1998 Austrian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher has closed the gap to Häkkinen to just two points after his third consecutive victory at Silverstone. Coulthard is 26 points behind his teammate and no longer a realistic championship contender.

Previous race

At Silverstone, Häkkinen led by 49 seconds before a spin damaged his front wing and the safety car was deployed, erasing the gap. At the restart, Häkkinen made a further error that handed the lead to Schumacher. Two laps from the finish, Schumacher was issued a 10-second penalty for passing Wurz under the safety car. His team called him in on the final lap to serve it, but he crossed the finish line in the pit lane before reaching the Ferrari garage, raising a dispute about whether the penalty had been properly served. Following a protest from McLaren and a lengthy hearing, the stewards rescinded the penalty entirely — the notification had been issued outside the allowed time window and the original infraction had occurred outside the final twelve laps, meaning the penalty type used was not applicable. The three stewards involved subsequently handed in their licences at an extraordinary FIA meeting.

Between-race developments

McLaren’s protest against Ferrari over the penalty affair was rejected by the FIA.