| 1998 Monaco Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 6 of 16 in the1998 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | |||||
| Date | 24 May 1998 | ||||
| Official name | Grand Prix de Monaco | ||||
| Location | Circuit de Monaco,Monte Carlo | ||||
| Course | Street circuit | ||||
| Course length | 3.367 km (2.092 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 78 laps, 262.626 km (163.188 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Hot and sunny with temperatures reaching up to 22 °C (72 °F)[1] | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:19.798 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:22.948 on lap 29 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Benetton-Playlife | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The1998 Monaco Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held atMonaco on 24 May 1998. It was the sixth race of the1998 Formula One World Championship.
The 78-lap race was won by Finnish driverMika Häkkinen, driving aMcLaren-Mercedes, his fourth win of the season. Häkkinen recorded agrand chelem, having takenpole position, led every lap of the race and set the fastest lap. ItalianGiancarlo Fisichella finished second in aBenetton-Playlife, with Northern IrishmanEddie Irvine third in aFerrari. This would be the last grand chelem by a McLaren driver until 27 years later, whenOscar Piastri achieved the same feat at the2025 Dutch Grand Prix.
Qualifying sawMika Häkkinen take his fourthpole position of the season by 0.339 seconds fromMcLaren teammateDavid Coulthard. In a surprise,Giancarlo Fisichella took third in hisBenetton, over half a second behind Häkkinen but over three-tenths ahead ofMichael Schumacher'sFerrari in fourth.Heinz-Harald Frentzen was fifth in theWilliams; his teammate, reigning World ChampionJacques Villeneuve, could only manage 13th. The top ten was completed byAlexander Wurz in the second Benetton,Eddie Irvine in the second Ferrari,Mika Salo in theArrows,Johnny Herbert in theSauber andJarno Trulli in theProst. After a series of incidents in hisTyrrell,Ricardo Rosset failed to set a time within 107% of Häkkinen's pole time and so did not qualify for the race.[2]
A perfect start from both McLarens saw them lead through the first corner, with Häkkinen ahead of Coulthard, followed by Fisichella and Michael Schumacher.Esteban Tuero became the first retirement when he ran wide at Massenet in hisMinardi and hit the armco barrier. In the early stages the McLarens pulled ahead, netting 12 fastest laps between them from laps 4 to 12. On lap 10, Frentzen and Irvine collided at the Loews hairpin; Frentzen retired but Irvine was able to continue.Rubens Barrichello dropped out on lap 12 with a suspension failure in hisStewart; his teammateJan Magnussen suffered the same problem shortly before half distance. On lap 18, Coulthard's engine blew, promoting Fisichella to second.
Michael Schumacher was first to pit for fuel on lap 30. Fisichella pitted the following lap, coming out of the pits behind the Ferrari. Soon Michael came up behind Fisichella's teammate, Wurz, and tried to get past. At the Loews hairpin, Michael went down the inside but Wurz did not give way. The two cars touched and the Ferrari was damaged. Michael pitted for repairs, eventually coming out three laps down on Häkkinen. Wurz appeared unaffected, but on lap 43 his suspension broke due to damage from the collision and he had a huge accident coming out of the tunnel, finally stopping at the Nouvelle Chicane.
Ralf Schumacher suffered a suspension failure in hisJordan on lap 45, before the two Prosts retired within seven laps of each other,Olivier Panis with wheel problems on lap 50 and Trulli with a gearbox failure on lap 57. By this point, Salo had moved up to fourth behind Häkkinen, Fisichella and Irvine, withJean Alesi fifth in theSauber and Villeneuve sixth. On lap 73, Alesi's gearbox failed, promotingPedro Diniz in the second Arrows to sixth, just ahead of the recovering Michael Schumacher. Attempting to overtake Diniz at the Nouvelle Chicane on the final lap, Michael lost control and hit the back of the Arrows, losing his front wing; he ended up finishing tenth, two laps down.
Häkkinen's final margin of victory over Fisichella was 11.4 seconds, with another 30 seconds back to Irvine and a further 19 to Salo, the last driver on the lead lap. Villeneuve was fifth with Diniz holding on to sixth.
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| Previous race: 1998 Spanish Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1998 season | Next race: 1998 Canadian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1997 Monaco Grand Prix | Monaco Grand Prix | Next race: 1999 Monaco Grand Prix |
43°44′4.74″N7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E /43.7346500; 7.421333
