Japanese Grand Prix
Suzuka Circuit
Grand Prix starting grid
Race starts
Grid positions from race-result records; not a separately verified pre-race grid.
| POS | DRIVER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Gianni Morbidelli | Sauber |
| 1 | Jacques Villeneuve | Williams |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari |
| 3 | Eddie Irvine | Ferrari |
| 4 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren |
| 5 | Gerhard Berger | Benetton |
| 6 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Williams |
| 7 | Jean Alesi | Benetton |
| 8 | Johnny Herbert | Sauber |
| 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan |
| 10 | Olivier Panis | Prost |
| 11 | David Coulthard | McLaren |
| 12 | Rubens Barrichello | Stewart |
| 13 | Ralf Schumacher | Jordan |
| 14 | Jan Magnussen | Stewart |
| 15 | Shinji Nakano | Prost |
| 16 | Pedro Diniz | Arrows |
| 17 | Damon Hill | Arrows |
| 19 | Ukyo Katayama | Minardi |
| 20 | Tarso Marques | Minardi |
| 21 | Jos Verstappen | Tyrrell |
| 22 | Mika Salo | Tyrrell |