1999 Hungarian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Mika Häkkinen answered Ferrari‘s recent run of success with victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring. David Coulthard completed a McLaren one-two after passing Eddie Irvine, cutting the Ferrari driver’s championship lead to just two points.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Pole time	1:18.156
Fastest lap	David Coulthard	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:20.699 on lap 69
First	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren
Second	David Coulthard	McLaren
Third	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

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

Eddie Irvine arrived at round 11 leading the 1999 F1 World Championship on 52 points, with Mika Häkkinen on 44. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 90 points.

Race entries

The same twenty-two drivers continued, with Mika Salo again deputising for Michael Schumacher at Ferrari. Benetton arrived with aerodynamic changes developed in testing, while Williams also had revised bodywork to evaluate on a circuit very different from Hockenheim.

Free Practice

A dusty surface kept several leading drivers in the garage for much of opening practice. Häkkinen completed only seven laps but still went fastest, recovering from a spin on his first flying lap. Ferrari checked a modified version of its Monaco aerodynamic package, while Jacques Villeneuve‘s session ended after five laps when he became stranded in the gravel.

Light rain made the afternoon slippery, and Häkkinen spun into the gravel under braking for the chicane. Eddie Irvine stayed out to claim the fastest time near the end. Damon Hill damaged his Jordan in the final corner, while Jarno Trulli crashed heavily at the chicane. Johnny Herbert‘s running ended early with a rear-brake problem.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

1999 Hungarian Grand Prix opening-day practice, 13 August 1999

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:19.476	25
2	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.246s	19
3	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.641s	28
4	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.071s	32
5	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	+1.513s	31
6	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+1.709s	30
7	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	+1.775s	33
8	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.980s	34
9	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+2.005s	29
10	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	+2.010s	21
11	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+2.028s	29
12	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	+2.049s	34
13	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+2.159s	39
14	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.197s	30
15	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.533s	40
16	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	+2.706s	21
17	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	+2.814s	39
18	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+2.884s	25
19	21	Marc Gene	Minardi	+2.904s	33
20	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	+3.620s	17
21	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	+3.740s	25
22	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	+4.588s	37

Jean Alesi crashed heavily in the first Saturday session while avoiding Pedro de la Rosa‘s slow-moving Arrows. He went to hospital for checks on his ankle before returning to the circuit. Giancarlo Fisichella also lost morning running to a hospital visit, in his case to have a foreign body removed from an eye.

Häkkinen finished Saturday practice comfortably clear of David Coulthard, with the Stewarts showing encouraging speed on their newer Ford engines. Ferrari continued to conserve fresh tyres: Eddie Irvine would not try a new set until qualifying, while Mika Salo‘s morning performance on old rubber proved difficult to reproduce later. Jean Alesi returned to the paddock during the second session after his medical checks.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

1999 Hungarian Grand Prix Saturday practice, 14 August 1999

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	1:18.219	23
2	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.671s	28
3	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+0.793s	21
4	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	+0.945s	29
5	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+0.967s	26
6	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+1.113s	33
7	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.137s	34
8	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+1.299s	31
9	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.422s	16
10	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+1.496s	37
11	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+1.598s	17
12	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+1.606s	30
13	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	+1.701s	31
14	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	+1.707s	36
15	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	+1.920s	21
16	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	+1.933s	31
17	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+2.104s	8
18	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	+2.123s	40
19	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	+3.179s	29
20	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+3.304s	22
21	21	Marc Gene	Minardi	+3.349s	32
22	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	+3.994s	24

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

Qualifying

Häkkinen took pole with a 1:18.156, just over a tenth ahead of Eddie Irvine. His first run remained his best as traffic complicated later attempts. David Coulthard qualified third and Giancarlo Fisichella fourth, with Benetton‘s improved balance helping the Italian produce a strong result.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Damon Hill filled the third row. Late contact between Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Johnny Herbert left debris on the circuit and disrupted other drivers’ final runs. Mika Salo qualified only eighteenth after struggling to improve on his practice pace, leaving Eddie Irvine without nearby support from the second Ferrari.

Qualifying Classification

1999 Hungarian Grand Prix Qualifying, 14 August 1999

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:18.156	11
2	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:18.263	11
3	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:18.384	12
4	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:18.515	11
5	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	1:18.664	12
6	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	1:18.667	11
7	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	1:18.733	11
8	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	1:19.095	11
9	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	1:19.127	11
10	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	1:19.389	11
11	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	1:19.390	12
12	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	1:19.782	11
13	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	1:19.788	12
14	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	1:19.841	12
15	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	1:19.924	11
16	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	1:19.945	12
17	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	1:20.060	12
18	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	1:20.369	12
19	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	1:20.961	12
20	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	1:21.328	12
21	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	1:21.675	11
22	21	Marc Gené	Minardi	1:21.867	12

Sunday warm-up

The McLarens were closely matched in warm-up, with David Coulthard narrowly faster than Häkkinen and Heinz-Harald Frentzen close behind. Ralf Schumacher completed only three laps and recorded no representative time, an unhelpful final session after his difficult qualifying. Jean Alesi was back on track for fourteen laps following Saturday’s accident.

Warm-up Classification

1999 Hungarian Grand Prix Warm-up, 15 August 1999

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:20.420	14
2	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.015s	13
3	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+0.034s	18
4	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+0.284s	15
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	+0.663s	14
6	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	+0.663s	14
7	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	+0.734s	17
8	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+0.791s	15
9	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	+0.944s	18
10	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	+1.129s	18
11	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	+1.141s	15
12	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	+1.251s	15
13	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	+1.433s	15
14	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	+1.806s	13
15	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	+1.901s	12
16	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	+2.110s	16
17	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	+2.429s	14
18	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	+2.469s	11
19	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	+2.944s	11
20	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	+3.392s	14
21	21	Marc Gene	Minardi	+3.645s	14
22	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+226.860s	3

What happened in the 1999 Hungarian Grand Prix?

Häkkinen led from the start, while David Coulthard slipped behind Giancarlo Fisichella and Heinz-Harald Frentzen. McLaren‘s pit-stop strategy helped David Coulthard recover those places, and he then closed on Eddie Irvine. Up front, Häkkinen controlled the race and avoided the troubles that had spoiled several of his recent opportunities.

Eddie Irvine remained ahead after his second stop, but struggled with his tyres as David Coulthard applied pressure. A mistake at Turn 5 sent the Ferrari wide and allowed David Coulthard into second. Rubens Barrichello‘s one-stop strategy helped him take fifth, while Damon Hill secured the final point despite an engine air-pressure problem late in the race.

Häkkinen won ahead of David Coulthard, Eddie Irvine and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, with Rubens Barrichello and Damon Hill completing the scorers. The result reduced Eddie Irvine‘s advantage to two points and Ferrari‘s constructors’ lead to four. Jacques Villeneuve‘s run of retirements continued with clutch trouble, while Jean Alesi stopped with a fuel pick-up problem.

After the race, Eddie Irvine headed the drivers’ standings with 56 points, followed by Mika Häkkinen on 54. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 94, with McLaren on 90.

1999 Hungarian Grand Prix race results

The 1999 Hungarian Grand Prix was held on 15 August 1999, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	77	1:46:23.536	10
2	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	77	+ 9.706	6
3	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	77	+ 27.228	4
4	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	77	+ 31.815	3
5	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	77	+ 43.808	2
6	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	77	+ 55.726	1
7	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	77	+ 1:01.012	0
8	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	76	+ 1 Lap	0
9	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	76	+ 1 Lap	0
10	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	76	+ 1 Lap	0
11	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	76	+ 1 Lap	0
12	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	75	+ 2 Laps	0
13	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	75	+ 2 Laps	0
14	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	75	+ 2 Laps	0
15	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	75	+ 2 Laps	0
16	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	74	Fuel Pressure	0
17	21	Marc Gené	Minardi	74	+ 3 Laps	0
Ret	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	60	Clutch	0
Ret	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	52	Engine	0
Ret	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	26	Transmission	0
Ret	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	19	Spun Off	0
Ret	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	10	Differential	0

1999 Hungarian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	2	David Coulthard	McLaren	69	1:20.699	177.236
2	1	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	44	1:20.710	177.212
3	11	Jean Alesi	Sauber	45	1:20.830	176.949
4	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	71	1:20.991	176.597
5	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	62	1:21.010	176.555
6	7	Damon Hill	Jordan	31	1:21.180	176.186
7	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR	32	1:21.343	175.833
8	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	51	1:21.469	175.561
9	10	Alexander Wurz	Benetton	71	1:21.539	175.410
10	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart	38	1:21.707	175.049
11	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	48	1:21.745	174.968
12	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost	45	1:21.936	174.560
13	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	49	1:21.975	174.477
14	12	Pedro Diniz	Sauber	19	1:22.452	173.468
15	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart	70	1:22.455	173.461
16	18	Olivier Panis	Prost	59	1:22.587	173.184
17	3	Mika Salo	Ferrari	49	1:22.681	172.987
18	20	Luca Badoer	Minardi	45	1:23.456	171.381
19	14	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows	47	1:23.520	171.250
20	5	Alessandro Zanardi	Williams	7	1:24.297	169.671
21	21	Marc Gene	Minardi	28	1:24.807	168.651
22	15	Toranosuke Takagi	Arrows	11	1:25.483	167.317

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 Hungarian Grand Prix.

1999 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Eddie Irvine	British	Ferrari	56
2	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	54
3	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	36
4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Jordan	36
5	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	32
6	Ralf Schumacher	German	Williams	22
7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	13
8	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Stewart	12
9	Mika Salo	Finnish	BAR / Ferrari	6
10	Damon Hill	British	Jordan	6
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	94
2	McLaren	90
3	Jordan	42
4	Williams	22
5	Benetton	16
6	Stewart	14
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