The 1998 Argentine Grand Prix (formally the XXI Gran Premio Marlboro Argentina) was a Formula One motor race held at Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires, on 12 April 1998. The race is (to date) the last Argentine Grand Prix. It was the third race of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 72-lap race was won by Michael Schumacher for the Ferrari team, from a second position start. Mika Häkkinen finished second in a McLaren, with Eddie Irvine third in the other Ferrari car.
Race summary The two Saubers collided en route to the grid. At the start of the race, Michael Schumacher was caught out by Mika Häkkinen, while David Coulthard maintained his first place. Schumacher passed Häkkinen at the start of the second lap. On the same lap, Eddie Irvine overtook Heinz-Harald Frentzen. By lap 4, Schumacher caught up with Coulthard, and on the next lap the Scotsman took the wrong line, and Schumacher went past. The two cars touched, and Coulthard slid off the track, and rejoined in sixth place. The race then became one between Schumacher, stopping twice, and Häkkinen, on a one-stop strategy. Schumacher's plan proved to be the right one, as he emerged in front following his second stop, after Häkkinen lost time behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Behind Häkkinen and the two Ferraris, Jacques Villeneuve was under attack from Jean Alesi and Coulthard. When Esteban Tuero came into the pits, one of his tyres was missing. Eventually, one of the mechanics found it in the garage. Coulthard was slowed by gearbox problems and lost further ground when he tangled with Jacques Villeneuve, putting the Canadian out, while the Scot collected the solitary point for sixth place behind Häkkinen, Eddie Irvine, Alexander Wurz, and Sauber's Jean Alesi. In the lead, Schumacher collected the victory (even having to go off the track and return due to a drizzle that fell at the end of the race).
Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Time Gap 1 7 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.852 2 3 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:26.251 +0.399 3 8 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.632 +0.780 4 4 Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:26.780 +0.928 5 10 Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:26.827 +0.975 6 2 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 1:26.876 +1.024 7 1 Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 1:26.941 +1.089 8 6 Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:27.196 +1.344 9 9 Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:27.483 +1.631 10 5 Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:27.836 +1.984 11 14 Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:27.839 +1.987 12 15 Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 1:28.016 +2.164 13 21 Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 1:28.811 +2.959 14 18 Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:29.249 +3.397 15 11 Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:29.320 +3.468 16 12 Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:29.352 +3.500 17 17 Mika Salo Arrows 1:29.617 +3.765 18 16 Pedro Diniz Arrows 1:30.022 +4.170 19 22 Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 1:30.054 +4.202 20 23 Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 1:30.158 +4.306 21 20 Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 1:30.437 +4.585 22 19 Jan Magnussen Stewart-Ford 1:31.178 +5.326107% time: 1:31.862Source:
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 3 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 72 1:48:36.175 2 10 2 8 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 72 +22.898 3 6 3 4 Eddie Irvine Ferrari 72 +57.745 4 4 4 6 Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 72 +1:08.134 8 3 5 14 Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 72 +1:18.286 11 2 6 7 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 72 +1:19.751 1 1 7 5 Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 72 +1:28.437 10 8 9 Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 71 +1 Lap 9 9 2 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Williams-Mecachrome 71 +1 Lap 6 10 18 Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 70 +2 Laps 14 11 12 Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 70 +2 Laps 16 12 21 Toranosuke Takagi Tyrrell-Ford 70 +2 Laps 13 13 22 Shinji Nakano Minardi-Ford 69 +3 Laps 19 14 20 Ricardo Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 68 +4 Laps 21 15 11 Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 65 Engine 15 23 Esteban Tuero Minardi-Ford 63 Spun off 20 1 Jacques Villeneuve Williams-Mecachrome 52 Collision 7 15 Johnny Herbert Sauber-Petronas 46 Collision 12 10 Ralf Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 22 Suspension 5 17 Mika Salo Arrows 18 Gearbox 17 19 Jan Magnussen Stewart-Ford 17 Transmission 22 16 Pedro Diniz Arrows 13 Gearbox 18
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Mika Häkkinen 26 2 Michael Schumacher 14 3 David Coulthard 13 4 Eddie Irvine 7 5 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 6Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 McLaren-Mercedes 39 2 Ferrari 21 3 Williams-Mecachrome 8 4 Benetton-Playlife 7 5 Sauber-Petronas 3Source:
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References