1998 San Marino Grand Prix

Infobox Grand Prix race report
Type = F1
Country = San Marino
Grand Prix = San Marino

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Date = 26 April
Year = 1998
Race_No = 4
Season_No = 16
Location = Imola
Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Course_mi = 3.065
Course_km = 4.933
Distance_laps = 62
Distance_mi = 189.897
Distance_km = 305.609
Weather = Cloudy
Pole_Driver = David Coulthard
Pole_Team = McLaren-Mercedes
Pole_Time =
Pole_Country = United Kingdom
Fast_Driver = Michael Schumacher
Fast_Team = Ferrari
Fast_Time = 1:29.345
Fast_L

Fast_Country = Germany
First_Driver = David Coulthard
First_Team = McLaren-Mercedes
First_Country = United Kingdom
Second_Driver = Michael Schumacher
Second_Team = Scuderia Ferrari
Second_Country= Germany
Third_Driver = Eddie Irvine
Third_Team = Ferrari
Third_Country = United Kingdom

The 1998 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Imola on April 26, 1998. The race was won by David Coulthard and represented his first win since the 1997 Italian Grand Prix.

Race Summary

It was back to business for McLaren in Qualifying, with Coulthard outpacing Häkkinen for Pole, and Ferrari's Schumacher and Eddie Irvine keeping things neat by qualifying third and fourth. However, the men in red had hoped for better, and had followed Tyrrell's lead in fitting 'side-wings' - x-shaped wings bolted atop the sideboards. But these appendages didn't produce enough of a gain to topple the McLarens and, with Jordan and Sauber also sprouting these peculiar side-wings the sport's governing body voted to ban them the day after the race, as they felt that they would be unsafe if a driver suffered a side-on impact.

The race was simplicity itself for Coulthard as he controlled proceedings ahead of Mika Häkkinen, with Schumacher split from Irvine by Jacques Villeneuve's Williams. But on lap 17 Häkkinen retired to the pits, and the garage door was immediately rolled down to conceal his problem. It later proved to be a gearbox failure.

Unaware of his team-mate's problem, Coulthard motored on ahead of Schumacher until the German emerged from his second stop and started to fly, eating into the Scot's 20-second advantage at a rate of a second per lap. Debris in a sidepod had sent Coulthard's oil cooler temperature soaring, and team boss Ron Dennis kept sprinting from the pit wall to the McLaren garage to check on the telemetry, so that Coulthard could be instructed how much he could afford to ease off to save his engine. Yet, every so often, Coulthard would match Schumacher's pace, just to show who was boss, and he duly recorded the win. Irvine sent the Ferrari fans home happy by taking the final podium place, with the Williams duo of Villeneuve and Frentzen the only other unlapped runners.

Classification

tandings After Grand Prix

Drivers
*1 Mika Häkkinen - McLaren-Mercedes - 26
*2 David Coulthard - McLaren-Mercedes - 23
*3 Michael Schumacher - Ferrari - 20
*4 Eddie Irvine - Ferrari - 11
*5 Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Williams-Mecachrome - 8
*6 Alexander Wurz - Benetton-Playlife - 6
*7 Jacques Villeneuve - Williams-Mecachrome - 5
*8 Jean Alesi - Sauber-Petronas - 3
*9= Johnny Herbert - Sauber-Petronas - 1
*9= Giancarlo Fisichella - Benetton-Playlife - 1

Constructors
*1 McLaren-Mercedes - 49
*2 Ferrari - 31
*3 Williams-Mecachrome - 13
*4 Benetton-Playlife - 7
*5 Sauber-Petronas - 4

Notes

*Fastest L
F1 race report
Name_of_race = San Marino Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 1998
Previous_race_in_season = 1998 Argentine Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 1998 Spanish Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = 1997 San Marino Grand Prix
Next_year's_race = 1999 San Marino Grand Prix
Previous_promotional_trophy_winner = 1997 Australian Grand Prix
Next_promotional_trophy_winner = 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix