The 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 52nd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1998 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1998 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 8 March and ended on 1 November.

The season saw a large shuffling of the pecking order, with McLaren emerging as the fastest constructor. After the factory withdrawal of Renault and the departure of designer Adrian Newey to McLaren, the Williams team and Jacques Villeneuve were unable to defend their respective championships. Williams suffered their first winless season since 1988.

Mika Häkkinen won his first World Drivers' Championship^[1] and McLaren won the World Constructors' Championship for the first time since 1991.^[2]

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine†	Tyre	No.	Driver	Rounds
Winfield Williams	Williams-Mecachrome	FW20	Mecachrome GC37-01	G	1	Jacques Villeneuve	All
					2	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	All
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari	F300	Ferrari 047	G	3	Michael Schumacher	All
					4	Eddie Irvine	All
Mild Seven Benetton Playlife	Benetton-Playlife	B198	Playlife GC37-01	B	5	Giancarlo Fisichella	All
					6	Alexander Wurz	All
West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren-Mercedes	MP4/13	Mercedes FO110G	B	7	David Coulthard	All
					8	Mika Häkkinen	All
Benson & Hedges Jordan	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	198	Mugen-Honda MF-301 HC	G	9	Damon Hill	All
					10	Ralf Schumacher	All
Gauloises Prost Peugeot	Prost-Peugeot	AP01	Peugeot A16	B	11	Olivier Panis	All
					12	Jarno Trulli	All
Red Bull Sauber Petronas	Sauber-Petronas	C17	Petronas SPE-01D	G	14	Jean Alesi	All
					15	Johnny Herbert	All
Danka Zepter Arrows	Arrows	A19	Arrows T2-F1	B	16	Pedro Diniz	All
					17	Mika Salo	All
HSBC Stewart Ford	Stewart-Ford	SF02	Ford VJ Zetec-R	B	18	Rubens Barrichello	All
					19	Jan Magnussen	1–7
						Jos Verstappen	8–16
PIAA Tyrrell	Tyrrell-Ford	026	Ford JD Zetec-R	G	20	Ricardo Rosset	All
					21	Toranosuke Takagi	All
Fondmetal Minardi Team	Minardi-Ford	M198	Ford JD Zetec-R	B	22	Shinji Nakano	All
					23	Esteban Tuero	All
Sources:[3][4][5]

^† All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration.^[3]

Team changes

At the end of 1997, Renault withdrew as a direct engine supplier from Formula One and thus marked the first season since 1988 that Renault-branded engines were absent due to the company's privatisation plan. As a result, the two teams running Renault engines were forced to source alternative suppliers. Williams opted to run engines supplied by Mecachrome, who were working with Renault to develop the most recent iteration of their RS9 engine rebadged with the Mecachrome name. Benetton sourced a similar rebadged Renault engine from Playlife. Neither Williams nor Benetton were competitive to the same level as in previous seasons. Renault themselves would invest in Benetton for 2000, before buying the team outright in 2002. They would not supply engines to other competing teams again until 2007.

Arrows had bought out Brian Hart's preparation company to build their own engines.^[6] They would do so as well for 2000.

The Prost and Jordan teams swapped their engine suppliers from 1997: Prost now used Peugeot, whilst Jordan used Mugen-Honda.

Minardi switched from Hart to Ford engines.

Driver changes

Gerhard Berger retired at the end of 1997 after fourteen years in F1, leaving a vacant seat at Benetton. The team also opted not to renew Jean Alesi's contract, so the Frenchman signed a two-year deal to join Johnny Herbert at Sauber. As their replacements, Benetton signed Giancarlo Fisichella from Jordan and Alexander Wurz, who had already substituted for Berger for three races in 1997.

Jordan replaced Fisichella by signing 1996 World Champion Damon Hill to partner Ralf Schumacher. To fill his Hill's seat, Arrows secured the services of Tyrrell's Mika Salo alongside Pedro Diniz. Tyrrell also parted ways with Jos Verstappen in the off-season, despite Ken Tyrrell wanting him to stay. However, new owners British American Tobacco preferred to hire Brazilian Ricardo Rosset, who had briefly raced for the now-defunct Lola team in 1997. They promoted test driver Toranosuke Takagi to fill the second seat. Verstappen returned to F1 midway through 1998 with Stewart, while Lola's other driver, Vincenzo Sospiri, found a home in the IndyCar Series.

Prost retained Olivier Panis, but dropped second driver Shinji Nakano and replaced him with Jarno Trulli. Trulli had started 1997 with Minardi but then substituted for Panis when he broke his leg at the Canadian Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Nakano joined Trulli's old team, Minardi, to replace his retiring countryman Ukyo Katayama. He was partnered by rookie Esteban Tuero, who was promoted from a testing role as he was preferred to the outgoing Tarso Marques. Marques would eventually return to F1 in 2001, also with Minardi.

Mid-season changes

Jan Magnussen was dropped by Stewart after the Canadian Grand Prix, following a series of underwhelming performances (including crashing into and eliminating his teammate Rubens Barrichello on lap 1 at Imola). He was replaced by Jos Verstappen, who had been out of a drive since leaving Tyrrell at the end of 1997.

Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	8 March
2	Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	29 March
3	Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	12 April
4	San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	26 April
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	10 May
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	24 May
7	Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal	7 June
8	French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	28 June
9	British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	12 July
10	Austrian Grand Prix	A1-Ring, Spielberg, Styria	26 July
11	German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	2 August
12	Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	16 August
13	Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	30 August
14	Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza	13 September
15	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	27 September
16	Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka	1 November
Source:[7]

Calendar changes

• The Portuguese Grand Prix was originally scheduled near the end of the season, to be held at the Estoril circuit on 11 October. The race was cancelled as the government refused to pay for the required safety upgrades.^[8] The cancellation left a gap of five weeks to the final race in Japan.

Regulation changes

Technical regulations

The 1998 season brought about two significant technical changes to reduce cornering speeds and aid overtaking:^{[9][10][11][12]}

• The reintroduction of grooved tyres to replace slicks for the first time since 1970. The front tyres had three grooves, the rear tyres four. This was done to decrease cornering speeds and thus, increase safety.^[13] Grooved tyres would remain in Formula One until the reintroduction of slicks in 2009.^[14] For 1998, both McLaren and Benetton switched from Goodyear to Bridgestone tyres, as the Japanese manufacturer expanded to work with six of the eleven teams in their second year competing in the sport. The two top teams from 1997, Williams and Ferrari, opted to retain Goodyear tyres. This would result in the two championship protagonist teams working with different tyre manufacturers.
• The reduction of the cars' track, from 2,000 mm (6 ft 7 in) to 1,800 mm (5 ft 11 in). This would give teams less room to play with to create downforce and give drivers more space on the track.

Quite a list of regulations were drafted up with regards to the brakes. The goal was to limit braking performance, thereby improving possibilities of overtaking and reducing costs.^[15]

The cameras mounted on top of the engine covers, as seen on selected cars from 1995 to 1997, were made mandatory for each car in 1998, and changed from an I-shape to a more aerodynamic T-shape. This design has remained largely unchanged since.

Mid-season changes

"X wings", a pair of tall aerodynamic appendages mounted at the front of each sidepod and first seen on the Tyrrell 025 in 1997, were banned before the Spanish Grand Prix.^[16] The teams that used them before the ban were Ferrari, Jordan, Prost, Sauber, and Tyrrell.

Sporting regulations

In 1997, a driver was allowed a maximum of 30 laps free practice per day. This limit was abolished for 1998.^[17]

Season summary

Rounds 1 to 6

When the season commenced, it was immediately clear that McLaren had adapted to the rule changes best, with their drivers locking out the front row of the grid at the opening race of the season in Australia and both being more than half a second clear of Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari. Mika Häkkinen started on pole position and led up to lap 36, when he misheard a call to come into the pits. Teammate David Coulthard took the lead, but moved over to allow Häkkinen to pass, honouring a pre-race agreement that the driver leading at the first corner could win the race. The result was protested but was held up by the WMSC.

The McLaren drivers finished 1-2 again in Brazil, and in the same order. But once again, controversy was not far away: a protest was lodged regarding the McLaren braking system. It was suggested to allow the drivers to brake front and rear wheels independently, contravening the rules. McLaren agreed not to run the system, but remained dominant in the race.

With Goodyear making steps forward before Argentina, Schumacher was able to take his first win of the season there. Häkkinen finished a distant second and Coulthard only managed sixth after he was tipped into a spin by Schumacher early in the race.

Coulthard bounced back in Imola by gaining pole position and winning the race ahead of the Ferrari's of Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. Häkkinen suffered his first retirement of the season due to a gearbox failure.

It seemed that normal service resumed in Spain, however, where the McLaren took another 1-2 finish led by Häkkinen. A further win for Häkkinen in Monaco gave him a seventeen-point lead over Coulthard with Schumacher a further five points behind.

Rounds 7 to 12

Michael Schumacher climbed back in the standings by winning the next three races, while mistakes and mechanical failures cost both Häkkinen and Coulthard points. After the British Grand Prix, Schumacher had closed the gap to Häkkinen to just two points, while Coulthard was 26 points behind his teammate and looking unlikely to be able to fight for the championship.

Consecutive wins in Austria and Germany for Häkkinen, however, proved that McLaren still had the strongest car. Finally, a strategic master stroke in Hungary allowed Schumacher to take the win, with Häkkinen only managing sixth, and close the championship gap again, to just seven points.

Rounds 13 to 16

The start of a typically rain-filled Belgian Grand Prix saw one of the worst accidents in Formula One history, with over half the cars on the grid crashing into each other after the first corner. Four of the drivers were unable to take the restart, which took place almost an hour later, due to lack of spare cars. An action-packed race saw Mika Häkkinen spin out into retirement at the restart and saw Michael Schumacher crashing into David Coulthard when trying to lap him. The path was then clear for 1996 world champion Damon Hill to take Jordan's first ever win, followed by teammate Ralf Schumacher in second.

Schumacher bounced back to take a surprise victory in Italy. Häkkinen initially followed in second, but after two spins caused by brake problems, could only manage fourth. The rivals were now level in points with two races to go and Ferrari was back into contention for the Constructors' Championship (just ten points behind on McLaren).

For the next race at the Nürburgring,^[a] Häkkinen managed to beat Schumacher in a straight fight. And the season concluded in Japan, where Häkkinen won without any challenge from Schumacher, who stalled on the grid and retired from a blown tyre later in the race.

This gave Häkkinen his first Drivers' Championship and McLaren their eighth Constructors' Championship. Williams, champions of 1997, experienced a disappointing season overall, with only two podium finishes for reigning champion Jacques Villeneuve and one for Heinz-Harald Frentzen. In Japan, they did manage to secure third in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of Jordan and Benetton.

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Round	Grand Prix	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
1	Australian Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
2	Brazilian Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
3	Argentine Grand Prix	David Coulthard	Alexander Wurz	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
4	San Marino Grand Prix	David Coulthard	Michael Schumacher	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
6	Monaco Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
7	Canadian Grand Prix	David Coulthard	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
8	French Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	David Coulthard	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
9	British Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
10	Austrian Grand Prix	Giancarlo Fisichella	David Coulthard	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
11	German Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	David Coulthard	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
12	Hungarian Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
13	Belgian Grand Prix	Mika Häkkinen	Michael Schumacher	Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	Report
14	Italian Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Mika Häkkinen	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
15	Luxembourg Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Mika Häkkinen	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
16	Japanese Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher[b]	Michael Schumacher	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
Source:[18]

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top six finishers in each race as follows:^[19]

World Drivers' Championship standings

Pos. Driver AUS BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA LUX JPN Points 1 Mika Häkkinen 1PF 1PF 2 Ret 1PF 1PF Ret 3P 2P 1 1P 6P RetP 4F 1F 1 100 2 Michael Schumacher Ret 3 1 2F 3 10 1F 1 1F 3 5 1F RetF 1P 2P RetPF 86 3 David Coulthard 2 2 6P 1P 2 Ret RetP 6F Ret 2F 2F 2 7 Ret 3 3 56 4 Eddie Irvine 4 8 3 3 Ret 3 3 2 3 4 8 Ret Ret 2 4 2 47 5 Jacques Villeneuve 5 7 Ret 4 6 5 10 4 7 6 3 3 Ret Ret 8 6 21 6 Damon Hill 8 DSQ 8 10† Ret 8 Ret Ret Ret 7 4 4 1 6 9 4 20 7 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 3 5 9 5 8 Ret Ret 15† Ret Ret 9 5 4 7 5 5 17 8 Alexander Wurz 7 4 4F Ret 4 Ret 4 5 4 9 11 16† Ret Ret 7 9 17 9 Giancarlo Fisichella Ret 6 7 Ret Ret 2 2 9 5 RetP 7 8 Ret 8 6 8 16 10 Ralf Schumacher Ret Ret Ret 7 11 Ret Ret 16 6 5 6 9 2 3 Ret Ret 14 11 Jean Alesi Ret 9 5 6 10 12† Ret 7 Ret Ret 10 7 3 5 10 7 9 12 Rubens Barrichello Ret Ret 10 Ret 5 Ret 5 10 Ret Ret Ret Ret DNS 10 11 Ret 4 13 Mika Salo Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret 4 Ret 13 Ret Ret 14 Ret DNS Ret 14 Ret 3 14 Pedro Diniz Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 9 14 Ret Ret Ret 11 5 Ret Ret Ret 3 15 Johnny Herbert 6 11† Ret Ret 7 7 Ret 8 Ret 8 Ret 10 Ret Ret Ret 10 1 16 Jarno Trulli Ret Ret 11 Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 12 Ret 6 13 Ret 12† 1 17 Jan Magnussen Ret 10 Ret Ret 12 Ret 6 1 — Shinji Nakano Ret Ret 13 Ret 14 9 7 17† 8 11 Ret 15 8 Ret 15 Ret 0 — Esteban Tuero Ret Ret Ret 8 15 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 16 Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 0 — Ricardo Rosset Ret Ret 14 Ret DNQ DNQ 8 Ret Ret 12 DNQ DNQ DNS 12 Ret DNQ 0 — Toranosuke Takagi Ret Ret 12 Ret 13 11 Ret Ret 9 Ret 13 14 Ret 9 16 Ret 0 — Olivier Panis 9 Ret 15† 11† 16† Ret Ret 11 Ret Ret 15 12 DNS Ret 12 11 0 — Jos Verstappen 12 Ret Ret Ret 13 Ret Ret 13 Ret 0 Pos. Driver AUS BRA ARG SMR ESP MON CAN FRA GBR AUT GER HUN BEL ITA LUX JPN Points Source:[20]

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD) Did not enter (empty cell) Annotation Meaning P Pole position F Fastest lap

Notes:

• † – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.

World Constructors' Championship standings

Pos.	Constructor	No.	AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	LUX	JPN	Points
1	McLaren-Mercedes	7	2	2	6P	1P	2	Ret	RetP	6F	Ret	2F	2F	2	7	Ret	3	3	156
		8	1PF	1PF	2	Ret	1PF	1PF	Ret	3P	2P	1	1P	6P	RetP	4F	1F	1
2	Ferrari	3	Ret	3	1	2F	3	10	1F	1	1F	3	5	1F	RetF	1P	2P	RetPF	133
		4	4	8	3	3	Ret	3	3	2	3	4	8	Ret	Ret	2	4	2
3	Williams-Mecachrome	1	5	7	Ret	4	6	5	10	4	7	6	3	3	Ret	Ret	8	6	38
		2	3	5	9	5	8	Ret	Ret	15†	Ret	Ret	9	5	4	7	5	5
4	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	9	8	DSQ	8	10†	Ret	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	4	4	1	6	9	4	34
		10	Ret	Ret	Ret	7	11	Ret	Ret	16	6	5	6	9	2	3	Ret	Ret
5	Benetton-Playlife	5	Ret	6	7	Ret	Ret	2	2	9	5	RetP	7	8	Ret	8	6	8	33
		6	7	4	4F	Ret	4	Ret	4	5	4	9	11	16†	Ret	Ret	7	9
6	Sauber-Petronas	14	Ret	9	5	6	10	12†	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	10	7	3	5	10	7	10
		15	6	11†	Ret	Ret	7	7	Ret	8	Ret	8	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	10
7	Arrows	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	9	14	Ret	Ret	Ret	11	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	6
		17	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	4	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	DNS	Ret	14	Ret
8	Stewart-Ford	18	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	5	Ret	5	10	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	DNS	10	11	Ret	5
		19	Ret	10	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	6	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	13	Ret
9	Prost-Peugeot	11	9	Ret	15†	11†	16†	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	Ret	15	12	DNS	Ret	12	11	1
		12	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	12	Ret	6	13	Ret	12†
—	Minardi-Ford	22	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	14	9	7	17†	8	11	Ret	15	8	Ret	15	Ret	0
		23	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	15	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	11	Ret	Ret
—	Tyrrell-Ford	20	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	DNQ	DNQ	8	Ret	Ret	12	DNQ	DNQ	DNS	12	Ret	DNQ	0
		21	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	13	11	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	13	14	Ret	9	16	Ret
Pos.	Constructor	No.	AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	AUT	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	LUX	JPN	Points
Source:[20]

Notes:

• † – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.