The 1999 Formula One season was classic McLaren vs Ferrari – the two greatest teams in the sport’s long history going wheel-to-wheel season long as they fought for the two titles. Whilst the main protagonist from the red corner from the clear number one to the number two midway through the season as Michael Schumacher broke his leg at Silverstone, errors from reigning champion Mika Hakkinen, and a rise in form for the second Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine cost himself what could have been a strong championship lead. With four drivers representing three teams realistically having a shot at a title after 12 of the 16 races that season, it was wide open as the teams and drivers headed to the penultimate European race of the season – at the Cathedral of Speed: Monza – the home of the 1999 Italian Grand Prix.
Hakkinen led by a single point heading into the race from Irvine, with the second McLaren of David Coulthard 14 points behind Hakkinen in third place. The surprise package however was Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Jordan – a combination which won at Magny Cours, in fourth place in the championship, 20 points behind the Finn. The battle was close in the Constructors’ Championship too, with nine points separating McLaren and Ferrari. Prior to the race, it was announced that the Brazilian driver Rubens Barrichello would be replacing Irvine at Ferrari for 2000. Irvine would go the other way, heading to the Jaguar team.
Qualifying saw Hakkinen take yet another pole position, ahead of Frentzen and Coulthard. The two Williams of Alex Zanardi and Ralf Schumacher lined up behind, ahead of Michael Schumacher’s replacement – Mika Salo. Barrichello lined up ahead of the driver he would replace for 2000, despite being in inferior machinery.
The conditions were very hot, with temperatures reaching up to 30 degrees on race day. Hakkinen led from the start with Zanardi rocketing up into second place. Further back, the tight Monza chicanes claimed another first-lap victim – this time it was Marc Gene’s Minardi as he hit one of the Arrows. The hot conditions meant that attrition was high as many of the cars and drivers struggled – Giancarlo Fisichella, Pedro Diniz, Alex Wurz, Luca Badoer and Ricardo Zonta were all out before the halfway point of the race. Towards the front of the field, Hakkinen led comfortably whilst Frentzen made his way past Zanardi who dropped back in the race. Irvine was making very little progress, to the disappointment of the Tifosi. Coulthard dropped back behind Barrichello and the Brazilian was brilliantly able to hold back the Scottish driver.
The second half of the race saw one of the most incredible moments of the season as Mika Hakkinen – in a similar manner to Ayrton Senna 11 years ago at the same track, spun his car from a clear lead into the Variante del Rettifilo, and had to retire. The Finn had selected a gear too low, locked the brakes, and that was his race run. Hakkinen hopped over the barriers, and began to cry his eyes out – a very rare sign of emotion from an otherwise typical Finnish personality. This gave Frentzen the lead, and he would not look back.
Despite a late challenge from the younger Schumacher, Frentzen held on to take Jordan’s first and only dry Grand Prix race victory, and to narrow the gap to Hakkinen in the championship to just ten points. Schumacher finished second ahead of Salo in the Ferrari – giving the Tifosi at least something to cheer about. Barrichello held off Coulthard for fourth ahead of Irvine, almost half a minute behind Frentzen. Zanardi dropped out of the points into seventh, ahead of Jacques Villeneuve’s BAR, Jean Alesi’s Sauber and Damon Hill’s Jordan in a race where just ten cars finished.
This left the championship in a situation where the top four were separated by just 12 points, with 30 on the table. At the next round at Nurburgring, a crazy race would see yet another abnormal result, before Schumacher returned for the final two rounds of the year.
Race highlights can be found here (UK only)
Main image:
