29 August 1999 David Coulthard of McLaren was the winner of the Belgian GP, having taken the lead at the start after coming together with team mate Hakkinen in the first corner. Hakkinen finished second, despite suspicions that his car had moved before the lights had changed. Frentzen brought home third position for Jordan and Irvine was fourth, losing the lead of the Drivers Championship by one point. R. Schumacher, who had raced on a one-stop strategy, was fifth and the other Jordan driver Hill was sixth. McLaren has overtaken Ferrari in the Constructors Championship, taking the lead by nine points.
The finishing times:
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1. David Coulthard (Gb/McLaren-Mercedes) in 1h25'43"057 (average: 214.595 km/h) 2. Mika Hakkinen (Fin/McLaren-Mercedes) +10"4 3. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger/Jordan-Mugen Honda) +33"4 4. Eddie Irvine (Gb/Ferrari) +44"9 5. Ralf Schumacher (Ger/Williams-Supertec) +48"0 6. Damon Hill (Gb/Jordan-Mugen Honda) +54"9 7. Mika Salo (Fin/Ferrari) +56"2 8. Alessandro Zanardi (Ita/Williams-Supertec) +1'07"0 9. Jean Alesi (Fra/Sauber-Petronas) +1'13"8 10. Rubens Barrichello (Bra/Stewart-Ford) +1'20"7 11. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita/Benetton-Supertec) +1'32"1 12. Jarno Trulli (Ita/Prost-Peugeot) +1'36"1 13. Olivier Panis (Fra/Prost-Peugeot) +1'41"5 14. Alexander Wurz (Aut/Benetton-Supertec) +1'57"7 15. Jacques Villeneuve (Can/BAR-Supertec) +1 lap 16. Marc Gené (Spa/Minardi-Ford) +1 lap |
28 August 1999 The Kenyan press reported that Briatore had been arrested for property fraud on 17th of August and was released after paying a massive bail sum. Still according to Kenyan press, he is supposed to have attended a court hearing yesterday morning and, if convicted, could face up to five years in jail. His press officier Patrizia Spinelli has denied that anything of the sort happened and said that Briatore had been on holiday in his villa in Malindi (Kenya) and was on his way back to Spa (where he has regularly arrived). The mayor of Malindi has issued an official statement saying that Briatore has never been arrested.
28 August 1999 Bernie Ecclestone has announced that this is the last time a F1 GP is run in Belgium because of the strict Belgian tobacco advertising laws.
28 August 1999 Hakkinen will start the Belgian GP from pole position alongside team mate Coulthard. The second row will be shared by Jordan duo Frentzen and Hill, while Ferrari's Irvine only managed sixth time behind R. Schumacher.
The qualifying times:
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1. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'50"329 227.364 km/h 2. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'50"484 + 0'00"155 3. 8 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'51"332 + 0'01"003 4. 7 HILL Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'51"372 + 0'01"043 5. 6 R.SCHUM' Williams Supertec 1'51"414 + 0'01"085 6. 4 IRVINE Ferrari 1'51"895 + 0'01"566 7. 16 BARRICHELLO Stewart Ford 1'51"974 + 0'01"645 8. 5 ZANARDI Williams Supertec 1'52"014 + 0'01"685 9. 3 SALO Ferrari 1'52"124 + 0'01"795 10. 17 HERBERT Stewart Ford 1'52"164 + 0'01"835 11. 22 VILLENEUVE BAR Supertec 1'52"235 + 0'01"906 12. 19 TRULLI Prost Peugeot 1'52"644 + 0'02"315 13. 9 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1'52"762 + 0'02"433 14. 23 ZONTA BAR Supertec 1'52"840 + 0'02"511 15. 10 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1'52"847 + 0'02"518 16. 11 ALESI Sauber Petronas 1'52"921 + 0'02"592 17. 18 PANIS Prost Peugeot 1'53"148 + 0'02"819 18. 12 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1'53"778 + 0'03"449 19. 15 TAKAGI Arrows TWR 1'54"099 + 0'03"770 20. 20 BADOER Minardi Ford 1'54"197 + 0'03"868 21. 21 GENE Minardi Ford 1'54"557 + 0'04"228 22. 14 DE LA ROSA Arrows TWR 1'54"579 + 0'04"250 |
27 August 1999 The second free practice session was interrupted for 7 minutes while the debris from Villeneuve's car was being removed. Villeneuve suffered the breakage of his front left suspension on the straight before Les Combes. The Canadian hit the barrier sideways at 300 km/h, luckily without suffering injuries. His team mate Zonta suffered a very similar accident in exactly the same spot, hitting the barrier on the opposite side of the track from Villeneuve. Zonta too walked out of the crashed car unhurt. In the following F3000 race another driver, Alex Yoong, suffered an accident on the same spot, raising fears that the configuration of the Eau Rouge could present a danger. Yoong suffered a broken leg and is resting in hospital. Coulthard clocked the fastest free practice time.
The free practice times:
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1. 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1'53"577 220.862 km/h 2. 1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1'54"021 + 0'00"444 3. 9 FISICHELLA Benetton Playlife 1'54"066 + 0'00"489 4. 8 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'54"678 + 0'01"101 5. 7 HILL Jordan Mugen-Hond 1'54"892 + 0'01"315 6. 6 R.SCHUM' Williams Supertec 1'54"899 + 0'01"322 7. 17 HERBERT Stewart Ford 1'54"975 + 0'01"398 8. 3 SALO Ferrari 1'55"032 + 0'01"455 9. 4 IRVINE Ferrari 1'55"242 + 0'01"665 10. 11 ALESI Sauber Petronas 1'55"271 + 0'01"694 11. 16 BARRICHELLO Stewart Ford 1'55"484 + 0'01"907 12. 10 WURZ Benetton Playlife 1'55"486 + 0'01"909 13. 18 PANIS Prost Peugeot 1'55"541 + 0'01"964 14. 5 ZANARDI Williams Supertec 1'55"743 + 0'02"166 15. 20 BADOER Minardi Ford 1'56"090 + 0'02"513 16. 15 TAKAGI Arrows TWR 1'56"263 + 0'02"686 17. 12 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1'56"310 + 0'02"733 18. 22 VILLENEUVE BAR Supertec 1'56"429 + 0'02"852 19. 14 DE LA ROSA Arrows TWR 1'56"749 + 0'03"172 20. 19 TRULLI Prost Peugeot 1'56"765 + 0'03"188 21. 21 GENE Minardi Ford 1'56"855 + 0'03"278 22. 23 ZONTA BAR Supertec 1'57"717 + 0'04"14 |
27 August 1999 Fisichella and Wurz have both been confirmed at Benetton for next year. Benetton is also keeping an option on both drivers for the 2001 season.
27 August 1999 F3000 champion Nick Heidfield has signed a contract with Prost for next season. Heidfield has worked as test driver for McLaren for the last three years.
26 August 1999 Mika Salo has signed a two-year contract with Sauber. The Finn will replace Jean Alesi who is moving to Prost.
26 August 1999 Trulli has signed a two-year contract with Jordan, replacing Damon Hill.
25 August 1999 The circuit at Zhuhai requires extensive changes to the pit area, work for which has not yet begun. Circuit boss Joe Lim is still optimistic for the GP of China to be included in next year's calendar.
25 August 1999 Eddie Jordan is expected to announce officially today that Jarno Trulli will replace Damon Hill at Jordan after the British ex-World Champion retires at the end of the season.
24 August 1999 Jean Alesi today announced at Guyancourt that next year he will race for Prost. The deal is rumoured to be worth around 10 million dollars.
24 August 1999 Ferrari has announced that M. Schumacher will not race at Spa. Next week the German driver will simulate a GP at Monza to get ready for the Italian GP.
23 August 1999 M. Schumacher has said that he wants to race in Belgium. Ferrari have left it up to him and his doctors to decide whether to race on Sunday. Tomorrow or Wednesday he will undergo another medical test by professor Gerard Saillant. If, following the medical test, he decides to come back for the Belgian GP, he will still have to get official permission from ADAC, the German motorsport association which gave him his racing driver licence, and from F1 doctor Sydney Watkins.
20 August 1999 M. Schumacher today at Mugello completed a total of 65 laps, the last 20 of which in one session. His best time was 1'28"379, better than Irvine (1'28"94) and Salo (1'28"705) had done yesterday.
19 August 1999 M. Schumacher underwent a new medical test today. Following the test the doctors have decided that he is fit to drive again and from tomorrow he will be testing at Mugello.
15 August 1999 Hakkinen and Coulthard brought home a one-two for McLaren in Hungary after Irvine made a mistake in the final stages of the GP and lost his second position. The Irishman finished third, just managing to retain the lead of the Drivers Championship for himself and that of the Constructors Championship for Ferrari. Frentzen was fourth, Barrichello fifth and Hill sixth.
14 August 1999 Hakkinen took his ninth pole position in 11 races when he clocked the fastest qualifying time for the Hungarian GP, in front of Irvine, Coulthard, Fisichella, Frentzen and Hill. Mika Salo was only 18th.
The qualifying times:
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1 M.Hakkinen FIN McLaren 1'18"156 (average km/h 183.003) 2 E.Irvine IRL Ferrari 1'18"263 3 D.Coulthard SCO McLaren 1'18"384 4 G.Fisichella ITA Benetton 1'18"515 5 H.H.Frentzen GER Jordan 1'18"664 6 D.Hill ENG Jordan 1'18"667 7 A.Wurz AUT Benetton 1'18"733 8 R.Barrichello BRA Stewart 1'19"095 9 J.Villeneuve CAN BAR 1'19"127 10 J.Herbert ENG Stewart 1'19"389 12 P.P.Diniz BRA Sauber 1'19"782 13 J.Trulli ITA Prost 1'19"788 14 O.Panis FRA Prost 1'19"841 15 A.Zanardi ITA Williams 1'19"924 16 R.Schumacher GER Williams 1'19"945 17 R.Zonta BRA BAR 1'20"060 18 Mika Salo FIN Ferrari 1'20"369 19 L.Badoer ITA Minardi 1'20"961 20 P.De La Rosa SPA Arrows 1'21"328 21 T.Takagi JPN Arrows 1'21"675 22 M.Gené SPA Minardi 1'21"867 |
14 august 1999 Gianni Agnelli said that the doctors have stated that M. Schumacher will be fit for driving at the Italian GP on the 12th of September.
14 August 1999 Jean Alesi is rumoured to have signed a two year contract with Prost, starting from the 2000 season.
14 August 1999 Hakkinen was fastest in the Saturday free practice session ahead of team mate Coulthard, Frentzen, Herbert, Barrichello and Villeneuve. Current Championship leader Irvine only clocked the eleventh time after he spun out.
The Friday practice times:
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1 HAKKINEN McLaren Mercedes 1m18.219s 2 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 1m18.890s 3 FRENTZEN Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m19.012s 4 HERBERT Stewart Ford 1m19.164s 5 BARRICHELLO Stewart Ford 1m19.186s 6 VILLENEUVE BAR Supertec 1m19.332s 7 HILL Jordan Mugen-Honda 1m19.356s 8 TRULLI Prost Peugeot 1m19.518s 9 FISICHELLA Benetton Supertec 1m19.641s 10 WURZ Benetton Supertec 1m19.715s 11 IRVINE Ferrari 1m19.817s 12 R.SCHUMACHER Williams Supertec 1m19.825s 13 PANIS Prost Peugeot 1m19.920s 14 ZANARDI Williams Supertec 1m19.926s 15 SALO Ferrari 1m20.139s 16 ZONTA BAR Supertec 1m20.152s 17 ALESI Sauber Petronas 1m20.323s 18 DINIZ Sauber Petronas 1m20.342s 19 TAKAGI Arrows TWR 1m21.398s 20 GENE Minardi Ford 1m21.523s 21 BADOER Minardi Ford 1m21.568s 22 DE LA ROSA Arrows TWR 1m22.213s |
14 August 1999 Jean Alesi suffered a minor injury to his ankle when he hit the barrier after spinning due to a come-together with an Arrows. The Frenchman came out of his car limping and was flown to the hospital by helycopter, but was back before the end of the practice session with visible bandage to his right foot.
13 August 1999 Sauber will use Ferrari's engines again next year. The official deal was signed today.
13 August 1999 Irvine clocked the fastest time in the Friday practice, ahead of McLaren duo Hakkinen and Coulthard, then Barrichello, Salo and Frentzen.
The Friday practice times:
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1) Eddie Irvine (IRL) Ferrari 1'19"476 2) Mika Hakkinen (FIN) McLaren Mercedes 1'19"792 3) David Coulthard (SCO) McLaren Mercedes 1'20"117 4) Rubens Barrichello (BRA) Stewart Ford CW 1'20"547 5) Mika Salo (FIN) Ferrari 1'20"989 6) Heinz-Harald Frentzen (GER) Jordan Mugen Honda 1'21"185 7) Alessandro Zanardi (ITA) Williams SuperTec 1'21"251 8) Alexander Wurz (AUT) Benetton SuperTec 1'21"456 9) Ralf Schumacher (GER) Williams SuperTec 1'21"481 10) Johnny Herbert (GBR) Stewart Ford CW 1'21"486 11) Jacques Villeneuve (CAN) Bar SuperTec 1'21"504 12) Olivier Panis (FRA) Prost Peugeot 1'21"525 13) Luca Badoer (ITA) Minardi Ford ZetecR 1'21"635 14) giancarlo Fisichella (ITA) Benetton SuperTec 1'21"673 15) Jean Alesi (FRA) Sauber Petronas 1'22"009 16) Damon Hill (GBR) Jordan Mugen Honda 1'22"182 17) Ricardo Zonta (BRA) Bar SuperTec 1'22"290 18) Jarno trulli (ITA) Prost Peugeot 1'22"360 19) Marc Gené (SPA) Minardi Ford ZetecR 1'22"380 20) Pedro Paolo Diniz (BRA) Sauber Petronas 1'23"096 21) Toranosuke Takagi (JPN) Arrows 1'23"216 22) Pedro De la Rosa (SPA) Arrows 1'24"064 |
13 August 1999 Villeneuve will driver for BAR next year, Pollock said today. Whether Zonta satys on will be decided next week.
12 August 1999 Irvine has denied making the statements against Ferrari and M. Schumacher reported in the Italian Catholic magazine "Famiglia Cristiana".
11 August 1999 German magazine "Auto, motor und Sport" reports that Alain Prost might start a technical cooperation with Mclaren. The cooperation would start from the year 2001. The reason for the technical deal would be the problems Prost is having with current partner Peugeot.
11 August 1999 Irvine has threatened to leave Ferrari if he is asked to act as second driver again next year. Irvine added that speed is not enough, not making mistakes is important and M. Schumacher makes too many mistakes.
10 August 1999 Bridgestone has still not given an official explanation of what cause Hakkinen's tyre to explode during the German GP.
10 August 1999 Ross Brawn said that they still do not know what caused M. Schumacher's accident. They know that the fluid came out of the braking system due to a loose screw, but they are still unable to explain how and why the screw became loose. They are excluding that it might have been a human error. Brawn commented that they have somehow "made a mess".
8 August 1999 Montezemolo said that, when M. Schumacher comes back to racing this year, he will have to do whatever Ferrari tells him to, including acting as second driver. Montezemolo added that when the ex-World Champion comes back, proably at Monza, there will be no chance for him to win the Championship and the important thing at that stage will be to ensure Ferrari's victory. Drivers must follow orders, he concluded, and M. Schumacher will do just that. He will be at Ferrari's service.
7 August 1999 Irvine said that he has already decided what to do next year and told his manager. Since his manager is on holiday for the rest of the month, the decision will be made public in September.
6 August 1999 The doctors who visited M. Schumacher have excluded that he could come back to racing now. The doctors have also decided to operate on M. Schuamcher's leg again to modify the plate which is holding his bone together. The operation might allow M. Schumacher to be back by teh Italian GP.
5 August 1999 Ford has denied the rumour that a deal has been reached with current Drivers Championship leader Irvine for next year.
3 August 1999 Luca di Montezemolo has said that it is necessary to understand Irvine's motivation to stay on at Ferrari and his expectations before planning the future. He pointed out that last year the Irish driver was already unsure on whether to stay or go. He added that at the moment they have to think about the present and that an announcement will be made before the Italian GP.
3 August 1999 On Friday M. Schumacher will undergo a number of medical tests to assess whether he is fit to return to racing. In case of a positve outcome of the tests, he might be testing as early as Saturday. The driver himself said that he thinks his chances of testing on Saturday are only about 5%.
1 August 1999 Eddie Irvine and Mika Salo brought home a Ferrari one-two in the German GP after Hakkinen suffered mechanical problems that caused a dramatic accident from which he luckily came out unhurt. Coulthard was delayed first by losing part of his front wing after hitting Salo's car from behind, then by a 10 seconds stop-go penalty for gaining a position by cutting a corner. The Scot managed to work his way back to fifth place to give McLaren two points. Frentzen kept up with the leaders throughout the race to finish third followed by R. Schumacher. Panis was sixth. With today result Irvine has overtaken Hakkinen positioning himself in the lead of the Drivers Championship, while Ferrari's advantage over McLaren in the Constructors Championship has increased to 16 points.
The finishing times:
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1.Eddie Irvine (Gbr-Ferrari) 1h21'58"594 (ave: 224,723 km/h) 2.Mika Salo (Fin/Ferrari) +1.007 3.Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger/Jordan-Mugen Honda) +5.195 4.Ralf Schumacher (Ger/Williams-Supertec) +12.809 5.David Coulthard (Gbr/Mclaren-Mercedes) +16.823 6.Olivier Panis (Fra/Prost-Peugeot) +29.879 7.Alexander Wurz (Aut/Benetton-Supertec) +33.3 8.Jean Alesi (Fra/Sauber-Petronas) +1:09.3 9.Marc Gené (Spa/Minardi-Ford) +1 lap 10.Luca Badoer (Ita/Minardi-Ford) +1 lap 11.Johnny Herbert (Gbr/Stewart-Ford) +5 laps |
1 August 1999 Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard have signed new deals with McLaren for the 2000 season.
Last updated on
by Federica Massagrande