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 McLarens of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard made good starts from the front row of the grid. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, starting third, also had a good start and tried to overtake second place Coulthard. The Ferrari driver stayed with the McLarens but retired on lap 6 when his engine failed.[2] This handed third place to the Williams of Jacques Villeneuve, who was being chased by Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella. After the first round of pitstops, Villeneuve found himself behind teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Ferrari's Eddie Irvine, and Fisichella. Fisichella was able to pass Frentzen for third but then retired with mechanical failure, leaving Frentzen to finish just ahead of Irvine's Ferrari, which had gambled on a one-stop strategy. Villeneuve was lapped soon after this by the McLarens but still managed to finish in fifth place. All cars except the two McLarens were lapped down.[2]
On lap 36, Häkkinen came into the pits unexpectedly, apparently having misheard a call over the radio. He drove straight through the pitlane and rejoined the race without stopping but lost first place to teammate Coulthard. In 2007, McLaren boss Ron Dennis claimed that someone had tapped into the team's radio system: "We do not and have not manipulated Grands Prix, unless there were some exceptional circumstances, which occurred in Australia [1998], when someone had tapped into our radio and instructed Mika Häkkinen to enter the pits."[3] In 2023, Hakkinen recalled: "The team said something on the radio, I was confused, I thought they asked me to come to change tyres and that was not the case. They were just giving me some different information. So I just drove through the pit lane and I of course lost the lead of the race, David got the lead."[2]
With 16 laps to go, Coulthard had a 12-second lead; by lap 55 of 58, Coulthard's lead was reduced to two seconds.[2] A few laps before the end of the race, Coulthard let Häkkinen past on the front straight. From the pre-season test, it was clear that McLaren had the fastest car but was unreliable.[2][nb 1] Due to those reliability concerns, Hakkinen and Coulthard had made a pre-race agreement that between the two of them, the driver who led at the first corner would go on to win the race, should he be in the position to do so.[4][nb 2] Coulthard and the McLaren team were criticised heavily,[5][6] leading to discussion about team orders.[7] The situation surrounding Coulthard allowing Häkkinen through would eventually go to the World Motorsport Council. The verdict was that "any future act prejudicial to the interests of competition should be severely punished in accordance with article 151c of International Sporting Code."[8][9][10] Team orders continued to be controversial in Formula One and were banned following the events of the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix but were reallowed following the 2010 German Grand Prix.[11] Frentzen took third place for Williams.[12] The race was the first win for the tyre manufacturer Bridgestone after they entered Formula One a year earlier.[13]
After the race concluded, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Ron Walker lodged an official complaint to the FIA into how the actions of the McLaren team decided the race for Häkkinen.[14]
Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
Notes
^In 2020, Coulthard recalled: "At that time, team orders were not a common part of Formula One – it's accepted today, but back then it wasn't part of it. We as a team did it for good reason – we had a fast car that had been unreliable in winter testing, so we knew if we pushed at 100 per cent, the chances of finishing were very slim. So to get both cars to the end – even if it was in the wrong order for my liking – was a big success for the team."[2]
^In 2023, Hakkinen recalled: "We were sitting on the front row, me and David – and we just made a deal. The driver who was first at the first corner when the race starts, that driver is going to win the Grand Prix. There's not going to be any fight. We had a deal, so David had to let me past – brilliant!"[2]
References
^"Australia". Formula 1. 1998. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
^Garside, Kevin (29 May 2007). "FIA inquiry into McLaren order". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2024.
^"Hakkinen wins Grand Prix". Gadsden Times. 8 March 1998. p. D6. Archived from the original on 8 February 2024. Retrieved 8 February 2024 – via Google News.
