Overview[]
The 1998 Brazilian Grand Prix was the second race of the 1998 FF1M Season.
Report[]
Polesitter Michael Schumacher got off to a flying start and led into the first corner, but as in Australia, Mika Hakkinen had a poor start and dropped to 5th behind a quick starting Jacques Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher, and Allan McNish. Villeneuve’s 2nd place lasted until turn 4 when Ralf outbraked the Canadian.
Michael was immediately under pressure at the end of the first lap from his brother. Villeneuve wasn’t too far behind either. The gap between the three drivers was only half a second. Ralf tried to take the lead off Michael at the end of the back straight on the second lap, but the Dodgem driver held on around the outside.
The other Dodgem driver was struggling as first Juan Pablo Montoya overtook Hakkinen for 5th place at the start of lap 2, and then Rubens Barrichello slipstreamed past the Finn on the back straight. Then unseen by the cameras, the Brazilian mysteriously dropped down to 8th behind Alexander Wurz.
After many unsuccessful attempts to overtake his brother, Ralf finally took the lead going into Ferra Dura. As Ralf immediately pulled away from his brother, rumours circulated around that Michael was on a much heavier fuel load than Ralf and Villeneuve. On the next lap at the same corner, Villeneuve powered past the Dodgem driver.
Further down the field, Oliver Panis outbraked Giancarlo Fisichella for 13th place. The Italian was lucky not to lose any more places as the battling VTR drivers were not too far behind. The battle for 4th was also heating up as Montoya passed McNish going into Ferra Dura.
It wasn’t all brilliant for Gui Racing as Jean Alesi parked his car with a transmission failure on lap 20. Also in trouble was Wurz who spun out of 9th place and into retirement.
Michael retook the lead from Ralf when the Gui Racing driver came in for his first stop, but on lap 32, Michael spun at the first corner after suffering a puncture and retired on the spot. The final retirement was on lap 60 in the form of a suspension problem for Jos Verstappen.
After benefiting from his brother’s retirement, Ralf was clear to take his first career victory in FF1M ahead of Villeneuve in the Pedersen. Hakkinen salvaged some consolation for Dodgem as he came in 3rd place. McNish drove steadily to finish 4th ahead of Montoya, who scored Mason’s first career points. Barrichello, Damon Hill and Eddie Irvine completed the points scorers.
Qualifying[]
Conditions: Dry
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 |  Michael Schumacher
|
 Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:15.506 | |
| 2 | 17 |  Mika Hakkinen
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:15.642 | +0.136 |
| 3 | 3 | Ralf Schumacher
|
 Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:15.778 | +0.272 |
| 4 | 14 |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
 Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:15.948 | +0.442 |
| 5 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:15.957 | +0.451 |
| 6 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:16.086 | +0.580 |
| 7 | 21 |  Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:16.179 | +0.673 |
| 8 | 4 |  Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:16.330 | +0.824 |
| 9 | 11 |  Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:16.551 | +1.045 |
| 10 | 18 |  Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:16.737 | +1.231 |
| 11 | 5 |  Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:16.989 | +1.483 |
| 12 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:17.039 | +1.533 |
| 13 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:17.066 | +1.560 |
| 14 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:17.084 | +1.578 |
| 15 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:17.088 | +1.582 |
| 16 | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:17.204 | +1.698 |
| 17 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:17.295 | +1.789 |
| 18 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:17.380 | +1.874 |
| 19 | 10 |  Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:17.387 | +1.881 |
| 20 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:17.588 | +2.082 |
| 21 | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:17.688 | +2.182 |
| 22 | 2 |  Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:18.147 | +2.641 |
Race[]
Conditions: Dry
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:34:10.656 | 3 | 12 |
| 2 | 14 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
+14.540 | 4 | 8 |
| 3 | 17 | Mika Hakkinen
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
+28.874 | 2 | 6 |
| 4 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
+44.664 | 6 | 5 |
| 5 | 21 | Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
+49.279 | 7 | 4 |
| 6 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
+58.752 | 5 | 3 |
| 7 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
+59.637 | 14 | 2 |
| 8 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
+1:01.423 | 13 | 1 |
| 9 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
+1 Lap | 9 | |
| 10 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
+1 Lap | 12 | |
| 11 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
+1 Lap | 15 | |
| 12 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
+1 Lap | 17 | |
| 13 | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
+1 Lap | 16 | |
| 14 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
+1 Lap | 18 | |
| 15 | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
+1 Lap | 21 | |
| 16 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
+1 Lap | 20 | |
| 17 | 2 | Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
+1 Lap | 22 | |
| Ret | 5 | Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
Suspension | 11 | |
| Ret | 16 | Michael Schumacher
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
Puncture | 1 | |
| Ret | 18 | Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
Accident | 10 | |
| Ret | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
Transmission | 8 | |
| Ret | 10 | Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
Oil Leak | 19 |
Driver of the Day: Ralf Schumacher
Fastest Laps[]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:16.632 | |
| 2 | 14 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:16.658 | +0.026 |
| 3 | 17 | Mika Hakkinen
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:17.015 | +0.383 |
| 4 | 21 | Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:17.093 | +0.461 |
| 5 | 16 | Michael Schumacher
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:17.466 | +0.834 |
| 6 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:17.619 | +0.987 |
| 7 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:17.627 | +0.995 |
| 8 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:17.672 | +1.040 |
| 9 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:17.791 | +1.159 |
| 10 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:17.821 | +1.189 |
| 11 | 5 | Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:17.861 | +1.229 |
| 12 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:17.923 | +1.291 |
| 13 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:17.955 | +1.323 |
| 14 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:18.120 | +1.488 |
| 15 | 18 | Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:18.145 | +1.513 |
| 16 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:18.166 | +1.534 |
| 17 | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:18.297 | +1.665 |
| 18 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:18.307 | +1.675 |
| 19 | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:18.354 | +1.722 |
| 20 | 2 | Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:18.443 | +1.811 |
| 21 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:18.448 | +1.816 |
| 22 | 10 | Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:18.839 | +2.207 |
Championship Standings[]
| Drivers Championship | Teams Championship | Engine Trophy | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Driver | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Team | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Engine | Pts. | Wins | -/+ |
| 1 | Ralf Schumacher
|
18 | 1 |  2
|
1 | Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
22 | 1 | = | 1 | Ferrari
|
28 | 1 | = |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher
|
12 | 1 |  1
|
2 | Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
18 | 1 | 1
|
2 |  Ford
|
22 | 1 | = |
| 3 | Damon Hill
|
10 | 1
|
3 | Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
13 | 3
|
3 | Mercedes
|
14 | 2
| |||
| 4 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
8 | 9
|
4 | Willow Images-Ferrari
|
10 | 1
|
4 | Mecachrome
|
10 | = | |||
| 5 | Mika Hakkinen
|
6 | 14
|
5 | AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
5 | 1
|
5 | Peugeot
|
5 | 2
| |||
| 6 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
5 | 2
|
6 | FJR-Mecachrome
|
5 | 3
|
6 |  Mugen Honda
|
0 | = | |||