Mika Hakkinen held a healthy lead in the Formula 1 World Championship after the opening five races of the 1998 season. The next round was the classic Grand Prix around the unforgiving streets of Monte Carlo.
Hakkinen Wins Monaco Grand Prix for McLaren
McLaren were once again unbeatable in qualifying, with Hakkinen on pole and David Coulthard second. Michael Schumacher had his preparation interrupted by a crash on the Thursday, but still managed to qualify fourth, behind Giancarlo Fisichella’s Benetton.
Hakkinen led from Coulthard in the early stages, but the Scotsman dropped out of the race with a Mercedes engine failure. Alexander Wurz and Michael Schumacher both made it past Fisichella at the pit stops, but the Ferrari driver would soon be in trouble. Desperate to pass Wurz he forced his was by, but damaged both cars in the process. Michael Schumacher had to pit for repairs which lost him three laps, while Wurz suffered a suspension failure in the tunnel, resulting in a huge accident.
At the flag it was Hakkinen ahead, with Fisichella an excellent second. Eddie Irvine scored some points for Ferrari with a third place finish. It was a good day for the Arrows team, with Mika Salo finishing fourth and Pedro Diniz sixth. In between them was the Williams of Jacques Villeneuve.
Schumacher Wins amidst Canadian Grand Prix Chaos
At the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal it was Coulthard on pole, relegating his team-mate and championship leader Hakkinen to second place. Michael Schumacher was third on the grid and Fisichella fourth. In the run down to the first corner Wurz hit Jean Alesi’s Sauber, which launched the Austrian’s Benetton into a spectacular series of rolls. The race was stopped and Wurz ran back to get in the spare car.
At the re-start Hakkinen initially got off the line well, but his gearbox broke before turn one, triggering another shunt as his McLaren slowed suddenly. Alesi and Jarno Trulli collided with each other and the safety car was deployed.
When the safety car pulled off Coulthard led the race from Michael Schumacher and Fisichella. It wasn’t long before the safety car reappeared, this time due to Diniz going off and bringing debris onto the circuit. Coulthard’s race didn’t last much loner, the Scotsman retiring with a broken throttle. The safety car made one more appearance, while the wreckage of a sizeable crash involving Salo was cleared up.
Fisichella led the race late on, but local hero Villeneuve relieved him of first position. His moment on the limelight was brief, as he ran off the circuit and then drove into a Minardi driven by Esteban Tuero. Michael Schumacher made progress after serving a penalty for forcing Heinz-Harald Frentzen off the track. He passed Damon Hill’s Williams for second, before taking the lead from Fisichella during the last pit stops. The German went on to win, with Fisichella second and Irvine third. Wurz was fourth, Rubens Barrichello fifth and Jan Magnussen sixth in the other Stewart.
F1 season review continues here.
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