The 1999 Canadian Grand Prix, otherwise advertised as the XXXVII Grand Prix Air Canada, was the sixth round of the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, on the 13 June 1999.[1] The race would see Mika Häkkinen claim victory, as three World Champions smashed into the wall at the final chicane, leading it to be named the "Wall of Champions".[1]
For the first time in 1999 someone other than Häkkinen would start a Grand Prix from pole position, with Michael Schumacher beating the Finn by 0.029s during qualifying.[1] Their teammates Eddie Irvine and David Coulthard would share the second row, while Rubens Barrichello secured a strong fifth for Stewart-Ford Cosworth.[1]
The start saw Häkkinen get a better initial launch than Schumacher, prompting the German racer to sweep across the nose of the Finn to prevent him from charging ahead.[1] The ploy worked with Schumacher holding the lead, while Coulthard found himself behind Giancarlo Fisichella.[1]
Behind, Jarno Trulli was forced to cut across the grass into the first corner, fighting with Heinz-Harald Frentzen into the first corner.[1] The Italian duly spun and smashed into Jean Alesi and Rubens Barrichello, resulting in the Safety Car being called out.[1]
The race restarted at the start of lap three, with Schumacher leaping clear of Häkkinen, while Irvine watched on in third.[1] Yet, as the field came to end of the lap the safety car would be called out again, with Ricardo Zonta spinning into the wall at the final chicane in his BAR-Supertec.[1]
The second restart came and went without issue, with the race finally getting underway properly on lap six.[1] Once again, Schumacher eased clear of Häkkinen, while Coulthard squabbled with Irvine, having moved ahead of Fisichella in between to two safety car periods.[1]
Indeed, the race remained green through the second accident of the day at turn fourteen, with Damon Hill slapping the wall before pulling off in an escape road.[1] He duly walked across the circuit and back to the Jordan-Mugen-Honda garage without issue, with Schumacher easing away from Häkkinen out front.[1]
That was, until Schumacher contrived to hit the wall himself on lap 30, pushing too hard having been on the verge of making his stop.[1] Jacques Villeneuve then followed him into the wall on lap 35 to break the hearts of the home fans, resulting in the safety car being called out for the third time.[1]
All that left Häkkinen leading from Irvine and Coulthard, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen now in fourth.[1] Yet, that all changed again as the race restarted on lap 41, with Coulthard trying to lunge around the outside of Irvine into turn one, only to touch the Ferrari and send both cars spinning.[1]
Both would rejoin, albeit down the field, with Coulthard requiring a new nose.[1] They would spend the rest of the afternoon fighting their way back up the order, only for the race to be effectively ended late on by the fourth and final appearance of the safety car.[1]
The cause this time would be Frentzen, who suffered a brake failure on lap 66 and had a massive accident at turn three.[1] The safety peeled off at the end of the final lap, with Häkkinen sweeping across the line to claim victory ahead of Fisichella, while Irvine recovered well to complete the podium.[1]
The 1999 Canadian Grand Prix hence set the record for the most safety cars in a Grand Prix, as well as the first ever F1 race to finish behind the safety car.[1]
Background[]
Mika Häkkinen moved into second in the Championship after his second win of the season, leaving Spain six behind the leader. Michael Schumacher had therefore retained his lead in the hunt, although his advantage had been reduced by the Finn severely after his win. Behind, Eddie Irvine had lost ground in third, as had Heinz-Harald Frentzen at the head of the next group of drivers in fourth.
In the Constructors Championship it had been a positive day for McLaren-Mercedes, who cut the gap between themselves and Ferrari to fifteen points. The Scuderia still led the way, leaving Spain on 51, although McLaren-Mercedes had the advantage in raw pace with a third of the season gone. Elsewhere, Jordan-Mugen-Honda seemed to already be out of the fight in third, with Williams-Supertec and Benetton-Playlife completing the top five.
Entry list[]
The full entry list for the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying Report[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 1999 Canadian Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap | Ave. Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 |  Michael Schumacher
|
 Ferrari
|
1:19.298 | — | 200.706 km/h |
| 2 | 1 |  Mika Häkkinen
|
 McLaren-Mercedes
|
1:19.327 | +0.029s | 200.633 km/h |
| 3 | 4 | Eddie Irvine
|
Ferrari
|
1:19.440 | +0.142s | 200.347 km/h |
| 4 | 2 | David Coulthard
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
1:19.729 | +0.431s | 199.621 km/h |
| 5 | 16 |  Rubens Barrichello
|
Stewart-Ford Cosworth
|
1:19.930 | +0.632s | 199.119 km/h |
| 6 | 8 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|
 Jordan-Mugen-Honda
|
1:20.158 | +0.860s | 198.553 km/h |
| 7 | 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Benetton-Playlife
|
1:20.378 | +1.080s | 198.009 km/h |
| 8 | 11 |  Jean Alesi
|
 Sauber-Petronas
|
1:20.459 | +1.161s | 197.810 km/h |
| 9 | 19 | Jarno Trulli
|
Prost-Peugeot
|
1:20.557 | +1.259s | 197.569 km/h |
| 10 | 17 | Johnny Herbert
|
Stewart-Ford Cosworth
|
1:20.829 | +1.531s | 196.905 km/h |
| 11 | 10 |  Alexander Wurz
|
Benetton-Playlife
|
1:21.000 | +1.702s | 196.489 km/h |
| 12 | 5 | Alex Zanardi
|
Williams-Supertec
|
1:21.076 | +1.778s | 196.305 km/h |
| 13 | 6 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Williams-Supertec
|
1:21.081 | +1.783s | 196.293 km/h |
| 14 | 7 | Damon Hill
|
Jordan-Mugen-Honda
|
1:21.094 | +1.796s | 196.261 km/h |
| 15 | 18 | Olivier Panis
|
Prost-Peugeot
|
1:21.252 | +1.954s | 195.879 km/h |
| 16 | 22 |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
BAR-Supertec
|
1:21.302 | +2.004s | 195.759 km/h |
| 17 | 23 | Ricardo Zonta
|
BAR-Supertec
|
1:21.467 | +2.169s | 195.363 km/h |
| 18 | 12 | Pedro Diniz
|
Sauber-Petronas
|
1:21.571 | +2.273s | 195.113 km/h |
| 19 | 15 |  Tora Takagi
|
Arrows
|
1:21.693 | +2.395s | 194.822 km/h |
| 20 | 14 |  Pedro de la Rosa
|
Arrows
|
1:22.613 | +3.315s | 192.652 km/h |
| 21 | 20 | Luca Badoer
|
Minardi-Ford Cosworth
|
1:22.808 | +3.510s | 192.199 km/h |
| 22 | 21 | Marc Gené
|
Minardi-Ford Cosworth
|
1:23.387 | +4.089s | 190.864 km/h |
| 107% Time: 1:24.849[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 | ______________ |
| Michael Schumacher | 2 | |
| ______________ | Mika Häkkinen | |
| Row 2 | 3 | ______________ |
| Eddie Irvine | 4 | |
| ______________ | David Coulthard | |
| Row 3 | 5 | ______________ |
| Rubens Barrichello | 6 | |
| ______________ | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | |
| Row 4 | 7 | ______________ |
| Giancarlo Fisichella | 8 | |
| ______________ | Jean Alesi | |
| Row 5 | 9 | ______________ |
| Jarno Trulli | 10 | |
| ______________ | Johnny Herbert | |
| Row 6 | 11 | ______________ |
| Alexander Wurz | 12 | |
| ______________ | Alex Zanardi | |
| Row 7 | 13 | ______________ |
| Ralf Schumacher | 14 | |
| ______________ | Damon Hill | |
| Row 8 | 15 | ______________ |
| Olivier Panis | 16 | |
| ______________ | Jacques Villeneuve | |
| Row 9 | 17 | ______________ |
| Ricardo Zonta | 18 | |
| ______________ | Pedro Diniz | |
| 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 Canadian Grand Prix are outlined below:
- T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
- * Frentzen was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]
Milestones[]
- 25th Grand Prix entry for Alexander Wurz.[6]
- Michael Schumacher scored the 125th pole position for Ferrari as a constructor and engine supplier.[7]
- Mika Häkkinen secured his twelfth career victory.[7]
- McLaren claimed their 119th win as a constructor.[7]
- Eddie Irvine recorded the only fastest lap of his career.[7]
Standings[]
Mika Häkkinen overturned a six point deficit with victory to leave Canada with a four point lead, with the Finn holding 34 points at the end of the weekend. Indeed, had Michael Schumacher not crashed out the German would still have led the Championship, but would instead leave Canada in second, four off the leader. Eddie Irvine was still in third, nine behind the defending Champion, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Giancarlo Fisichella completed the top five.
In the Constructors Championship it was still Ferrari who led the way, although McLaren-Mercedes had done a lot of damage. Indeed, the Anglo-German squad left Canada nine behind the Scuderia, with those two set to duel for the crown for a second straight season. Elsewhere, Jordan-Mugen-Honda had retained third ahead of Benetton-Playlife, while Williams-Supertec completed the top five.
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Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 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 1.21 1.22 'Canadian GP, 1999', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr636.html, (Accessed 27/08/2019)
- ↑ 'Cananda 1999: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1999/canada/engages.aspx, (Accessed 27/08/2019)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 'Canada 1999: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1999/canada/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 27/08/2019)
- ↑ 'Air Canada Grand Prix du Canada 1999 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/1999/races/692/canada/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 27/08/2019)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 'Canada 1999: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1999/canada/classement.aspx, (Accessed 27/08/2019)
- ↑ '1999 Canadian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1999&gp=Canadian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 27/08/2019)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 '6. Canada 1999', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1999/canada.aspx, (Accessed 27/08/2019)
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