1998 Italian Grand Prix

In August 1998, the organisation of the sporting event was characterised by complications linked to the seizure of several stands and some underpasses by the magistrate's court due to alleged irregularities in the testing certifications. The affair continued until the beginning of September, when the use of the stands for the match was allowed. [ 1 ] The event was organised by the Automobile Club of Milan and SIAS, the company in charge of managing the racetrack. For the occasion, new giant scre...

Heading into the 14th round of the season, Mika Häkkinen led the championship with 77 points. Michael Schumacher was in second place, seven points behind. Häkkinen's teammate David Coulthard was in third position on 48 points, making these three the only drivers who could mathematically win the title. In the constructors championship, McLaren led on 125 points, ahead of Ferrari on 102. Williams were third with 33 points, one point ahead of Benetton and seven points ahead of Jordan in fifth. [ 3 ...

While the free practice on Friday was dry, by the afternoon session it had rained. In a wet qualifying session, Michael Schumacher took pole position ahead of Jacques Villeneuve , who had achieved the team's best qualifying start. Mika Häkkinen , David Coulthard , and Eddie Irvine followed them in third, fourth, and fifth position. [ 4 ]

Mika Häkkinen made a blinding start from third on the grid, pushing his way past Jacques Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher on the front row; at the same time, it was a dreadful start for Schumacher, who fell down to fifth but then passed Villeneuve for fourth and then Eddie Irvine for third. Häkkinen was struggling with a developing brake issue soon after and he waved his teammate David Coulthard through. Soon after, Coulthard's engine blew and seconds later Schumacher, who had caught Häkkinen, ...

It was a jubilant scene for the Italian crowd as Schumacher came home first and Irvine, his Ferrari teammate, took second, with the younger Schumacher third. [ 4 ] [ 7 ] It was Jordan's third podium finishes in two races. Johnny Herbert retired in unusual circumstances; prior to the start, a Sauber mechanic accidentally left a spanner in the cockpit. During the race, the spanner became jammed under the foot pedals, which caused Herbert to crash. [ 8 ] Schumacher was now level on points with Häkk...