Sunday 26 July 1998
Race morning warm-up
WEATHER CONDITIONS: sunny and hot

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McLarens back on top
The McLaren-Mercedes of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard wound up first
and second fastest in this morning's warm-up, neither driver having any
mechanical problems and Hakkinen running a handful of laps in the spare car
just to check it out. "We are back where we should have been yesterday
afternoon," said a team spokesperson.

Ferraris third and fourth
The Ferrari F300s of Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine set third and
fourth fastest time, Michael trying both the race car and spare as well as
experimenting with a lower downforce configuration which he felt worked
well. Eddie Irvine had no problems his car and was quite satisfied with
fourth.

Alesi's Sauber fifth
Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas wound up fifth fastest, reporting that the car
felt very well balanced in race trim. Johnny Herbert was also quite happy
with the feel of his car, setting 13th fastest time and admitting that he
is considering running a one stop strategy because he is so far back on the
grid.

Takagi impresses for Tyrrell
Toranosuke Takagi's Tyrrell-Ford set sixth fastest time running a very low
downforce configuration, although both he and his team-mate Ricardo Rosset
had spins during the course of the session.

Barrichello a confident seventh
Rubens Barrichello set seventh fastest time at the wheel of his spare
Stewart-Ford SF2, happy to report that there was no problems any longer
with the braking problems which had bugged the car over the past few races.
His only concern is the prospect of tyre degradation. Jos Verstappen wound
up 17th.

Benettons eighth and ninth
Giancarlo Fisichella made a few set-up changes to try and rid his car of
excessive understeer and wound up eighth fastest, fractionally ahead of
team-mate Alexander Wurz who tried the spare car which will be readjusted
for Fisichella's possible use prior to the start of the race.

Hill 12th for Jordan
Damon Hill could only manage 12th fastest time in the Jordan 198, losing
time towards the end of the session when hydraulic failure caused it to
stick in gear. Ralf Schumacher was tenth, but reported excessive understeer
which sent him on an excursion across a gravel trap.

Williams in trouble
Heinz-Harald Frentzen spun off at the Remus-kurve, then came back to the
pits to take the spare Williams FW20 which had originally been set up for
Jacques Villeneuve. By the time the cockpit was changed Frentzen only had
time for four more laps on full tanks. Villeneuve was troubled by an engine
management computer glitch which affected the gearchange mechanism on his
race car.

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Sunday 26 July 1998
Sunday race
RACE FACTS

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At the start Mika Hakkinen makes the best start and takes the lead as the
cars dive into the first corner. He is followed by a fast-starting Michael
Schumacher and poleman Giancarlo Fisichella. Jean Alesi makes a bad start
and is fifth behind Rubens Barrichello. Further back Olivier Panis is left
on the grid causing those behind him to take dramatic avoidance. As the
midfield dives into the first corner Tora Takagi loses control of his
Tyrrell and spins and a slow-starting Johnny Herbert and the two Minardis
go off in avoidance.

At the second corner there is further chaos as Pedro Diniz spins and
collides with his own team-mate Mika Salo. David Coulthard spins in
avoidance and his front wing is removed by Salo's car. He is forced to pit
at the end of the lap for a new nose. Salo retires with a broken rear
suspension.

The Safety Car is sent out and during the Safety Car period Esteban Tuero
pits twice while Diniz also pits for repairs. The race is restarted at the
end of lap two and Hakkinen tries to get away from Schumacher, setting two
fastest laps but the Ferrari stays with him. Further back in the field
Alexander Wurz and Jos Verstappen have a minor collision but both continue.

On lap 4 Schumacher challenges Hakkinen on the outside at the Gosser Kurve.
The following lap he tries again but makes a mistake and Fisichella is able
to get ahead for a lap before Schumacher takes the place again and sets off
after Hakkinen. Further back Coulthard begins to work his way through the
backmarkers.

On lap 7 Schumacher is back on Hakkinen's tail and he taps the rear of
Hakkinen's McLaren in the Gosser Kurve. A lap later Rubens Barrichello goes
into the pits with a brake problem and retires.

In the next few laps Hakkinen and Schumacher trade fastest laps but
gradually the Finn is able to pull away from the Ferrari and create a gap
of around a second. Further back the order remains static except that
Coulthard carves his way through the field. He gets up to seventh by lap
16.

At the final corner on lap 17 Schumacher goes wide and bounces over the
sand trap, ripping off the front wing of the Ferrari. He is forced to do a
complete lap before pitting for repairs. The Ferrari mechanics replace the
wing and send him out with new tyres and more fuel. At the same time
Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Williams blows its engine.

Damon Hill is the first driver to stop on schedule on lap 19. At the same
time Coulthard passes Alesi to grab fourth place. The next man to stop is
second-placed Fisichella on lap 21 and when he rejoins he is alongside
Alesi. The two run side-by-side up to the Remus Kurve but then collide.
This puts Coulthard in third behind Irvine.

There are no changes in the next few laps and then the remaining
two-stoppers pit. This drops Irvine behind Coulthard but Ralf Schumacher is
able maintain his fourth place as no-one is close enough to challenge him.

The two McLarens - which are running on a one-stop strategy - stop on laps
34 and 36 with Coulthard leading for two laps when Mika stops first.
Further back Michael Schumacher is charging back through the field. The
two-stop runners have to stop again but the stops do little for the order.
Michael Schumacher closes up on his brother Ralf and after one abortive
attempt at Remus he passes him on lap 55 and sets off after his Ferrari
team mate Eddie Irvine.

Irvine immediately begins to slow. His lap times increase by a second a
half and Schumacher easily catches him. He passes his team mate on lap 68.

The McLarens finish 1-2 with Schumacher third giving Hakkinen a lead of
eight points in the World Championship.

--- Msged/386 4.20 beta 4