The Australian Grand Prix 1998 was the 1st round of the 1998 F1 season, and took place at the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia, on March 8th.

Mika Häkkinen won the race from the pole, followed by David Coulthard, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen completing the podium.

Final results

1
-
Mika Häkkinen
McLaren
1:31:46.0
Finished
2
-
COU
David Coulthard
McLaren
+0.702
Finished
3
3
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Williams
+1 Lap
4
4
Eddie Irvine
Ferrari
+1 Lap
5
1
VIL
Jacques Villeneuve
Williams
+1 Lap
6
1
Johnny Herbert
Sauber
+1 Lap
7
4
WUR
Alexander Wurz
Benetton
+1 Lap
8
2
Damon Hill
Jordan
+1 Lap
9
12
Olivier Panis
Prost
+1 Lap
10
3
FIS
Giancarlo Fisichella
Benetton
Broken wing
11
1
Jean Alesi
Sauber
Engine
12
3
TRU
Jarno Trulli
Prost
Gearbox
13
6
Ricardo Rosset
Tyrrell
Gearbox
14
2
Mika Salo
Arrows
Gearbox
15
2
Esteban Tuero
Minardi
Engine
16
6
Shinji Nakano
Minardi
Halfshaft
17
14
MSC
Michael Schumacher
Ferrari
Engine
18
2
Pedro Diniz
Arrows
Gearbox
19
10
SCH
Ralf Schumacher
Jordan
Collision
20
2
MAG
Jan Magnussen
Stewart
Collision
21
8
Toranosuke Takagi
Tyrrell
Spun off
22
8
BAR
Rubens Barrichello
Stewart
Gearbox
Show all

Race evolution

Pit Stops

Unfortunately we do not have pit stops information for this race.

Strategy

Unfortunately we do not have strategy information for this race..

Incidents

The reace did not end without incidents... 13 drivers out of the original 22 who started did not managed to cross the finish line.

These included, Giancarlo Fisichella, who took damage to the wing of the car on lap 43, Jean Alesi, Esteban Tuero, and Michael Schumacher, all of whom suffered an engine malfunction, Jarno Trulli, Ricardo Rosset, Mika Salo, Pedro Diniz, and Rubens Barrichello, all of whom experienced issues with the gearbox, Shinji Nakano, who had problems with the halfshaft on lap 8, Ralf Schumacher, and Jan Magnussen, both retired dure to damage caused by a collision with other cars, and Toranosuke Takagi, who lost control and spun off the track on lap 1.

Broken wing

  • Giancarlo Fisichella
    Lap 43

Engine

  • Jean Alesi
    Lap 41
  • Esteban Tuero
    Lap 22
  • Michael Schumacher
    Lap 5

Gearbox

  • Jarno Trulli
    Lap 26
  • Ricardo Rosset
    Lap 25
  • Mika Salo
    Lap 23
  • Pedro Diniz
    Lap 2
  • Rubens Barrichello
    Lap 0

Halfshaft

  • Shinji Nakano
    Lap 8

Collision

  • Ralf Schumacher
    Lap 1
  • Jan Magnussen
    Lap 1

Spun off

  • Toranosuke Takagi
    Lap 1

Qualifying

#1
#2
COU
#3
MSC
#4
VIL
#5
#6
#7
FIS
#8
#9
SCH
#10
#11
WUR
#12
#13
#14
BAR
#15
TRU
#16
#17
#18
MAG
#19
#20
#21
#22

From 1996 to 2002 the grid order was decided in a single qualifying session which would last 1 hour. During this time each driver had a maximun of 12 laps to set their best time.

This time around, Mika Häkkinen managed to secure the pole position with a time of 1:30.010 seconds, with his teammate David Coulthard rigth behind him at 0.043 seconds, helping McLaren score a one-two and monopolize the first line of the grid.

Times table

  • Mika Häkkinen
    1:30.010
  • David Coulthard
    1:30.053
    + 0.043
    + 0.043
  • Michael Schumacher
    1:30.767
    + 0.714
    + 0.757
  • Jacques Villeneuve
    1:30.919
    + 0.152
    + 0.909
  • Johnny Herbert
    1:31.384
    + 0.465
    + 1.374
  • Heinz-Harald Frentzen
    1:31.397
    + 0.013
    + 1.387
  • Giancarlo Fisichella
    1:31.733
    + 0.336
    + 1.723
  • Eddie Irvine
    1:31.767
    + 0.034
    + 1.757
  • Ralf Schumacher
    1:32.392
    + 0.625
    + 2.382
  • Damon Hill
    1:32.399
    + 0.007
    + 2.389
  • Alexander Wurz
    1:32.726
    + 0.327
    + 2.716
  • Jean Alesi
    1:33.240
    + 0.514
    + 3.23
  • Toranosuke Takagi
    1:33.291
    + 0.051
    + 3.281
  • Rubens Barrichello
    1:33.383
    + 0.092
    + 3.373
  • Jarno Trulli
    1:33.739
    + 0.356
    + 3.729
  • Mika Salo
    1:33.927
    + 0.188
    + 3.917
  • Esteban Tuero
    1:34.646
    + 0.719
    + 4.636
  • Jan Magnussen
    1:34.906
    + 0.26
    + 4.896
  • Ricardo Rosset
    1:35.119
    + 0.213
    + 5.109
  • Pedro Diniz
    1:35.140
    + 0.021
    + 5.13
  • Olivier Panis
    1:35.215
    + 0.075
    + 5.205
  • Shinji Nakano
    1:35.301
    + 0.086
    + 5.291