1999 German Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ferrari claimed a one-two finish in the German Grand Prix at Hockenheimring, with Eddie Irvine winning ahead of Mika Salo. Mika Häkkinen’s race ended in a heavy accident after a tyre failure, allowing Eddie Irvine to take the championship lead.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Pole time	1:42.950
Fastest lap	David Coulthard	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:45.270 on lap 43
First	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari
Second	Mika Salo	Ferrari
Third	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
30 July 1999	Practice 1	11:00
30 July 1999	Practice 2	13:00
31 July 1999	Practice 3	09:00
31 July 1999	Practice 4	10:15
31 July 1999	Qualifying	13:00
1 August 1999	Warm-up	09:30
1 August 1999	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Mika Häkkinen arrived at round 10 leading the 1999 F1 World Championship on 44 points, with Eddie Irvine on 42. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 74 points.

Race entries

Mika Salo continued alongside Eddie Irvine at Ferrari while Michael Schumacher recovered. The remaining teams retained their drivers, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher among those looking for a strong result in front of their home supporters.

Free Practice

Eddie Irvine set the fastest time in opening practice despite spinning at the Ostkurve and stalling. Mika Salo followed in second as Ferrari tried a revised rear wing. Heinz-Harald Frentzen crashed on his first lap and needed rear-wing repairs, while Ricardo Zonta suffered engine trouble. Williams was concerned about straight-line speed on a circuit dominated by its long forest straights.

Jarno Trulli used fresh tyres to put Prost on top in the afternoon, ahead of Eddie Irvine, who kept his earlier set. Sauber had a difficult session: Jean Alesi did not run while the team investigated its brakes, and a rear-suspension problem restricted Pedro Diniz. Both BAR drivers lost time to mechanical problems, while Luca Badoer and Pedro de la Rosa suffered engine failures.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

1999 German Grand Prix opening-day practice, 30 July 1999

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	1:45.677	33
2	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+0.548s	22
3	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+0.566s	32
4	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.734s	28
5	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+0.741s	31
6	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	+0.839s	31
7	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	+0.865s	32
8	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.174s	33
9	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.182s	35
10	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+1.189s	28
11	21	Marc Gene	Minardi	+1.236s	34
12	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	+1.366s	32
13	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+1.657s	23
14	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	+1.836s	16
15	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+1.836s	21
16	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+1.874s	9
17	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+2.125s	24
18	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	+2.308s	20
19	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+3.276s	23
20	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	+3.301s	20
21	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	+3.382s	26
22	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	+3.530s	27

Häkkinen produced an early quick lap on fresh tyres during Saturday practice, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen also showing strong pace. Johnny Herbert‘s preparation was interrupted by an electrical problem that kept him out for much of the first session. Ferrari continued working on balance, with Eddie Irvine finding the car less comfortable after setup changes.

Damon Hill went fastest late in the morning, but Johnny Herbert suffered a frightening rear-wing failure and crashed heavily at the first chicane. Luca Badoer also hit the barrier under braking. Häkkinen lost some running while McLaren reset a gearbox-related electronic problem, and David Coulthard concentrated on race preparation rather than chasing the quickest lap.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

1999 German Grand Prix Saturday practice, 31 July 1999

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	1:43.918	28
2	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.083s	24
3	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+0.201s	23
4	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+0.224s	24
5	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	+0.524s	30
6	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.608s	24
7	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+0.777s	26
8	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+0.808s	27
9	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	+0.921s	25
10	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+0.942s	27
11	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+1.042s	21
12	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.510s	29
13	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.733s	29
14	21	Marc Gene	Minardi	+1.733s	19
15	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	+1.791s	29
16	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	+1.920s	33
17	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	+1.976s	17
18	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.238s	22
19	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	+2.306s	21
20	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+2.625s	14
21	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	+2.814s	18
22	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	+571.766s	5

Each practice table combines that day’s two sessions, showing each driver’s best time and total laps.

Qualifying

Häkkinen took pole with a 1:42.950, but Heinz-Harald Frentzen came within a twentieth of a second of denying him. David Coulthard qualified third, while Mika Salo impressed with fourth on his second Ferrari appearance. Eddie Irvine started fifth, leaving his temporary team-mate between him and the leading McLaren.

Rubens Barrichello secured sixth for Stewart, followed by Olivier Panis and Damon Hill. Heinz-Harald Frentzen‘s front-row place gave the home crowd plenty to cheer and positioned Jordan to challenge McLaren from the start. Ferrari, meanwhile, had both cars close enough to capitalise if the race changed shape.

Qualifying Classification

1999 German Grand Prix Qualifying, 31 July 1999

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:42.950	11
2	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	1:43.000	11
3	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:43.288	12
4	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	1:43.577	11
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:43.769	11
6	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	1:43.938	12
7	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	1:43.979	12
8	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	1:44.001	12
9	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	1:44.209	10
10	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:44.338	11
11	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	1:44.468	12
12	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	1:44.508	10
13	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	1:44.522	11
14	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	1:45.034	12
15	21	Marc Gené	Minardi	1:45.331	12
16	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	1:45.335	12
17	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	1:45.454	11
18	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	1:45.460	12
19	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	1:45.917	12
20	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	1:45.935	12
21	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	1:45.962	12
22	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	1:46.209	12

Sunday warm-up

David Coulthard topped the warm-up, while Prost again showed encouraging pace with Olivier Panis second and Jarno Trulli fourth. Johnny Herbert returned to complete fourteen laps after his Saturday accident. Both Ferraris also completed twelve laps before a race in which tyre behaviour and the timing of the fuel stops would prove crucial.

Warm-up Classification

1999 German Grand Prix Warm-up, 1 August 1999

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:45.557	12
2	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	+0.231s	12
3	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.384s	9
4	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+0.827s	13
5	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.170s	11
6	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	+1.247s	14
7	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.339s	13
8	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+1.402s	11
9	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.447s	12
10	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+1.632s	13
11	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+1.702s	10
12	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	+1.790s	12
13	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.817s	14
14	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+1.830s	13
15	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+1.840s	10
16	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+2.023s	13
17	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	+2.236s	12
18	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	+2.422s	13
19	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	+2.770s	11
20	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	+2.977s	9
21	21	Marc Gene	Minardi	+3.192s	11
22	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	+3.243s	13

What happened in the 1999 German Grand Prix?

Häkkinen led away, while Mika Salo moved ahead of David Coulthard and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. David Coulthard later damaged his front wing against Mika Salo‘s Ferrari and lost further time with a penalty after passing Olivier Panis off the circuit. Eddie Irvine gained ground through the pit-stop sequence as the race began to swing towards Ferrari.

A refuelling problem delayed Häkkinen’s stop, and a subsequent tyre failure sent him crashing into the barriers. Mika Salo was in position to claim his first Grand Prix victory, but moved aside for Eddie Irvine to support Ferrari‘s championship challenge. Eddie Irvine then led home his team-mate for an important one-two finish.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed the podium, followed by Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard and Olivier Panis. Eddie Irvine left Hockenheim eight points clear of Häkkinen in the drivers’ championship. Mika Salo‘s second place was his first Formula 1 podium, achieved while playing a decisive supporting role for Ferrari.

After the race, Eddie Irvine headed the drivers’ standings with 52 points, followed by Mika Häkkinen on 44. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 90, with McLaren on 74.

1999 German Grand Prix race results

The 1999 German Grand Prix was held on 1 August 1999, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	45	1:21:58.594	10
2	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	45	+ 1.007	6
3	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	45	+ 5.195	4
4	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	45	+ 12.809	3
5	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	45	+ 16.823	2
6	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	45	+ 29.879	1
7	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	45	+ 33.333	0
8	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	45	+ 1:11.291	0
9	21	Marc Gené	Minardi	45	+ 1:48.318	0
10	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	44	+ 1 Lap	0
11	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	40	Gearbox	0
Ret	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	37	Accident	0
Ret	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	25	Tyre/Accident	0
Ret	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	21	Differential	0
Ret	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	20	Engine	0
Ret	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	15	Engine	0
Ret	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	13	Brakes	0
Ret	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	10	Engine	0
Ret	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	7	Suspension	0
Ret	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	6	Hydraulics	0
Ret	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	0	Collision	0
Ret	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	0	Collision	0

1999 German Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	43	1:45.270	233.331
2	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	20	1:46.823	229.939
3	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	6	1:47.433	228.633
4	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	17	1:47.619	228.238
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	17	1:47.687	228.094
6	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	5	1:47.785	227.886
7	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	5	1:47.788	227.880
8	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	4	1:47.945	227.549
9	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	29	1:48.083	227.258
10	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	4	1:48.334	226.732
11	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	29	1:48.408	226.577
12	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	44	1:48.455	226.479
13	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	9	1:48.925	225.501
14	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	14	1:49.179	224.977
15	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	6	1:49.285	224.759
16	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	5	1:49.835	223.633
17	21	Marc Gene	Minardi	28	1:49.894	223.513
18	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	28	1:49.942	223.415
19	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	6	1:50.286	222.719
20	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	14	1:50.534	222.219

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

1999 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1999 German Grand Prix.

1999 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Eddie Irvine	British	Ferrari	52
2	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	44
3	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Jordan	33
4	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	32
5	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	30
6	Ralf Schumacher	German	Williams	22
7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	13
8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Stewart	10
9	Mika Salo	Finnish	BAR / Ferrari	6
10	Damon Hill	British	Jordan	5
11	Alexander Wurz	Austrian	Benetton	3
12	Pedro Diniz	Brazilian	Sauber	3
13	Johnny Herbert	British	Stewart	2
14	Olivier Panis	French	Prost	2
15	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Prost	1
16	Jean Alesi	French	Sauber	1
17	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Arrows	1
–	Toranosuke Takagi	Japanese	Arrows	0
–	Marc Gené	Spanish	Minardi	0
–	Luca Badoer	Italian	Minardi	0
–	Alessandro Zanardi	Italian	Williams	0
–	Ricardo Zonta	Brazilian	BAR	0
–	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	BAR	0
–	Stéphane Sarrazin	French	Minardi	0

1999 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	90
2	McLaren	74
3	Jordan	38
4	Williams	22
5	Benetton	16
6	Stewart	12
7	Sauber	4
8	Prost	3
9	Arrows	1
–	BAR	0
–	Minardi	0

1999 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1999 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	7 March
2	1999 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	11 April
3	1999 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	2 May
4	1999 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	16 May
5	1999 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	30 May
6	1999 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	13 June
7	1999 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	27 June
8	1999 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	11 July
9	1999 Austrian Grand Prix	A1-Ring, Spielberg	25 July
10	1999 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	1 August
11	1999 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	15 August
12	1999 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	29 August
13	1999 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	12 September
14	1999 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	26 September
15	1999 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	17 October
16	1999 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	31 October