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Home / Seasons / 1998 F1 World Championship Season / 1998 Japanese Grand Prix

1998 Japanese Grand Prix

Date
Winner
Pole position
Fastest lap
CircuitSuzuka, 51 laps
Round16 of 16
Race numbers

The 1998 Japanese Grand Prix was the:

  • 630th World Championship race
  • 14th World Championship Japanese Grand Prix
  • 12th World Championship race at Suzuka
  • 1998 Drivers’ title decider
  • 1998 Constructors’ title decider
More 1998 season
More Japanese Grands Prix
Next race1999 Australian Grand Prix

Race result

PosDriverConstructorLapsTimePoints
1+1(FIN) Mika HakkinenMcLaren-Mercedes511hr 27m 22.535s10
2+2(GBR) Eddie IrvineFerrari51+6.491s6
3 (GBR) David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes51+27.662s4
4+4(GBR) Damon HillJordan-Mugen-Honda51+1m 13.491s3
5 (DEU) Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams-Mecachrome51+1m 13.857s2
6 (CAN) Jacques VilleneuveWilliams-Mecachrome51+1m 15.867s1
7+5(FRA) Jean AlesiSauber-Petronas51+1m 36.053s 
8+2(ITA) Giancarlo FisichellaBenetton-Playlife51+1m 41.301s 
9 (AUT) Alexander WurzBenetton-Playlife50+1 lap 
10+1(GBR) Johnny HerbertSauber-Petronas50+1 lap 
11+2(FRA) Olivier PanisProst-Peugeot50+1 lap 
12+2(ITA) Jarno TrulliProst-Peugeot48DNF 
R (JPN) Shinji NakanoMinardi-Ford Cosworth40DNF 
R (DEU) Michael SchumacherFerrari31DNF 
R (JPN) Toranosuke TakagiTyrrell-Ford Cosworth28DNF 
R (ARG) Esteban TueroMinardi-Ford Cosworth28DNF 
R (BRA) Rubens BarrichelloStewart-Ford Cosworth25DNF 
R (NLD) Jos VerstappenStewart-Ford Cosworth21DNF 
R (FIN) Mika SaloArrows14DNF 
R (DEU) Ralf SchumacherJordan-Mugen-Honda13DNF 
R (BRA) Pedro DinizArrows2DNF 

Notes

  • Jarno Trulli ended lap 48 in P12 before retiring on the following lap.

Starting grid

PosDriverConstructor
1(DEU) Michael SchumacherFerrari
2(FIN) Mika HakkinenMcLaren-Mercedes
3(GBR) David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes
4(GBR) Eddie IrvineFerrari
5(DEU) Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams-Mecachrome
6(CAN) Jacques VilleneuveWilliams-Mecachrome
7(DEU) Ralf SchumacherJordan-Mugen-Honda
8(GBR) Damon HillJordan-Mugen-Honda
9(AUT) Alexander WurzBenetton-Playlife
10(ITA) Giancarlo FisichellaBenetton-Playlife
11(GBR) Johnny HerbertSauber-Petronas
12(FRA) Jean AlesiSauber-Petronas
13(FRA) Olivier PanisProst-Peugeot
14(ITA) Jarno TrulliProst-Peugeot
15(FIN) Mika SaloArrows
16(BRA) Rubens BarrichelloStewart-Ford Cosworth
17(JPN) Toranosuke TakagiTyrrell-Ford Cosworth
18(BRA) Pedro DinizArrows
19(NLD) Jos VerstappenStewart-Ford Cosworth
20(JPN) Shinji NakanoMinardi-Ford Cosworth
21(ARG) Esteban TueroMinardi-Ford Cosworth

Notes

  • Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli started the Grand Prix from the back of the grid after failing to pull away at the beginning of the formation lap.

Qualifying result

PosDriverConstructorTimeGap
1(DEU) Michael SchumacherFerrari1:36.293 
2(FIN) Mika HakkinenMcLaren-Mercedes1:36.4710.178
3(GBR) David CoulthardMcLaren-Mercedes1:37.4961.203
4(GBR) Eddie IrvineFerrari1:38.1971.904
5(DEU) Heinz-Harald FrentzenWilliams-Mecachrome1:38.2721.979
6(CAN) Jacques VilleneuveWilliams-Mecachrome1:38.4482.155
7(DEU) Ralf SchumacherJordan-Mugen-Honda1:38.4612.168
8(GBR) Damon HillJordan-Mugen-Honda1:38.6032.310
9(AUT) Alexander WurzBenetton-Playlife1:38.9592.666
10(ITA) Giancarlo FisichellaBenetton-Playlife1:39.0802.787
11(GBR) Johnny HerbertSauber-Petronas1:39.2342.941
12(FRA) Jean AlesiSauber-Petronas1:39.4483.155
13(FRA) Olivier PanisProst-Peugeot1:40.0373.744
14(ITA) Jarno TrulliProst-Peugeot1:40.1113.818
15(FIN) Mika SaloArrows1:40.3874.094
16(BRA) Rubens BarrichelloStewart-Ford Cosworth1:40.5024.209
17(JPN) Toranosuke TakagiTyrrell-Ford Cosworth1:40.6194.326
18(BRA) Pedro DinizArrows1:40.6874.394
19(NLD) Jos VerstappenStewart-Ford Cosworth1:40.9434.650
20(JPN) Shinji NakanoMinardi-Ford Cosworth1:41.3155.022
21(ARG) Esteban TueroMinardi-Ford Cosworth1:42.3586.065
Did not qualify
22(BRA) Ricardo RossetTyrrell-Ford Cosworth1:43.2596.966

Championship standings

How the championship standings stood post-race.

Driver

PosDriverPoints
1(FIN) Mika Hakkinen100
2(DEU) Michael Schumacher86
3(GBR) David Coulthard56
4(GBR) Eddie Irvine47
5(CAN) Jacques Villeneuve21
6(GBR) Damon Hill20
7(DEU) Heinz-Harald Frentzen17
8(AUT) Alexander Wurz17
9(ITA) Giancarlo Fisichella16
10(DEU) Ralf Schumacher14
11(FRA) Jean Alesi9
12(BRA) Rubens Barrichello4
13(FIN) Mika Salo3
14(BRA) Pedro Diniz3
15(GBR) Johnny Herbert1
16(DNK) Jan Magnussen1
17(ITA) Jarno Trulli1

Constructor

PosConstructorPoints
1McLaren-Mercedes156
2Ferrari133
3Williams-Mecachrome38
4Jordan-Mugen-Honda34
5Benetton-Playlife33
6Sauber-Petronas10
7Arrows6
8Stewart-Ford Cosworth5
9Prost-Peugeot1

Stats & milestones

Last start
Shinji Nakano
Esteban Tuero
Tyrrell
World Champion
1st title for Mika Hakkinen (27th driver to win the World Championship, 2nd Finnish champion; first Finnish champion since 1982)
8th title for McLaren (3rd constructor to win eight championships)
Wins
9th for Mika Hakkinen
116th for McLaren
Podiums
27th for Mika Hakkinen
24th for David Coulthard
15th for Eddie Irvine
419th for Ferrari
288th & 289th for McLaren
Poles
20th for Michael Schumacher (9th driver to take 20 pole positions, 1st German)
124th for Ferrari
Fastest laps
34th for Michael Schumacher
133rd for Ferrari
Front row starts
41st for Michael Schumacher
15th for Mika Hakkinen