As
good as it gets: Michael Schumacher comes in on
3rd at Barcelona
Barcelona,
May 10, 1998
Fourth win
for McLaren-Mercedes
The 1998 Grand Prix of Spain did not
provide any surprises: As expected, Mika
Häkkinen took the win again in his
McLaren-Mercedes, fortifying his lead in the
championship ranking at 36 points. After his
third victory, he is now seven points clear in
front of his teammate David Coulthard, who came
in on 2nd in Barcelona.
  
Michael
Schumacher remained on his overall 3rd position
in the championship; up to now, he has scored 24
points in the Ferrari F300. In Spain, he came in
on 3rd - 47 seconds after Häkkinen had passed
the finishing line.
  
The
German did an excellent race without any mistakes
or mishaps, but got a 10 sec penality for
pit-lane speeding. Nevertheless, he did not have
a chance against the McLarens. As per Michael
Schumacher, 70% of the time gap between the F300
and the McLaren-Mercedes are caused by the
Goodyear tires used by Ferrari, and he is looking
forward to having these problems solved as soon
as possible.
 
For
Eddie Irvine, the race ended after just 28 laps
when he collided with Giancarlo Fisichella. The
Italian tried to pass the Irishman, but the
latter slammed the door right in front of
Fisichella and eventually both ended up in the
gravel. Irvine's race had started quite well:
After having been 6th on the grid, he passed
three cars, including the one of his teammate
Schumacher, and had been right behind the leading
McLarens.
 
In
the constructors' championship, Ferrari is still
on 2nd position (35 points), while
McLaren-Mercedes scored 65.
At
Barcelona, Michael Schumacher drove F300 s/n 186.
Eddie Irvine competed in s/n 185.
- Final results:
- 1. Mika Häkkinen,
McLaren-Mercedes
- 2. David Coulthard,
McLaren-Mercedes
- 3. Michael Schumacher,
Ferrari
- 4. Alexander Wurz,
Benetton-Playlife
- 5. Rubens Barichello,
Stewart-Ford
- 6. Jacques Villeneuve,
Williams-Mecachrome
DNF
Eddie Irvine, Ferrari
-
- Text
Gregor Schulz
Translation Andreas Birner
- Photo
Rainer W. Schlegelmilch
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