# 1999 German Grand Prix

The 1999 German Grand Prix (formally the Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 1999) 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.
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. 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
### Qualifying

| 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: ||||||

### Race

At 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.
| 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: ||||||||

## Championship standings after the race

| Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | Eddie Irvine | 52 |
| 2 | Mika Häkkinen | 44 |
| 3 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | 33 |
| 4 | Michael Schumacher | 32 |
| 5 | David Coulthard | 30 |
| Source: |||
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
| 1 | Ferrari | 90 |
| 2 | McLaren-Mercedes | 74 |
| 3 | Jordan-Mugen-Honda | 38 |
| 4 | Williams-Supertec | 22 |
| 5 | Benetton-Playlife | 16 |
| Source: |||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.