Overview[]
The 1998 San Marino Grand Prix was the third race of the 1998 FF1M Season.
Report[]
From his first pole position of the season, Mika Hakkinen finally made a good start and maintained the lead, but Juan Pablo Montoya made a poor start, dropping to 5th behind Ralf Schumacher, Damon Hill, and Rubens Barrichello. It got worse for Montoya during the first lap as Michael Schumacher took a chunk out of the Colombian’s sidepod at the Variante Alta. Despite this, all drivers made it round the first lap.
On lap 5, 3rd-placed Hill became the first retirement when an oil leak started a fire and the Brit had to stop after, delaying Barrichello in the process. Michael took advantage of Barrichello’s delay, overtaking the Brazilian, managing to avoid contact this time, and becoming the new 3rd-placed man. The black smoke from Hill’s car caught out the luckless Montoya, who spun and dropped even more places.
A lap later, Hill’s teammate Kenny Brack effectively ended Willow Images interest in the race after contact from a spinning Marc Gene sent the Swede rolling wildly. Thankfully, Brack was uninjured, but all that was left of the Willow Images car was the chassis.
Lap 10 saw Jan Magnussen lose two places in one straight from a charging Bruno Junqueira and David Coulthard. Six laps later, Mika Salo’s strong run in 5th place came to an end as his engine blew up.
Montoya was desperate to recover from his shambolic race and overtook his teammate for 13th. He gained another two positions as first, Alexander Wurz spun out of 5th place and lost several positions, and then Jos Verstappen's transmission lost him 4th place with only a few laps to go.
The other Mason of Coulthard was having a trickier time of it, jumping the final chicane and losing a place to the Gui Racing of Jean Alesi. Despite this, he climbed up to 8th, but he was denied of the final point as Giancarlo Fisichella charged past him with 7 laps to go.
In the closing stages, Hakkinen’s lead looked under threat from Ralf, but Coulthard gave Hakkinen some crucial breathing space as Ralf lost time lapping the Scot. Hakkinen therefore took victory ahead of both Schumacher brothers.
Eddie Irvine had inherited 4th place from the unlucky Verstappen, but the Ulsterman was destined not to stay there. The VTR coasted to a halt with only the final chicane to negotiate having suffered an extremely rare problem... he'd run out of fuel. His teammate Johnny Herbert therefore took 4th place after a fine drive from 16th on the grid ahead of Allan McNish, Fisichella and Barrichello. Irvine was the last runner on the lead lap, and so salvaged the final point.
Qualifying[]
Conditions: Dry
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 |  Mika Hakkinen
|
 Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:19.071 | |
| 2 | 21 |  Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:19.511 | +0.440 |
| 3 | 3 |  Ralf Schumacher
|
 Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:19.558 | +0.487 |
| 4 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:19.719 | +0.648 |
| 5 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
 Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:19.750 | +0.679 |
| 6 | 16 | Michael Schumacher
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:19.780 | +0.709 |
| 7 | 4 |  Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:19.820 | +0.749 |
| 8 | 5 |  Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:19.881 | +0.810 |
| 9 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:19.997 | +0.926 |
| 10 | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:20.077 | +1.006 |
| 11 | 14 |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:20.313 | +1.242 |
| 12 | 18 |  Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:20.586 | +1.515 |
| 13 | 11 |  Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:20.602 | +1.531 |
| 14 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:20.704 | +1.633 |
| 15 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:20.705 | +1.634 |
| 16 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:20.840 | +1.769 |
| 17 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:20.916 | +1.845 |
| 18 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:21.050 | +1.979 |
| 19 | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:21.148 | +2.077 |
| 20 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:21.239 | +2.168 |
| 21 | 10 |  Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:21.477 | +2.406 |
| 22 | 2 |  Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:21.687 | +2.616 |
Race[]
Conditions: Dry
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time/Retired | Grid | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Mika Hakkinen
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:25:42.557 | 1 | 12 |
| 2 | 3 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
+1.220 | 3 | 8 |
| 3 | 16 | Michael Schumacher
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
+11.480 | 6 | 6 |
| 4 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
+1:00.183 | 16 | 5 |
| 5 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
+1:06.463 | 9 | 4 |
| 6 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
+1:17.728 | 13 | 3 |
| 7 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
+1:21.729 | 5 | 2 |
| 8 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
+1 Lap/Out Of Fuel | 14 | 1 |
| 9 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
+1 Lap | 15 | |
| 10 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
+1 Lap | 17 | |
| 11 | 21 | Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
+1 Lap | 2 | |
| 12 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
+1 Lap | 7 | |
| 13 | 18 | Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
+1 Lap | 12 | |
| 14 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
+1 Lap | 18 | |
| 15 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
+1 Lap | 20 | |
| 16 | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
+1 Lap | 19 | |
| 17 | 5 | Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
+3 Laps/Transmission | 8 | |
| Ret | 10 | Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
Engine | 21 | |
| Ret | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
Engine | 10 | |
| Ret | 14 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
Suspension | 11 | |
| Ret | 2 | Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
Collision | 22 | |
| Ret | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
Oil Leak | 4 |
Driver of the Day: Johnny Herbert
Fastest Laps[]
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Tyre | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Mika Hakkinen
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:20.225 | |
| 2 | 16 | Michael Schumacher
|
Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
|
1:20.276 | +0.051 |
| 3 | 3 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:20.567 | +0.342 |
| 4 | 21 | Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:20.748 | +0.523 |
| 5 | 15 | Rubens Barrichello
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:20.913 | +0.688 |
| 6 | 5 | Jos Verstappen
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:21.211 | +0.986 |
| 7 | 18 | Alexander Wurz
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:21.442 | +1.217 |
| 8 | 1 | Damon Hill
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:21.522 | +1.297 |
| 9 | 19 | Olivier Panis
|
J Racing-Ford
|
|
1:21.651 | +1.426 |
| 10 | 4 | Jean Alesi
|
Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
|
1:21.660 | +1.435 |
| 11 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:21.665 | +1.440 |
| 12 | 6 | Allan McNish
|
FJR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:21.733 | +1.508 |
| 13 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
VTR-Mecachrome
|
|
1:21.773 | +1.548 |
| 14 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:21.857 | +1.632 |
| 15 | 12 | Mika Salo
|
AquinoPlus-Peugeot (W)
|
|
1:22.003 | +1.778 |
| 16 | 9 | Bruno Junqueira
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:22.030 | +1.805 |
| 17 | 20 | David Coulthard
|
Mason-Mercedes
|
|
1:22.241 | +2.016 |
| 18 | 14 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
|
1:22.325 | +2.100 |
| 19 | 23 | Mark Blundell
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:22.611 | +2.386 |
| 20 | 22 | Jan Magnussen
|
Dark Wolf-Mugen Honda
|
|
1:22.628 | +2.403 |
| 21 | 10 | Marc Gene
|
Maestro-Peugeot
|
|
1:23.195 | +2.970 |
| 22 | 2 | Kenny Brack
|
Willow Images-Ferrari
|
|
1:24.081 | +3.856 |
Championship Standings[]
| Drivers Championship | Teams Championship | Engine Trophy | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos. | Driver | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Team | Pts. | Wins | -/+ | Pos. | Engine | Pts. | Wins | -/+ |
| 1 | Ralf Schumacher
|
26 | 1 |  2
|
1 | Dodgem-Ferrari (W)
|
36 | 2 | 1
|
1 | Ferrari
|
46 | 2 | = |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher
|
18 | 1 |  1
|
2 | Gui Racing-Ford (W)
|
30 | 1 | 1
|
2 |  Ford
|
30 | 1 | = |
| 3 | Mika Hakkinen
|
18 | 1 | 2
|
3 | Pedersen-Mercedes (W)
|
15 | = | 3 | Mecachrome
|
19 | 1
| ||
| 4 | Damon Hill
|
10 | 1
|
4 | VTR-Mecachrome
|
11 | 2
|
4 | Mercedes
|
16 | 1
| |||
| 5 | Allan McNish
|
9 | 2
|
5 | Willow Images-Ferrari
|
10 | 1
|
5 | Peugeot
|
8 | = | |||
| 6 | Jacques Villeneuve
|
8 | 2
|
6 | FJR-Mecachrome
|
9 | = | 6 |  Mugen Honda
|
0 | = | |||