1998 Japanese Grand Prix

1998 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 16 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 1 November 1998
Official name XXIV Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.860 km (3.641[1] miles)
Distance 51 laps, 298.868[2] km (185.708 miles)
Scheduled distance 53 laps, 310.588[3] km (192.990 miles)
Weather Fine
Attendance 318,000[4]
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:36.293
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Time 1:40.190 on lap 19
Podium
First McLaren-Mercedes
Second Ferrari
Third McLaren-Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 1998 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the XXIV Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka, Mie, Japan on 1 November 1998. It was the sixteenth and final round of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 51-lap race was won by Mika Häkkinen driving for the McLaren-Mercedes team. Eddie Irvine, driving for Ferrari, finished second with David Coulthard third in the other McLaren. Häkkinen's win confirmed him as 1998 Drivers' Champion as title-rival Michael Schumacher retired with a punctured tyre on Lap 31.

Schumacher started on pole position but stalled on the formation lap, meaning he was forced to start at the back of the grid. Schumacher managed to climb the field during the course of the race and eventually retired from a punctured tyre sustained from running over debris from an incident that occurred previously. This was the last race for the Tyrrell racing team, as the team was rebranded into British American Racing the next season.

  1. ^ "1998 Japanese Grand Prix | Motorsport Database".
  2. ^ "2013 Japanese Grand Prix: Official Media Kit" (PDF). FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. p. 31. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 March 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  3. ^ Derived from race distance (298868) and lap length (5860)
  4. ^ "Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.