1999 BAR Season

The 1999 BAR season was BAR's 1st season as a constructor, and used Supertec engines. Their season was overshadowed by unreliability which led to many retirements, especially from former World Champion Jacques Villeneuve who retired from the first 11 races of the year. They ended the season with no points, the only team to fail to score.
Additionally, the team's other racer Ricardo Zonta was out injured for three races after a practice accident at Interlagos whilst Mika Salo filled in. That same year, Salo later replaced Michael Schumacher at who was also injured.
==Race-by-race==
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In BAR's first qualifying, Villeneuve qualified 11th and Zonta 19th. In its first race, it looked as if Zonta would finish in a good position for the team's debut, but was forced to retire with a gearbox problem. An accident brought Villeneuve's race to a premature end after completing just 14 laps.
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In the run up to this race, Ricardo Zonta crashed into the wall and injured his foot during Saturday practice. It meant he would be out for three races, and BAR chose to replace him with Mika Salo. In the race, they only fielded the one car of Jacques Villeneuve who qualified 16th but his qualifying time was deleted and he was demoted to the back of the grid for using illegal fuel. In the race, he suffered a hydraulics issue on lap 49 and was forced to retire.
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Villeneuve managed to record BAR's best qualifying result this season by a qualifying time of 1:27.313, which placed his car 5th, the third row of the grid. BAR also recorded its first ever finish courtesy of Mika Salo in his first race deputising for the injured Zonta, even though he retired with an electrical problem with just three laps remaining. After a promising qualifying result from Villeneuve, disaster struck when Villeneuve suffered a gearbox failure and stalled on the grid before the first lap was even completed, causing his third retirement in as many races.
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Villeneuve suffered an oil leak on lap 32. Salo's brakes failed, causing an accident, on lap 36.
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For the first time in 1999, one of BAR's drivers crossed the finishing line, namely Mika Salo in his third and final race deputising for the injured Zonta, who finished 8th and recorded the team's first top 10 finish. He also recorded BAR's best finish this season, which was equalled by Villeneuve in Monza. Villeneuve once again suffered a failed gearbox on lap 40.
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Zonta, in his comeback race, spun off on lap 2, and Villeneuve hit the Wall of Champions on lap 34. He was one of three World Driver's Champions to strike Turn 13, earning it the "Wall of Champions" nickname.
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Zonta recorded his third finish of the season, by finishing in 9th place, but Villeneuve spun off the road after completing 25 laps.
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Another disappointing result from BAR-Supertec, when they suffered another double retirement, as Villeneuve retired with a halfshaft problem and Zonta with a suspension failure.
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Despite retiring with a broken clutch, Zonta was classified in 15th and last place.
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Villeneuve suffered a race-ending collision with ' Pedro Diniz on lap 1, forcing both of them into immediate retirement, while Zonta suffered a race-ending engine failure on lap 20.
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Villeneuve suffered the worst start to a season in his Formula One career, when he suffered 11 retirements in the first 11 races, a misfortune which has never again been repeated as of 2023. The Canadian was forced to retire after 60 laps with a clutch problem. Zonta was lapped twice on his way to 13th place.
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After 11 failures to finish out of 11 races, Jacques Villeneuve finished a race for the first time this season by finishing 15th.
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Finishing in 8th, Villeneuve recorded his best finish of the season and equalled BAR's best finish of the season which was accomplished by Mika Salo in Spain.
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In a chaotic race of attrition which saw many leading drivers retire, Villeneuve ran 5th in the later stages, and looked set to score BAR's first-ever points. Tragically, he suffered a heartbreaking retirement because of a broken clutch with five laps to go, which left the team devastated, but he was still classified in 10th. On a positive note, a lapped Zonta finished in 8th place, which made it the first time that both BAR-Supertecs were classified, despite losing two potential World Championship points.
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On lap 7, Zonta suffered an engine failure, then spun off. Then, on lap 49, Villeneuve suffered a race-ending hydraulic problem.
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After a dismal season which ended with the British outfit becoming the only team not to score any World Championship points in 1999, for the first time this season, both BAR drivers managed to reach the chequered flag. Villeneuve finished the race in 9th and Zonta in 12th, albeit a lap down.
==Notes==
* Salo later finished 10th in the championship after points scored whilst at .
Category:Team Reports
Category:BAR Team Reports