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116 victories - 40 double wins

Magny Cours, June 28, 1998

For the second time in the front row
As good as it gets
Exciting final battle for the 2nd position
Results

For the second time in the front row

Already in qualifying for the 1998 French Grand Prix it had become obvious that the gap between Ferrari and McLaren-Mercedes had shrunk: For the second time in this season, Michael Schumacher "parked" his Ferrari F300 in the front row for the start. Eddie Irvine had become 4th on the grid.

When Jos Verstappen stalled the engine of his Stewart during the start, the luck apparently was a Ferrari tifoso: Following the restart caused by the Dutchman's mishap, the two Ferrari managed to gain the lead of the race.

As good as it gets

For Michael Schumacher, the race could not have been better: He immediately managed to leave all competitors in a remarkable distance behind him, and Eddie Irvine proved his skill in "not-letting-pass-the-McLarens".

The British team's strategy did not work well this time, and turned into a desaster when Coulthard came into the pits for refueling and the hose simply refused to be attached to the filler...

Since the last race, Ferrari had improved the car's aerodynamics and Goodyear had done their homework as well. These were the two reasons which made the win possible according to Schumacher.

Exciting final battle for the 2nd position

The most exciting part of the race was the duel between Eddie Irvine and Mika Häkkinen in the final stage of the race. The Irishman performed outstandingly to keep the undoubtly faster Häkkinen behind him. In the final lap the two cars even touched each other and Irvine crossed the finishing line just a blink in front of the McLaren. This was the first double win for the Scuderia since 1990. Then Alain Prost did win the Spanish Grand Prix in front of his teammate Nigel Mansell. The victory at Magny Cours was the 40th double and the 116th win in Ferrari's long history.