1998 British Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher has won two consecutive races — Canada and France — to close the gap on Häkkinen. The championship battle is now tight going into Silverstone.

Previous race

At Magny-Cours, Schumacher led from the second lap and was never seriously challenged. Irvine held the McLarens behind him in the early stages; Häkkinen spun into the gravel attempting an overtake on lap 20 and had to pit for fresh tyres. He recovered to third but was 19 seconds behind Schumacher at the flag. It was Ferrari’s first one-two finish since the 1990 Spanish Grand Prix.

Weather

Heavy rain fell in the morning before the race, with a mixture of wet and dry patches remaining on the circuit at the start.

Entrants

Ralf Schumacher and Olivier Panis had their qualifying times deleted after failing an FIA safety drill — the test requires drivers to evacuate their cockpit within a set time in the event of fire. Both must start from the back of the grid based on their remaining times. Ralf Schumacher earlier spun and stalled during qualifying, completing his laps in the spare car, which was set up for teammate Damon Hill.