Overview[]
The 1998 French Grand Prix was the tenth race of the 1998 FF1M Season.
Report[]
Ralf Schumacher converted pole position into the lead while Rubens Barrichello dropped behind his teammate and the FJR of Jos Verstappen. Villeneuve then set about pressuring Ralf for the lead, but the driver who was on the move was Eddie Irvine as he outbraked both Michael Schumacher and Johnny Herbert in one braking zone to move into 5th place.
Pedersen were desperate to win their first race of the season, and Barrichello helped his cause by slipstreaming past Verstappen for 3rd on lap 2. Meanwhile, Damon Hill, who had qualified down in 16th place, didn’t help his quest for points as he collided with Allan McNish in a battle for 13th place.
Both Gui Racing drivers then took a march as Ralf began to edge away from Villeneuve and Jean Alesi overtook Michael Schumacher for 7th place, but this was down to Michael being on a heavier fuel load and Alesi had dropped well down the field by lap 33. At this point, Michael was running 4th and made a move on Johnny Herbert to take 3rd.
On lap 45, Kenny Brack exited the pits after making his 2nd stop, and he rejoined into the path of David Coulthard. Brack spun wildly into the barriers while Coulthard survived to finish 16th. Brack was only one of three retirements throughout the race. Mark Blundell retired on the second lap with an engine failure, while Juan Pablo Montoya lost 8th place with five laps to go.
In a fairly processional race, Ralf took the chequered flag to win his fourth race of the season and retake the championship lead back from his brother, who finished 3rd behind Villeneuve. Verstappen had a quiet race to finish 4th ahead of Irvine, Mika Hakkinen, Herbert and Alesi.
Qualifying[]
Conditions: Dry
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |  Ralf Schumacher
|
 Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:11.500 | |
| 2 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
 Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:11.994 | +0.494 |
| 3 | 14 |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:12.065 | +0.565 |
| 4 | 16 | Michael Schumacher
|
 Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:12.291 | +0.791 |
| 5 | 5 |  Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:12.339 | +0.839 |
| 6 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:12.376 | +0.876 |
| 7 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:12.429 | +0.929 |
| 8 | 4 |  Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:12.499 | +0.999 |
| 9 | 17 |  Mika Hakkinen
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:12.589 | +1.089 |
| 10 | 18 |  Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:12.712 | +1.212 |
| 11 | 11 |  Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:12.858 | +1.358 |
| 12 | 21 |  Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:12.883 | +1.383 |
| 13 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:13.105 | +1.605 |
| 14 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:13.154 | +1.654 |
| 15 | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:13.169 | +1.669 |
| 16 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:13.276 | +1.776 |
| 17 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:13.352 | +1.852 |
| 18 | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:13.462 | +1.962 |
| 19 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:13.526 | +2.026 |
| 20 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:13.580 | +2.080 |
| 21 | 10 |  Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:14.183 | +2.683 |
| 22 | 2 |  Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:15.184 | +3.684 |
Race[]
Conditions: Dry
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:29:14.803 | 1 | 12 |
| 2 | 14 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
+12.050 | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | 16 | Michael Schumacher
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
+46.836 | 4 | 6 |
| 4 | 5 | Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
+1:03.819 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
+1:04.469 | 6 | 4 |
| 6 | 17 | Mika Hakkinen
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
+1:05.007 | 9 | 3 |
| 7 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
+1:12.632 | 7 | 2 |
| 8 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
+1 Lap | 8 | 1 |
| 9 | 18 | Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
+1 Lap | 10 | |
| 10 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
+1 Lap | 11 | |
| 11 | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
+1 Lap | 15 | |
| 12 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
+1 Lap | 2 | |
| 13 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
+1 Lap | 20 | |
| 14 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
+1 Lap | 16 | |
| 15 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
+2 Laps | 14 | |
| 16 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
+2 Laps | 17 | |
| 17 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
+2 Laps | 19 | |
| 18 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
+2 Laps | 13 | |
| 19 | 10 | Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
+2 Laps | 21 | |
| 20 | 21 | Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
+5 Laps/Retired | 12 | |
| Ret | 2 | Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
Collision | 22 | |
| Ret | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
Engine | 18 |
Driver of the Day: Ralf Schumacher
Fastest Laps[]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:12.717 | |
| 2 | 14 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:12.844 | +0.127 |
| 3 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:13.067 | +0.350 |
| 4 | 18 | Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:13.088 | +0.371 |
| 5 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:13.348 | +0.631 |
| 6 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:13.396 | +0.679 |
| 7 | 5 | Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:13.419 | +0.702 |
| 8 | 16 | Michael Schumacher
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:13.457 | +0.740 |
| 9 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:13.643 | +0.926 |
| 10 | 17 | Mika Hakkinen
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:13.713 | +0.996 |
| 11 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:13.781 | +1.064 |
| 12 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:13.783 | +1.066 |
| 13 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:13.840 | +1.123 |
| 14 | 21 | Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:14.039 | +1.322 |
| 15 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:14.047 | +1.330 |
| 16 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:14.369 | +1.652 |
| 17 | 10 | Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:14.492 | +1.775 |
| 18 | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:14.601 | +1.884 |
| 19 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:14.613 | +1.896 |
| 20 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:15.046 | +2.329 |
| 21 | 2 | Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:15.048 | +2.331 |
| 22 | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:23.202 | +10.485 |
Championship Standings[]
| Drivers Championship | Teams Championship | Engine Trophy | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Driver | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Team | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Engine | Pts. | Wins | -/+ |
| 1 | Ralf Schumacher
|
74 | 4 |  1
|
1 | Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
100 | 4 | = | 1 | Ferrari
|
136 | 5 | = |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher
|
71 | 3 |  1
|
2 | Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
91 | 4 | = | 2 |  Ford
|
92 | 4 | = |
| 3 | Damon Hill
|
36 | 1 | = | 3 | Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
60 | = | 3 | Mercedes
|
84 | 1 | = | |
| 4 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
36 | = | 4 | FJR-Mecachrome
|
37 | 1 | 2
|
4 | Mecachrome
|
62 | = | ||
| 5 | Mika Hakkinen
|
29 | 1 | = | 5 | Willow Images-Ferrari
|
36 | 1 | 1
|
5 | Peugeot
|
16 | = | |
| 6 | Rubens Barrichello
|
24 | = | 6 | Mason-Mercedes
|
34 | 1
|
6 |  Mugen Honda
|
0 | = | |||