1999 German Grand Prix

The 1999 German Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1999)[1] was a Formula One motor race held on 1 August 1999 at the Hockenheimring near Hockenheim, Germany. It was the tenth race of the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship. With Michael Schumacher out injured, Eddie Irvine took a second successive victory as he chased the championship, aided by stand-in team-mate Mika Salo moving over to give him the lead. In the early laps Finnish drivers ran first and second. However, Mika Häkkinen ultimately crashed out on lap 25 due to a tyre failure, allowing Heinz-Harald Frentzen to finish third in his home Grand Prix.

1999 German Grand Prix
Race 10 of 16 in the 1999 Formula One World Championship
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Hockenheimring (last modified in 1994)
Hockenheimring (last modified in 1994)
Race details
Date 1 August 1999
Official name Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1999
Location Hockenheimring
Hockenheim, Germany
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 6.823 km (4.240 miles)
Distance 45 laps, 307.035 km (190.792 miles)
Weather Partially cloudy, very hot, dry
Pole position
Driver McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:42.950
Fastest lap
Driver United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:45.270 on lap 43
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Jordan-Mugen-Honda
Lap leaders

Damon Hill was again rumoured to be leaving Formula One when he allegedly retired a healthy car. Hill claimed that his Jordan had brake problems.[2] Eddie Irvine gave his winner's trophy to Mika Salo, who was leading towards the end of the race and moved over on team orders.

Classification

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Mika Häkkinen's stricken MP4/14 on display at the London Science Museum.

Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Gap
1 1   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:42.950
2 8   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:43.000 +0.050
3 2   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:43.288 +0.338
4 3   Mika Salo Ferrari 1:43.577 +0.627
5 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:43.769 +0.819
6 16   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:43.938 +0.988
7 18   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:43.979 +1.029
8 7   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:44.001 +1.051
9 19   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:44.209 +1.259
10 9   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:44.338 +1.388
11 6   Ralf Schumacher Williams-Supertec 1:44.468 +1.518
12 22   Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Supertec 1:44.508 +1.558
13 10   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:44.522 +1.572
14 5   Alessandro Zanardi Williams-Supertec 1:45.034 +2.084
15 21   Marc Gené Minardi-Ford 1:45.331 +2.381
16 12   Pedro Diniz Sauber-Petronas 1:45.335 +2.385
17 17   Johnny Herbert Stewart-Ford 1:45.454 +2.504
18 23   Ricardo Zonta BAR-Supertec 1:45.460 +2.510
19 20   Luca Badoer Minardi-Ford 1:45.917 +2.967
20 14   Pedro de la Rosa Arrows 1:45.935 +2.985
21 11   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:45.962 +3.012
22 15   Toranosuke Takagi Arrows 1:46.209 +3.259
107% time: 1:50.157
Source:[3]

Race

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At the start, the start, Jacques Villeneuve was touched from behind, dove inside, and touched Pedro Diniz, knocking both out at the first corner. At the front, Frentzen had a bad start and was overtaken by Mika Salo and David Coulthard, while Rubens Barrichello passed Eddie Irvine. In midfield, Olivier Panis tangled with Ralf Schumacher at Senna corner and damaged his car; at the rear, Jean Alesi had to pit at the end of the first lap. So, the order was Mika Hakkinen, Mika Salo, Coulthard, Frentzen, Barrichello, and Irvine.

Barrichello passed Frentzen at Agip corner on lap 2 and started to pressure Coulthard, only to see his engine blow up on lap 6. Coulthard closed in on Mika Salo and dove for a maneuver at Ost Kurve on lap 9, but lost a winglet and had to pit. On lap 11 the order was Hakkinen, Salo, Frentzen, Irvine, Ralf Schumacher, and Alexander Wurz.

The Scotsman, who was on a mission to climb the field after his unscheduled pit stop, overtook Olivier Panis off the track only to be penalized with a Stop & Go. The leaders started their mandatory pits, and the first one to stop was Frentzen, only to be overcut by Irvine one lap later. Mika Salo pitted for good and came back just in front of his teammate, putting both Ferraris in podium positions.

If McLaren's journey wasn't a dream given Coulthard's faults, it became a complete nightmare when Hakkinen pitted for the lead and his fuel pump didn't work. The team had to change it for David's one, costing the Finn 24.3 seconds stopped and his fall to fourth place. On lap 26, Hakkinen passed Frentzen at the first chicane and started to pursue the Ferrari duo. However, on the straight before the Stadium section, his rear left tire exploded, his rear wing broke, and he spun off into the tire barrier, retiring from the race and potentially losing his lead in the championship. On the same lap, Salo and Irvine swapped positions, putting the Ulsterman in first. On lap 27 the order was Irvine, Salo, Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, Panis, and Coulthard.

After those incidents, the other two casualties were Pedro de la Rosa's accident and Johnny Herbert retiring after a good journey, but suffering from reliability problems once again. In the closing stages, Coulthard passed Panis for fifth place and the order remained the same until the chequered flag.[4]


Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 4   Eddie Irvine Ferrari 45 1:21:58.594 5 10
2 3   Mika Salo Ferrari 45 + 1.007 4 6
3 8   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jordan-Mugen-Honda 45 + 5.195 2 4
4 6   Ralf Schumacher Williams-Supertec 45 + 12.809 11 3
5 2   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 45 + 16.823 3 2
6 18   Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 45 + 29.879 7 1
7 10   Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 45 + 33.333 13  
8 11   Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 45 + 1:11.291 21  
9 21   Marc Gené Minardi-Ford 45 + 1:48.318 15  
10 20   Luca Badoer Minardi-Ford 44 + 1 Lap 19  
11 17   Johnny Herbert Stewart-Ford 40 Gearbox 17  
Ret 14   Pedro de la Rosa Arrows 37 Accident 20  
Ret 1   Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 25 Tyre/Accident 1  
Ret 5   Alessandro Zanardi Williams-Supertec 21 Differential 14  
Ret 23   Ricardo Zonta BAR-Supertec 20 Engine 18  
Ret 15   Toranosuke Takagi Arrows 15 Engine 22  
Ret 7   Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 13 Brakes 8  
Ret 19   Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 10 Engine 9  
Ret 9   Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 7 Suspension 10  
Ret 16   Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 6 Hydraulics 6  
Ret 22   Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Supertec 0 Collision 12  
Ret 12   Pedro Diniz Sauber-Petronas 0 Collision 16  
Sources:[5][6]

Championship standings after the race

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  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ "German". Formula1.com. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Hill in crisis meeting on future". Birmingham Evening Mail. England. 2 August 1999. Retrieved 14 May 2010. DAMON Hill faces a crisis meeting with team chief Eddie Jordan this week with his grand prix future again clouded in doubt. The 38-year-old former world champion will have to explain why he quit yesterday's race in Germany even though the team insist there was nothing wrong with the car. Hill took the decision to retire after 14 laps at Hockenheim complaining of the braking system on the Jordan to again raise the prospect that he will not see out the season.
  3. ^ "1999 German GP: Qualification". ChicaneF1.com. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  4. ^ "1999 German Grand Prix Formula 1". F1 TV. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  5. ^ "1999 German Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  6. ^ "1999 German GP: Classification". ChicaneF1.com. Retrieved 3 August 2007.
  7. ^ a b "Germany 1999 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.


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1999 Austrian Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1999 season
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1999 Hungarian Grand Prix
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1998 German Grand Prix
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2000 German Grand Prix