1998 Australian Grand Prix

1998 Australian Grand Prix
Race 1 of 16 in the 1998 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details
Date	8 March 1998
Official name	1998 Qantas Australian Grand Prix
Location	Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia
Course	Albert Park Circuit
Course length	5.303 km (3.295 miles)
Distance	58 laps, 307.574 km (191.118 miles)
Weather	Clear with maximum temperatures reaching 24 degrees at the start, increasing to 30 degrees by the end of the race.
Pole position
Driver	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes
Time	1:30.010
Fastest lap
Driver	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes
Time	1:31.649 on lap 39
Podium
First	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes
Second	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome
Lap leaders

The 1998 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 1998 Qantas Australian Grand Prix)^[1] was a Formula One motor race held at the Albert Park street circuit in inner Melbourne on 8 March 1998 at 14:00 AEDT (UTC+10). It was the 63rd race in the combined history of the Australian Grand Prix that dates back to the 100 Miles Road Race of 1928. It was the first of the sixteen races of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship and held over 58 laps of the 5.3 kilometre street circuit and the sixth to be held on the Albert Park venue first used in 1953, or the third since the new circuit first hosted the race in 1996.

The race was dominated by the McLaren-Mercedes team and won by Mika Häkkinen over his teammate David Coulthard in controversial circumstances due to team orders. Williams driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished third, his only podium finish this season. The race also represented the first win for Japanese tyre manufacturer Bridgestone in Formula One and the first race since the 1991 Canadian Grand Prix not won by Goodyear. Johnny Herbert scored his only point of the season.