The 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship was contested over 16 Grands Prix, beginning on 7 March and concluding on 31 October.
Season
The championship once again belonged to Mika Häkkinen, who successfully defended his World Drivers’ Championship title after winning the crown the previous year. Driving for McLaren, Häkkinen secured his second consecutive championship following a season-long battle that extended to the final race. Despite Häkkinen’s success in the Drivers’ Championship, McLaren narrowly missed out on the Constructors’ title.
Instead, the Constructors’ Championship was won by Ferrari, who finished the season four points ahead of McLaren. The victory was historically significant for the Italian team, marking Ferrari’s first Constructors’ Championship since 1983. It also marked the beginning of a dominant era for the team, as the 1999 title was the first of six consecutive Constructors’ Championships Ferrari would win between 1999 and 2004.
Häkkinen’s triumph would also become an important milestone in F1 history. His 1999 title remained the most recent Drivers’ Championship won by a McLaren driver until Lewis Hamilton secured the championship in 2008, nearly a decade later.
Further down the grid, the season proved extremely difficult for the newly formed British American Racing (BAR) team. Entering the championship with considerable anticipation and backed by major sponsorship, BAR signed 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve as their lead driver. However, the team endured a disastrous debut campaign. Despite high expectations, BAR failed to score a single point throughout the season, making them the only team on the grid not to score a point.
The 1999 season also marked the final Formula One campaign for 1996 World Champion Damon Hill. After a long and successful career that included multiple race victories and a world title, Hill retired from the sport at the end of the season, bringing his time in Formula One to a close.
1999 F1 Entries Drivers and Teams
| Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | No. | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West McLaren Mercedes | McLaren-Mercedes | MP4/14 | Mercedes FO110H | 1 | Mika Häkkinen | All |
| 2 | David Coulthard | All | ||||
| Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro | Ferrari | F399 | Ferrari Tipo 048 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | 1–8, 15–16 |
| Mika Salo | 9–14 | |||||
| 4 | Eddie Irvine | All | ||||
| Winfield Williams | Williams-Supertec | FW21 | Supertec FB01 | 5 | Alessandro Zanardi | All |
| 6 | Ralf Schumacher | All | ||||
| Benson and Hedges Jordan | Jordan-Mugen-Honda | 199 | Mugen-Honda MF-301HD | 7 | Damon Hill | All |
| 8 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | All | ||||
| Mild Seven Benetton Playlife | Benetton-Playlife | B199 | Playlife FB01 | 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella | All |
| 10 | Alexander Wurz | All | ||||
| Red Bull Sauber Petronas | Sauber-Petronas | C18 | Petronas SPE-03A | 11 | Jean Alesi | All |
| 12 | Pedro Diniz | All | ||||
| Repsol Arrows F1 Team | Arrows | A20 | Arrows A20E | 14 | Pedro de la Rosa | All |
| 15 | Toranosuke Takagi | All | ||||
| HSBC Stewart Ford | Stewart-Ford | SF3 | Ford CR-1 | 16 | Rubens Barrichello | All |
| 17 | Johnny Herbert | All | ||||
| Gauloises Prost Peugeot | Prost-Peugeot | AP02 | Peugeot A18 | 18 | Olivier Panis | All |
| 19 | Jarno Trulli | All | ||||
| Fondmetal Minardi Team | Minardi-Ford | M01 | Ford VJM1 Zetec-R Ford VJM2 Zetec-R | 20 | Luca Badoer | 1, 3–16 |
| Stéphane Sarrazin | 2 | |||||
| 21 | Marc Gené | All | ||||
| British American Racing | BAR-Supertec | 01 | Supertec FB01 | 22 | Jacques Villeneuve | All |
| 23 | Ricardo Zonta | 1–2, 6–16 | ||||
| Mika Salo | 3–5 |
1999 Formula 1 Race Calendar
1999 Formula 1 Race Results
Grands Prix
1999 Formula 1 Standings
Driver standings
| Pos | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mika Hakkinen | FIN | McLaren Mercedes | 76 |
| 2 | Eddie Irvine | GBR | Ferrari | 74 |
| 3 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | GER | Jordan Mugen Honda | 54 |
| 4 | David Coulthard | GBR | McLaren Mercedes | 48 |
| 5 | Michael Schumacher | GER | Ferrari | 44 |
| 6 | Ralf Schumacher | GER | Williams Supertec | 35 |
| 7 | Rubens Barrichello | BRA | Stewart Ford | 21 |
| 8 | Johnny Herbert | GBR | Stewart Ford | 15 |
| 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella | ITA | Benetton Playlife | 13 |
| 10 | Mika Salo | FIN | Ferrari | 10 |
| 11 | Jarno Trulli | ITA | Prost Peugeot | 7 |
| 12 | Damon Hill | GBR | Jordan Mugen Honda | 7 |
| 13 | Alexander Wurz | AUT | Benetton Playlife | 3 |
| 14 | Pedro Diniz | BRA | Sauber Petronas | 3 |
| 15 | Olivier Panis | FRA | Prost Peugeot | 2 |
| 16 | Jean Alesi | FRA | Sauber Petronas | 2 |
| 17 | Pedro de la Rosa | ESP | Arrows | 1 |
| 18 | Marc Gene | ESP | Minardi Ford | 1 |
Team standings
| Pos | Team | PTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 128 |
| 2 | McLaren Mercedes | 124 |
| 3 | Jordan Mugen Honda | 61 |
| 4 | Stewart Ford | 36 |
| 5 | Williams Supertec | 35 |
| 6 | Benetton Playlife | 16 |
| 7 | Prost Peugeot | 9 |
| 8 | Sauber Petronas | 5 |
| 9 | Minardi Ford | 1 |
| 10 | Arrows | 1 |
