5
- 6= Sauber-Petronas - 4
- 6= Arrows - 4
Notes
- Fastest Lap: David Coulthard 1m 17.523s
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