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The 1999 British Grand Prix, otherwise known as the LII RAC British Grand Prix, was the eighth round of the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship, held at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, UK, on the 11 July 1999.[1] The race would see David Coulthard claim victory on home soil for McLaren-Mercedes, as title pretender Michael Schumacher broke his leg in a heavy accident.[1]

Qualifying had seen Mika Häkkinen return to form by sweeping to pole position, with Schumacher squeezing his Ferrari in between the two McLarens to secure second.[1] Coulthard therefore would start from third alongside Eddie Irvine, while 1996 World Champion Damon Hill shared the third row with his Jordan-Mugen-Honda teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen.[1]

The start would see Schumacher make a poor getaway, allowing Häkkinen to storm into an early lead, dragging Coulthard with him.[1] Irvine also got the jump on his teammate to secure third, with Schumacher slotting into fourth, while, further down the field, Jacques Villeneuve and Alex Zanardi stalled on the grid.[1]

They would be thrown a life-line, however, with red flags being thrown moments after Schumacher went straight on at Stowe as a result of a brake failure.[1] The #3 Ferrari flew into the barriers having skipped across the gravel, leaving Schumacher with a broken leg and a shattered Ferrari chassis.[1]

Ferrari would, however, prepare the spare car for their lead driver before the restart, not knowing the extent of the German ace's injuries until the German was taken to the medical centre.[1] Regardless, the rest of the field lined up on the grid in the original starting order, with a full standing start carried out.[1]

Once again Häkkinen would sprint away from the grid unopposed, leaving Coulthard to try, and fail, to keep Irvine at bay for second.[1] The order quickly stabilised with Häkkinen eeking out a lead, while Irvine found himself hounded by Coulthard.[1]

Yet, the Scot would never seriously threaten the Ulsterman, with the order remaining unchanged through to the pitstops.[1] Häkkinen was the first to stop, only for a rushed stop from McLaren to leave the Finn with a loose wheel, which the reigning Champion felt immediately.[1] Yet, having brought the car back in the McLaren crew sent the Finn straight back out, only for the left-rear wheel to fly off the car and leave Häkkinen limping back to the pits.[1]

Häkkinen's brief visit would also upset Irvine's stop, costing him time as he had to take an unusual line into his pitbox.[1] That hence gifted the advantage to Coulthard, with a flawless stop for the Scot a few laps earlier ensuring that Irvine's Ferrari emerged behind the #2 McLaren.[1]

With that the fight for the race win was over, with Coulthard able to keep Irvine at arm's length.[1] Häkkinen, meanwhile, would ultimately give-up on a charge through the field after feeling another issue with his rear wheels, the sign of a hub issue, leaving Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher to fight for third.[1]

The all-German duel would last through to the chequered flag, with Schumacher ultimately emerging ahead by 0.378s.[1] Up ahead, meanwhile, Coulthard would cruise across the line almost two seconds clear of Irvine to claim victory, the first for McLaren on home soil since 1989.[1]

Background[]

Mika Häkkinen extended his Championship lead over Michael Schumacher after his podium finish, leaving France with an eight point advantage. The German himself had reduced the damage by limping across the line in fifth, with teammate Eddie Irvine losing more ground in third. Behind Heinz-Harald Frentzen had moved onto the Brit's tail after his second win, while Ralf Schumacher completed the top five.

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari had just held onto their lead, leaving France on 58 points and with a six point lead. McLaren-Mercedes were their closest challengers, having chipped away at the Scuderia's lead, with those two both holding double the points of Jordan-Mugen-Honda in third. The Irish squad themselves were in a lonely third after claiming victory, as Williams-Supertec moved ahead of Benetton-Playlife in the latest round of leap-frog between the two former Champions.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 1999 British Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entreat Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/14 Mercedes FO110H 3.0 V10 B
2 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4/14 Mercedes FO110H 3.0 V10 B
3 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F399 Ferrari 048 3.0 V10 B
4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F399 Ferrari 048 3.0 V10 B
5 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Winfield Williams Williams FW21 Supertec FB01 3.0 V10 B
6 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Winfield Williams Williams FW21 Supertec FB01 3.0 V10 B
7 United Kingdom Damon Hill Ireland Benson & Hedges Jordan Jordan 199 Mugen-Honda MF-301 HD 3.0 V10 B
8 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Ireland Benson & Hedges Jordan Jordan 199 Mugen-Honda MF-301 HD 3.0 V10 B
9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Mild Seven Benetton Playlife Benetton B199 Playlife FB01 3.0 V10 B
10 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Mild Seven Benetton Playlife Benetton B199 Playlife FB01 3.0 V10 B
11 France Jean Alesi Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C18 Petronas SPE-03A 3.0 V10 B
12 Brazil Pedro Diniz Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C18 Petronas SPE-03A 3.0 V10 B
14 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Repsol Arrows Arrows A20 Arrows T2-F1 3.0 V10 B
15 Japan Tora Takagi United Kingdom Repsol Arrows Arrows A20 Arrows T2-F1 3.0 V10 B
16 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom HSBC Stewart Ford Stewart SF3 Ford Cosworth CR-1 3.0 V10 B
17 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom HSBC Stewart Ford Stewart SF3 Ford Cosworth CR-1 3.0 V10 B
18 France Olivier Panis France Gauloises Prost Peugeot Prost AP02 Peugeot A18 3.0 V10 B
19 Italy Jarno Trulli France Gauloises Prost Peugeot Prost AP02 Peugeot A18 3.0 V10 B
20 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Fondmetal Minardi Team Minardi M01 Ford Cosworth VJM Zetec-R 3.0 V10 B
21 Spain Marc Gené Italy Fondmetal Minardi Team Minardi M01 Ford Cosworth VJM Zetec-R 3.0 V10 B
22 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom British American Racing BAR 01 Supertec FB01 3.0 V10 B
23 Brazil Ricardo Zonta United Kingdom British American Racing BAR 01 Supertec FB01 3.0 V10 B
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Free Practice 1[]

Free Practice 2[]

Warm-Up[]

Practice Results[]

The full practice results for the 1999 British Grand Prix are outlined below:

No. Driver Constructor FP1 FP2 Warm-Up
Time Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos.
1 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.981 1 1:24.489 1 1:26.788 1
2 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.155 4 1:25.151 2 1:27.286 2
3 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:27.327 6 1:25.301 3 1:27.497 3
4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1:27.061 3 1:25.742 6 1:28.295 6
5 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Williams-Supertec 1:28.162 10 1:27.250 15 1:29.038 12
6 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-Supertec 1:27.004 2 1:26.250 8 1:28.382 8
7 United Kingdom Damon Hill Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:27.381 7 1:25.600 5 1:28.105 4
8 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:28.595 14 1:25.406 4 1:28.381 7
9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Benetton-Playlife 1:28.546 13 1:27.254 16 1:29.480 14
10 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Playlife 1:28.740 15 1:27.193 14 1:29.260 13
11 France Jean Alesi Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:28.472 12 1:26.676 12 1:28.431 9
12 Brazil Pedro Diniz Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:27.931 8 1:26.564 11 1:29.845 18
14 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Arrows 1:29.439 20 1:27.977 20 1:30.018 19
15 Japan Tora Takagi United Kingdom Arrows 1:29.630 21 1:27.782 18 1:29.828 17
16 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:27.158 5 1:25.946 7 1:28.265 5
17 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:29.201 18 1:26.311 9 1:28.785 11
18 France Olivier Panis France Prost-Peugeot 1:30.372 22 1:27.864 19 1:30.217 21
19 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Peugeot 1:28.883 16 1:28.785 17 1:28.733 10
20 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:29.130 17 1:28.376 21 1:30.128 20
21 Spain Marc Gené Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:29.416 19 1:28.421 22 1:30.381 22
22 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Supertec 1:27.981 9 1:26.531 10 1:29.537 15
23 Brazil Ricardo Zonta United Kingdom BAR-Supertec 1:28.238 11 1:27.157 13 1:29.645 16

Qualifying[]

Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 1999 British Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 1 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:24.804 218.197 km/h
2 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:25.223 +0.419s 217.124 km/h
3 2 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.594 +0.790s 216.183 km/h
4 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 1:25.677 +0.873s 215.974 km/h
5 8 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:25.991 +1.187s 215.185 km/h
6 7 United Kingdom Damon Hill Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:26.099 +1.295s 214.915 km/h
7 16 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:26.194 +1.390s 214.679 km/h
8 6 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-Supertec 1:26.438 +1.634s 214.072 km/h
9 22 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Supertec 1:26.719 +1.915s 213.379 km/h
10 11 France Jean Alesi Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:26.761 +1.957s 213.276 km/h
11 17 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 1:26.873 +2.069s 213.001 km/h
12 12 Brazil Pedro Diniz Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:27.196 +2.392s 212.212 km/h
13 5 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Williams-Supertec 1:27.223 +2.419s 212.146 km/h
14 19 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Peugeot 1:27.227 +2.423s 212.136 km/h
15 18 France Olivier Panis France Prost-Peugeot 1:27.543 +2.739s 211.370 km/h
16 23 Brazil Ricardo Zonta United Kingdom BAR-Supertec 1:27.699 +2.895s 210.994 km/h
17 9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Benetton-Playlife 1:27.857 +3.053s 210.615 km/h
18 10 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Playlife 1:28.010 +3.206s 210.249 km/h
19 15 Japan Tora Takagi United Kingdom Arrows 1:28.037 +3.233s 210.184 km/h
20 14 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Arrows 1:28.148 +3.344s 209.920 km/h
21 20 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:28.695 +3.891s 208.625 km/h
22 21 Spain Marc Gené Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:28.772 +3.968s 208.444 km/h
107% Time: 1:30.740[3]
Source:[4][3]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Mika Häkkinen 2
______________ Michael Schumacher
Row 2 3 ______________
David Coulthard 4
______________ Eddie Irvine
Row 3 5 ______________
Heinz-Harald Frentzen 6
______________ Damon Hill
Row 4 7 ______________
Rubens Barrichello 8
______________ Ralf Schumacher
Row 5 9 ______________
Jacques Villeneuve 10
______________ Jean Alesi
Row 6 11 ______________
Johnny Herbert 12
______________ Pedro Diniz
Row 7 13 ______________
Alex Zanardi 14
______________ Jarno Trulli
Row 8 15 ______________
Olivier Panis 16
______________ Ricardo Zonta
Row 9 17 ______________
Giancarlo Fisichella 18
______________ Alexander Wurz
Row 10 19 ______________
Tora Takagi 20
______________ Pedro de la Rosa
Row 11 21 ______________
Luca Badoer 22
______________ Marc Gené

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 1999 British Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 60 1:32:30.144 3 10
2 4 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Italy Ferrari 60 +1.829s 4 6
3 6 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-Supertec 60 +27.411s 8 4
4 8 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 60 +27.789s 5 3
5 7 United Kingdom Damon Hill Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 60 +38.606s 6 2
6 12 Brazil Pedro Diniz Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 60 +53.643s 12 1
7 9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Benetton-Playlife 60 +54.614s 17
8 16 Brazil Rubens Barrichello United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 60 +1:08.590 7
9 19 Italy Jarno Trulli France Prost-Peugeot 60 +1:12.045 14
10 10 Austria Alexander Wurz Italy Benetton-Playlife 60 +1:12.123 18
11 5 Italy Alex Zanardi United Kingdom Williams-Supertec 60 +1:17.124 13
12 17 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 60 +1:17.709 11
13 18 France Olivier Panis France Prost-Peugeot 60 +1:20.492 15
14* 11 France Jean Alesi Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 59 Engine 10
15 21 Spain Marc Gené Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 58 +2 laps 22
16 15 Japan Tora Takagi United Kingdom Arrows 58 +2 laps 19
Ret 23 Brazil Ricardo Zonta United Kingdom BAR-Supertec 41 Suspension 16
Ret 1 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 35 Wheel 1
Ret 22 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Supertec 29 Engine 9
Ret 20 Italy Luca Badoer Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 6 Gearbox 21
Ret 14 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Arrows 0 Gearbox 20
DNS 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 0 Leg injury 2
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Alesi was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]
  • Michael Schumacher was unable to take the restart after breaking his leg in an accident during the original start.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

It was status quo at the head of the Championship as a result of the British Grand Prix, for neither Mika Häkkinen nor Michael Schumacher had scored. That meant that the Finn held an eight point lead, although with Schumacher set to miss most of the season the German ace was no longer the Finn's biggest threat. Instead, it was Eddie Irvine who left Silverstone as the main pretender to Häkkinen's throne, sitting eight behind the Finn at the halfway point in the season.

In the Constructors Championship, however, there had been some changes, for McLaren-Mercedes had managed to all but eliminate Ferrari's lead at the halfway point. Indeed, the Anglo-German alliance ended the weekend just two behind the Scuderia, with those two the only realistic contenders for the title. Indeed, third placed Jordan-Mugen-Honda had lost ground, holding half the points of McLaren, while Williams-Supertec and Benetton-Playlife completed the top five.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Finland Mika Häkkinen 40
2 Germany Michael Schumacher 32
3 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 32
4 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 26
5 United Kingdom David Coulthard 22 ▲2
6 Germany Ralf Schumacher 19 ▼1
7 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 13 ▼1
8 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 10
9 United Kingdom Damon Hill 5
10 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert 2
11 Brazil Pedro Diniz 2 ▲3
12 Italy Jarno Trulli 1 ▼1
13 Spain Pedro de la Rosa 1 ▼1
14 Austria Alexander Wurz 1 ▼1
15 France Olivier Panis 1
16 France Jean Alesi 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 64
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 62
3 Ireland Jordan-Mugen-Honda 31
4 United Kingdom Williams-Supertec 19
5 Italy Benetton-Playlife 14
6 United Kingdom Stewart-Ford Cosworth 12
7 Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 3
8 France Prost-Peugeot 2
9 United Kingdom Arrows 1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 'British GP, 1999', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr638.html, (Accessed 28/08/2019)
  2. 'Britain 1999: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1999/grande-bretagne/engages.aspx, (Accessed 28/08/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 'Britain 1999: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1999/grande-bretagne/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 28/08/2019)
  4. '1999 RAC British Grand Prix - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1999/races/694/great-britain/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 28/08/2019)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 'Britain 1999: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1999/grande-bretagne/classement.aspx, (Accessed 28/08/2019)
  6. '1999 British GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1999&gp=British%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 28/08/2019)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 '8. Britain 1999', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1999/grande-bretagne.aspx, (Accessed 28/08/2019)
V T E United Kingdom British Grand Prix
Circuits Brooklands (1926 - 1927), Silverstone (1948 - Present), Aintree (1955 - 1962), Brands Hatch (1963 - 1986)
SilverstoneArena2010
Races 19501951195219531954195519561957195819591960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975197619771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
Non-Championship Races 1926192719481949
V T E 1999 Formula One Season
Teams McLaren • Ferrari • Williams • Jordan • Benetton • Sauber • Arrows • Stewart • Prost • Minardi • BAR
Engines Arrows • Ferrari • Ford • Mercedes • Mugen-Honda • Petronas • Peugeot • Playlife • Supertec
Drivers Häkkinen • 2 Coulthard • 3 M. Schumacher • 3 Salo • 4 Irvine • 5 Zanardi • 6 R. Schumacher • 7 Hill • 8 Frentzen • 9 Fisichella • 10 Wurz • 11 Alesi • 12 Diniz • 14 De la Rosa • 15 Takagi • 16 Barrichello • 17 Herbert • 18 Panis • 19 Trulli • 20 Badoer • 20 Sarrazin • 21 Gené • 22 Villeneuve • 23 Zonta • 23 Salo
Other Drivers Heidfeld • Nakano • Verstappen
Cars McLaren MP4/14 • Ferrari F399 • Williams FW21 • Jordan 199 • Benetton B199 • Sauber C18 • Arrows A20 • Stewart SF3 • Prost AP02 • Minardi M01 • BAR 01
Tyres Bridgestone
Races Australia • Brazil • San Marino • Monaco • Spain • Canada • France • Britain • Austria • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • Europe • Malaysia • Japan
See also 1998 Formula One Season • 2000 Formula One Season • Category
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