Australian Grand Prix 1998 - Race Schedule and Countdown

Mika Häkkinen began his championship defense with a commanding victory at Melbourne, converting pole position into a lights-to-flag win for McLaren-Mercedes. The Finnish driver dominated the race from start to finish, demonstrating the MP4-13's devastating pace on its race debut. David Coulthard completed a perfect start for McLaren with second place, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen salvaged third for Williams after the team's disappointing off-season.

The race marked the beginning of McLaren's technical dominance in 1998, with Adrian Newey's radical narrow-track design proving immediately effective. Michael Schumacher could only finish eighth after a difficult weekend, suggesting Ferrari would face an uphill battle to match McLaren's pace. The one-two finish gave McLaren a perfect 26 points from the season opener and established Häkkinen as the early championship favorite.