1998 Brazilian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Häkkinen leads the championship after the opening round.

Previous race

At Melbourne, the McLarens filled the front two positions at the start and were never headed. A pit lane misunderstanding briefly cost Häkkinen the lead to Coulthard, but Coulthard ultimately let him back through, honouring a pre-race agreement made between the two drivers over reliability concerns — the driver leading at the first corner would win, if in a position to do so. The situation has gone to the World Motorsport Council; the result stands, but the WMSC cautioned that any future act prejudicial to competition would be severely punished.

Between-race developments

Ferrari, Sauber, Minardi, Arrows, and Tyrrell have protested the braking system on the McLaren. The device is said to allow drivers to apply the rear brakes independently of the fronts, effectively functioning as a four-wheel steering aid — banned under the regulations. McLaren have announced they will not appeal the decision and will not run the system at any stage over the Interlagos weekend. Team boss Ron Dennis is reportedly furious, noting that the FIA’s technical delegate Charlie Whiting had approved the system on four separate occasions before the Brazilian stewards declared it illegal.

Ferrari were themselves censured by the stewards for describing their rivals’ cars as “dangerous” — a characterisation Whiting rejected.