Menagerie F1 : 1998 San Marino Grand Prix

David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes BS	1m 25.973s
Mika Hakkinen	McLaren-Mercedes BS	1m 26.075s
Michael Schumacher	Ferrari GY	1m 26.437s
Eddie Irvine	Ferrari GY	1m 27.169s
Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife BS	1m 27.273s
Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Mecachrome GY	1m 27.390s
Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen Honda GY	1m 27.592s
Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome GY	1m 27.645s
Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Mugen Honda GY	1m 27.866s
Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife BS	1m 27.937s
Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas GY	1m 28.111s
Jean Alesi	Sauber-Petronas BS	1m 28.191s
Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot BS	1m 28.270s
Mika Salo	TWR Arrows BS	1m 28.798s
Tora Takagi	Tyrrell-Ford GY	1m 29.073s
Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot BS	1m 29.584s
Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford BS	1m 29.641s
Pedro Diniz	TWR Arrows BS	1m 29.932s
Esteban Tuero	Minardi-Ford BS	1m 30.649s
Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford BS	1m 31.017s
Shinji Nakano	Minardi-Ford BS	1m 31.225s
Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell-Ford GY	1m 31.482s

Analysis :
After the disasterous outing two weeks before David Coulthard put his stamp of authority on the weekend by taking pole position and then leading every lap of the race.
The "Silver Arrows" proved to be fallable as Mika Hakkinen succumbed to gearbox failure leaving Michael Schumacher to chase down the remaining McLaren-Mercedes, much to the joy of the Tifosi. Although he claimed fastest lap, the German could not catch Coulthard in the closing laps. The Italian faithful took further consolation from a good drive from Eddie Irvine for third.
The Williams' were closer to the pace this time with Jacques Villeneuve making a spectacular start and then hounding Irvine home. Heinz-Harald Frentzen cruised around to fifth with Jean Alesi once again collecting a point for Sauber-Petronas.
After wrapping a Porsche Boxster around a tree earlier in the week, Giancarlo Fisichella tried to repeat the maneuver with his Benetton, while teammate Alex Wurz suffered a rare Renault engine failure.
Jordan looked a little more in touch with Ralf Schumacher actually finishing the race and Damon Hill gamely running in 7th until his hydraulics let him down. Had he not lost his front wing at the start, he may have been up in the top three during most of the race.

After a couple of races it looked as if the championship would be a walkover. Now just six points separate the top three drivers, giving hope for a great fight for the rest of the year. Coulthard has shown he can beat Schumacher, while the rest of the grid knows that the McLaren's are not invincible.

	1998 San Marino Grand Prix
Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari Imola, Italy 3.04 miles April 26th 1998

David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes BS	1h 34m 24.593s
Michael Schumacher	Ferrari GY	1h 34m 29.147s
Eddie Irvine	Ferrari GY	1h 35m 16.369s
Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Mecachrome GY	1h 35m 19.183s
Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Williams-Mecachrome GY	1h 35m 42.070s
Jean Alesi	Sauber-Petronas GY	1 lap down

Ralf Schumacher	Jordan-Mugen Honda GY	2 laps down
Esteban Tuero	Minardi-Ford BS	2 laps down
Mika Salo	TWR Arrows BS	2 laps down
Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen Honda GY	57 laps - hydraulics
Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot BS	56 laps - engine
Ricardo Rosset	Tyrrell-Ford GY	48 laps - engine
Tora Takagi	Tyrrell-Ford GY	40 laps - engine
Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot BS	34 laps - spun off
Shinji Nakano	Minardi-Ford BS	27 laps - engine
Pedro Diniz	TWR Arrows BS	18 laps - gearbox
Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife BS	17 laps - spun off
Mika Hakkinen	McLaren-Mercedes BS	17 laps - gearbox
Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife BS	17 laps - engine
Johnny Herbert	Sauber-Petronas GY	12 laps - suspension
Jan Magnussen	Stewart-Ford BS	8 laps - transmission
Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford BS	0 laps - lost rear wing & spun off