The 1998 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the A1-Ring on 26 July 1998. It was the tenth round of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. A wet-dry qualifying session resulted in a mixed-up grid order, with Giancarlo Fisichella taking the first pole position of his career. The 71-lap race was won by Mika Häkkinen for McLaren, with teammate David Coulthard recovering to finish second, having been involved in two collisions during the race, and Michael Schumacher finishing third for Ferrari.
Report
Qualifying
The qualifying session led to an unusual grid due to wet conditions, which dried out towards the end, with Fisichella taking his first ever pole and Jean Alesi alongside him in the Sauber.
Race
Häkkinen started well to lead into the first corner but several cars collided at the first corner behind them, with Toranosuke Takagi's car ending up stranded. Olivier Panis was left immobile on the line with clutch failure. At the second corner, there was another accident, with both Arrows drivers colliding, hitting Coulthard in the process and knocking off his wing after he had qualified in 14th. Coulthard entered the pit lane for a new nose as a safety car was deployed to allow the debris from the collisions to be cleaned up, and he was able to catch up to the back of the field.
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- This was the last pole position of Benetton in Formula One.
Race
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Laps !! Time/Retired !! Grid !! Points
|-
! 1
| 8
| Mika Häkkinen
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 71
| 1:30:44.086
| 3
| 10
|-
! 2
| 7
| David Coulthard
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 71
| +5.289
| 14
| 6
|-
! 3
| 3
| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| 71
| +39.092
| 4
| 4
|-
! 4
| 4
| Eddie Irvine
| Ferrari
| 71
| +43.976
| 8
| 3
|-
! 5
| 10
| Ralf Schumacher
| Jordan-Mugen-Honda
| 71
| +50.654
| 9
| 2
|-
! 6
| 1
| Jacques Villeneuve
| Williams-Mecachrome
| 71
| +53.202
| 11
| 1
|-
! 7
| 9
| Damon Hill
| Jordan-Mugen-Honda
| 71
| +1:13.624
| 15
|
|-
! 8
| 15
| Johnny Herbert
| Sauber-Petronas
| 70
| +1 lap
| 18
|
|-
! 9
| 6
| Alexander Wurz
| Benetton-Playlife
| 70
| +1 lap
| 17
|
|-
! 10
| 12
| Jarno Trulli
| Prost-Peugeot
| 70
| +1 lap
| 16
|
|-
! 11
| 22
| Shinji Nakano
| Minardi-Ford
| 70
| +1 lap
| 21
|
|-
! 12
| 20
| Ricardo Rosset
| Tyrrell-Ford
| 69
| +2 laps
| 22
|
|-
!
| 19
| Jos Verstappen
| Stewart-Ford
| 51
| Engine
| 12
|
|-
!
| 23
| Esteban Tuero
| Minardi-Ford
| 30
| Spun off
| 19
|
|-
!
| 5
| Giancarlo Fisichella
| Benetton-Playlife
| 21
| Collision
| 1
|
|-
!
| 14
| Jean Alesi
| Sauber-Petronas
| 21
| Collision
| 2
|
|-
!
| 2
| Heinz-Harald Frentzen
| Williams-Mecachrome
| 16
| Engine
| 7
|
|-
!
| 18
| Rubens Barrichello
| Stewart-Ford
| 8
| Brakes
| 5
|
|-
!
| 16
| Pedro Diniz
| Arrows
| 3
| Collision
| 13
|
|-
!
| 17
| Mika Salo
| Arrows
| 1
| Collision
| 6
|
|-
!
| 11
| Olivier Panis
| Prost-Peugeot
| 0
| Clutch
| 10
|
|-
!
| 21
| Toranosuke Takagi
| Tyrrell-Ford
| 0
| Collision
| 20
|
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
Championship standings after the race
- Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
;Drivers' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Driver
! Points
|-
| 1
| Mika Häkkinen
|align="right"| 66
|-
| 2
| Michael Schumacher
|align="right"| 58
|-
| 3
| David Coulthard
|align="right"| 36
|-
| 4
| Eddie Irvine
|align="right"| 32
|-
| 5
| Alexander Wurz
|align="right"| 17
|-
!colspan=4|Source:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;"
|-
! Pos
! Constructor
! Points
|-
| 1
| McLaren-Mercedes
|align="right"| 102
|-
| 2
| Ferrari
|align="right"| 90
|-
| 3
| Benetton-Playlife
|align="right"| 32
|-
| 4
| Williams-Mecachrome
|align="right"| 20
|-
| 5
| Stewart-Ford
|align="right"| 5
|-
!colspan=4|Source: