The GSOH - Round Two - 2011 vs 1999

[crmalcolm]

The next match of the GSOH bracket puts 2011 up against 1999.

Summaries from Wikipedia:

2011 - Defending World Champion Sebastian Vettel won the opening race of the season in Melbourne after qualifying on pole position by eight-tenths of a second. Lewis Hamilton finished in second place, and Russian driver Vitaly Petrov attained his maiden podium in third, with Renault hailing his dramatic off-season turn-around after a difficult debut season in 2010. At the opposite end of the grid, the Hispania F111 cars driven by Narain Karthikeyan and Vitantonio Liuzzi both failed to qualify as their qualifying times were both outside 107% of Vettel's fastest time in the first qualifying session. The Saubers of Sergio Pérez and Kamui Kobayashi were disqualified for a technical infringement when their cars failed a post-race scrutineering inspection.

Vettel continued his title defence in Malaysia, taking pole from Hamilton in the dying moments of the session by just one tenth of a second. Vettel went on to win the race by three seconds from Jenson Button, who also claimed second place in the points standings; with two wins, Vettel left Malaysia with twice as many points as the McLaren driver. Nick Heidfeld took Renault's second successive podium and Fernando Alonso made a mistake, making contact with Lewis Hamilton and forcing him to pit for a new front wing, and costing him a potential podium. Hamilton himself slipped down the order after changing to the harder prime tyres and struggling with grip.

Vettel once again took pole in China, whilst teammate Webber made a poor tyre choice and was eliminated from the first qualifying period for the first time since the 2009 Bahrain Grand Prix. Vettel made a poor start in the race and was quickly overcome by the McLarens of Button and Hamilton. Button and Vettel pitted together, but Button made a bizarre mistake, mistakenly pulling up in the Red Bull pits, and allowing Vettel to get back out onto the circuit in front of him. The lead changed several times as the race progressed before Vettel settled into position, but on deteriorating tyres, he was caught and passed by Hamilton four laps from the end. Having started in eighteenth position, Mark Webber recovered to achieve the third podium place.

Sebastian Vettel earned his fourth pole of the season in Turkey, becoming the first person to start the first four races on pole since Mika Häkkinen in 1999. Vettel led the race from the lights to the flag, ahead of Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, who gained Ferrari's first podium finish of the year. McLaren struggled with a series of slow pit stops, whilst the promise shown by Mercedes in qualifying was lost in the race when their cars were fuel-heavy and running on the harder prime tyre compound.

Mark Webber ended Vettel's run of consecutive pole positions at the Spanish Grand Prix, but it was fourth-starting Fernando Alonso that led the field into the first corner and through much of the early phase of the race. He was eventually overtaken in the pits by Vettel, and slipped down the order to finish a lap behind as Ferrari struggled with Pirelli's brand-new "extra hard" compound, which was specifically designed for endurance, but was two seconds per lap slower than the softer compounds used. Vettel went on to win the race, but Red Bull's one-second advantage in qualifying was gone by the race as Lewis Hamilton spent most of the final stint within one second of the lead. After making a poor start and slipping down to tenth place, Jenson Button used a three-stop strategy to recover to third place.

The Monaco Grand Prix was marred by a string of accidents throughout the weekend that saw two drivers hospitalised; Sergio Pérez crashed heavily at the Nouvelle Chicane in the final qualifying period and suffered a concussion, while Vitaly Petrov was briefly knocked unconscious in a five-car pile-up late in the race that saw the red flags waved and the race stopped for the first time since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix. Sebastian Vettel achieved both pole position and the race win ahead of Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button, who had been rapidly catching the race leaders at the time of the race stoppage.

Vettel took his sixth pole of the season in Montreal, with the race severely affected by rain. The early stages of the race saw Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton collide on the pit straight, and Button earning a drive-through penalty for speeding behind the safety car after it was deployed to retrieve the stricken McLaren of Hamilton. On lap twenty-five, the race was stopped for two hours in the face of a torrential downpour that made the circuit undriveable. When the race was finally resumed, a narrow dry line began to appear around the circuit, and Button began to work his way through the field, having run as low as twenty-first and last place after his penalty. With four laps to go, Button had passed Mark Webber and Michael Schumacher for second place and was catching Vettel at a rate that meant he would only catch the championship leader on the final lap. Vettel ran wide and off the dry line of the final lap of the race, handing Button the race win. Schumacher matched his best race result since returning to the sport, with a fourth place. At Sauber, Sergio Pérez elected not to compete after reporting that he felt unwell during the first practice session, and he was replaced by Pedro de la Rosa.

Pirelli's medium-compound tyre made its race debut in Valencia, which once again saw Vettel on pole. There was much speculation about the potential for the field to be shaken up by the introduction of engine mapping bans, but the reigning champion led for most of the race, ceding the lead only when called in to pit. He comfortably gained his sixth victory of the season when the leaders moved onto the medium compound tyres, with second-placed Fernando Alonso demonstrating that the Ferrari 150º Italia was unable to use the medium tyres as efficiently as the Red Bull RB7. With all twenty-four cars finishing the race, Hispania Racing's Narain Karthikeyan became the first man in the sport's history to finish a Grand Prix in twenty-fourth position as the race broke the record for the most classified finishers; the 2011 Chinese Grand Prix had previously seen twenty-three classified finishers.

Uncertainty over rule changes and exemptions concerning the use of off-throttle blown diffusers dominated off-track discussion at the British Grand Prix, though consensus within the media was that the issue did not directly affect the sport. Mark Webber started from pole position in the race; however, Sebastian Vettel took the lead on the first lap. A mistake from Red Bull Racing in the pits allowed Fernando Alonso to take control of the race, which he went on to win by sixteen seconds, his first victory since the 2010 Korean Grand Prix. Webber caught Vettel in the dying stages of the race, but was given a late team order to maintain his position, and the Australian finished third behind his teammate. Felipe Massa was similarly catching Lewis Hamilton, whose progress had been hampered by an order to conserve fuel, for fourth position and the two made contact in the penultimate corner on the last lap, forcing Massa to run wide over the finish line. Jenson Button fell from second to fifth place in the championship when a wheel nut was improperly attached to his car during his final stop, forcing his retirement from the race.

Webber achieved his second successive pole position in Germany, while Hamilton denied Red Bull a front-row lock-out by qualifying second. Vettel was third, the first time he had qualified outside the front row since the 2010 Italian Grand Prix almost one year previously. Hamilton took the lead going into the first corner of the race, and the early stages of the Grand Prix were marked by the drivers attempting to find grip on an unusually cold circuit. As Hamilton, Alonso and Webber pulled away, Vettel struggled to match their pace following a spin at turn ten. Michael Schumacher had an identical episode at the same corner a few laps later, whilst Sébastien Buemi and Nick Heidfeld collided at the chicane, ending Heidfeld's race. There were multiple lead changes between Hamilton, Webber and Alonso, with Hamilton capitalising on a slow in-lap by Alonso and a strategy error from Red Bull to secure victory. Alonso placed second, with Webber third, while Sebastian Vettel stole fourth away from Felipe Massa when the two drivers pitted on the final lap.

Vettel returned to pole position in Hungary; however, Lewis Hamilton qualified second and was able to save an extra set of softer option tyres for the race. After mixed conditions wreaked havoc in the support races, the Grand Prix started with a wet surface. Vettel established an early lead, but was soon passed by Hamilton and Jenson Button as a dry line appeared. The positions remained constant through the halfway point of the race while Team Lotus experienced their second double-retirement in three races and Nick Heidfeld's Renault exploded after a prolonged pit stop. A mid-race shower on the fortieth lap led to Hamilton spinning, forcing Force India's Paul di Resta off the circuit and allowing Button to close the gap. The two McLaren drivers traded places several times in the greasy conditions, with Hamilton leading long enough to give him the first strategy call within the team. He opted to swap to the intermediate tyres, but the track started to dry out and he was given a drive-through penalty for forcing di Resta off the circuit, taking him out of contention for a podium finish. Jenson Button went on to win the race, his 200th Grand Prix start and the scene of his maiden victory ahead of Vettel in second and Fernando Alonso. Hamilton recovered from his penalty to take fourth position from Mark Webber, whilst Felipe Massa – who had out-qualified Alonso for the first time since the 2010 Belgian Grand Prix – was the final car classified on the lead lap in sixth place.

The Belgian Grand Prix marked twenty years since Michael Schumacher's Formula One debut, but Schumacher had a difficult start to the weekend when he lost a wheel on his out-lap in qualifying, sending him to the back of the grid. Bruno Senna replaced Nick Heidfeld at Renault, qualifying seventh in variable conditions on his return to Formula One. However, his success was short-lived when he crashed into Jaime Alguersuari on the first lap, ending Alguersuari's race and earning himself a penalty. Nico Rosberg led the early stages of the race, but was powerless to defend against Sebastian Vettel once the DRS was activated. The lead changed several times in the first half of the race, but Vettel eventually established a comfortable lead and would remain unchallenged. With Vettel winning the race and Webber finishing second, Red Bull secured their first one-two victory since Istanbul. Despite leading the race at one point, Fernando Alonso struggled with his tyres, and slipped down the running order, being passed by Mark Webber and Jenson Button, who had recovered from thirteenth on the grid. Michael Schumacher also recovered; having started twenty-fourth on the grid, he was fifth at the end of the race, behind Alonso and ahead of Rosberg. Lewis Hamilton crashed out of the race early on, making contact with Kamui Kobayashi at Les Combes. Both Senna and Hamilton admitted responsibility for their respective incidents.

At the Italian Grand Prix, Vettel took once again pole position, beating Hamilton by half a second, but it was the fourth-starting Fernando Alonso who led the race going into the first corner. Vitantonio Liuzzi made contact with Kovalainen and lost control, sliding off the grass and crashing heavily into Rosberg and Petrov and triggering the safety car. Vettel took the lead from Alonso one lap after the restart, while Schumacher overtook Hamilton. Mark Webber attempted to pass Felipe Massa, but the two made contact, pitching Massa into a spin. Webber continued with a broken front wing, crashing at Parabolica as he attempted to return to pit. Further down the order, Schumacher received several carefully worded instructions from team principal Ross Brawn, reminding him not to cut across the track to defend against Hamilton. Schumacher's duel with Hamilton slowed them down enough for Jenson Button to catch up; where Hamilton took thirty laps to pass Schumacher, Button passed him on his first attempt and started catching the second-placed Alonso. Vettel went on to win the race, extending his lead enough that he would need just one more win to win his second World Championship. Webber's failure to finish meant that he fell to fourth in the drivers' standings, behind Alonso and Button, while Hamilton's fourth place meant he fell further behind in the championship.

Sebastian Vettel obtained his eleventh pole of the season in Singapore, and spent most of the race unchallenged. Jenson Button attempted a late push, but was held up by traffic in the final laps of the race and fell behind. Button's podium meant that the championship would remain unresolved for the time being, but with his ninth victory of the season, Sebastian Vettel closed to within one point of securing his second World Drivers' Championship and becoming the sport's youngest-ever double World Champion. Mark Webber completed the podium in third, while Fernando Alonso finished fourth, over a minute behind Vettel. An early collision with Felipe Massa meant Lewis Hamilton was handed a drive-through penalty – his sixth of the season – and slipped out of the points, but a mid-race safety car for a collision involving Michael Schumacher and Sergio Pérez helped Hamilton recover to fifth. However, the result meant that Webber, Alonso and Hamilton were all eliminated from the championship fight.

The championship came to a head in Japan, with Sebastian Vettel out-qualifying championship rival Jenson Button by just nine thousandths of a second. Vettel forced Button wide at the start, but the McLaren driver was able to recover, under-cutting Vettel in the pits during the second round of stops. Button went on to win the race, his third victory of the season, while Fernando Alonso finished second. Vettel completed the podium, securing his second World Drivers' Championship. Mark Webber finished the race fourth, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and Michael Schumacher defending from Felipe Massa to finish sixth. Nico Rosberg secured the final World Championship point in by finishing tenth, having started twenty-third on the grid.

Lewis Hamilton and McLaren ended Red Bull's monopoly on pole position at the Korean Grand Prix, with Hamilton edging out Champion-elect Vettel by two-tenths of a second. Vettel seized the lead early in the race, and remained unthreatened for the rest of the race. Hamilton engaged in a race-long duel with Mark Webber, with the Australian following an unusual strategy choice. He was unable to pass Hamilton, who collected his first podium position since his victory in the German Grand Prix. Jenson Button finished the race fourth ahead of Fernando Alonso. In finishing first and third, Red Bull secured their second consecutive World Constructors' Championship.

Vettel claimed his first "Grand Chelem" at the inaugural Indian Grand Prix, claiming pole position, the fastest lap and leading every lap of the race. The race saw several incidents on the first lap, with contact between several drivers at the first corner, and again at Turn 3. Jenson Button tightened his grasp on second place in the championship, finishing eight seconds behind Vettel, whilst Fernando Alonso completed the podium ahead of Mark Webber. Lewis Hamilton fell further behind after making contact with Felipe Massa at the halfway point, the third time the two had come together in four races. Narain Karthikeyan became the first Indian driver to compete in the Indian Grand Prix, finishing seventeenth ahead of Hispania teammate Daniel Ricciardo and Jarno Trulli, a victim of the first-lap contact.

Sebastian Vettel equalled Nigel Mansell's record of fourteen pole positions in a season when he was fastest in qualifying at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Vettel however – despite maintaining the lead into the first corner – spun off at Turn 2 with a right rear puncture. He pitted at the end of the lap and had to retire with suspension damage. Hamilton led the whole race, except the pit stop phases, and won the race ahead of Fernando Alonso and teammate Jenson Button. This meant that Red Bull's podium streak came to an end, despite Webber finishing fourth.

At the final race of the season in Brazil, Vettel broke Mansell's record for most pole positions in a season, taking his fifteenth. Webber emerged victorious, scoring his first race win since the 2010 Hungarian Grand Prix. Hamilton retired on lap 48 with a gearbox problem, joining Pastor Maldonado, Timo Glock, and later Vitantonio Liuzzi on the list of race retirements. Felipe Massa, finishing fifth in his home race, became the first Ferrari driver since Ivan Capelli in 1992 who failed to finish on the podium all season. Meanwhile, Paul di Resta finished the season as the best rookie in 13th place for Force India.



1999 - The first round of the championship was in Australia and unsurprisingly, the two McLarens of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard started 1–2 ahead of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher. Schumacher, for the second consecutive race (after last year's final race), stalled on the parade lap and started at the back. The McLarens were first and second into the first corner, and then pulled away until both broke down, Coulthard when his gearbox failed and Häkkinen with electrical trouble. This left Eddie Irvine in the second Ferrari to take his first ever career win ahead of Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher in the Williams.

The second race was originally to be in China on 21 March , then Argentina on 28 March, but both were cancelled before the season began. This left an unusual five-week gap before the next race, in Brazil.

Häkkinen and Coulthard started 1–2 again in Brazil, and Schumacher was outqualified by the Stewart of home hero Rubens Barrichello. Coulthard faltered at the start, and he had to be pushed into the pitlane, rejoining three laps down. Häkkinen looked dominant, but then got stuck in third gear temporarily, and was passed by Barrichello and Schumacher. Barrichello was on a two-stopper, and pitted early, leaving Schumacher leading only to be jumped by Häkkinen during the stops. Häkkinen won, ahead of Schumacher, and Frentzen took third after Barrichello's engine blew up.

The first European race of the season was in San Marino, and even though the 'tifosi' were out in full force for Ferrari, McLaren locked out the front row of the grid for the third successive race, and the Ferraris of Schumacher and Irvine were confined to the second row. Häkkinen, who was on a two-stopper, raced away from the field early on, only to lose control and crash on the 18th lap. This left Coulthard and Schumacher to battle it out, and the German jumped his rival in the stops to win, sending the tifosi wild. Coulthard was second, and after Irvine retired with an engine failure, Barrichello took third.

Häkkinen took pole again at Monaco, but Schumacher prevented a lockout of the front row, by beating Coulthard. Schumacher beat Häkkinen on the run to the first corner and then pulled away. Häkkinen lost even more time when he went up an escape road in Mirabeau, and lost out to Irvine and Coulthard. Coulthard retired from third with a mechanical failure soon after. Schumacher won by half a minute, with Irvine making it a Ferrari 1–2, and Häkkinen had to be content with third.

With a quarter of the season gone, Schumacher led the championship with 26 points, and teammate Irvine was second with 18. Häkkinen was third with 14, 12 points behind Schumacher, and only a point ahead of fourth-placed Frentzen. Ralf Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella had 7 points each. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari with 44 points had a big lead over McLaren with 20, and Jordan with 16.

The next race was in Spain, and Häkkinen took pole as usual, with Irvine a superb second ahead of Coulthard. Häkkinen got away well, but Irvine got away poorly, and Coulthard took second. To add to that, both Ferraris were passed by Jacques Villeneuve's BAR, and got stuck behind him. The McLarens disappeared into the distance, and Häkkinen cruised to victory, with Coulthard giving McLaren a 1–2 finish, while the Ferraris got by Villeneuve at the stops, and Schumacher finished third.

It was at the Canadian GP that Häkkinen's string of poles was broken, the Finn being pushed to second by Schumacher, with Irvine again qualifying in the top three. Schumacher and Häkkinen maintained their positions at the start, and then pulled away. Schumacher led until he hit the infamous 'Wall of Champions' at the last corner and retired. During the race, Irvine and Coulthard collided, and both spun. A further infringement led to the latter being given a stop-go penalty. This left Heinz-Harald Frentzen in second, only for him to crash heavily with a brake failure 4 laps from the end. This brought out the safety car until the end of the end of the race, thus making it the first ever race to finish under the safety car, with Häkkinen winning from a surprised Giancarlo Fisichella and the recovering Irvine.

Qualifying for the next race in France was disrupted by rain, and it resulted in Rubens Barrichello taking pole ahead of Jean Alesi's Sauber and Olivier Panis's Prost. Coulthard was fourth, Schumacher sixth and Häkkinen way down in 14th. The race was no drier, and the entire race was run in wet conditions. Barrichello led for the first few laps, but then Coulthard passed him only to retire with a gearbox failure. Häkkinen quickly charged up to second only to spin, and undo his work. Schumacher was now second, and soon passed Barrichello to take the lead. Schumacher pulled away, but then suffered an electrical problem which cost him a lot of time, and this gave the lead back to Barrichello. Häkkinen was now charging, and completed his comeback by passing Barrichello to lead. However, both he and Barrichello as well as most other front-runners had to pit near the end for extra fuel, but third-placed Frentzen did not have to after his team gave him a full tank to fuel. Frentzen took the second win of his career, ahead of Häkkinen and Barrichello.

Normal service was resumed in the next race in Britain, with Häkkinen on pole ahead of Schumacher and Coulthard. Häkkinen started well, but Schumacher started badly and was passed by Coulthard and Irvine. He immediately tried to pass Irvine at Stowe, but a brake failure pitched him onto the wall at 200 mph. Although the car absorbed most of the impact, Schumacher was left with a broken leg. In fact, he did not know the race had already been stopped because Alessandro Zanardi had stalled. The race was restarted, and Schumacher's grid slot was empty. Häkkinen converted his pole into a lead, ahead of Irvine and Coulthard. Häkkinen pulled away from Irvine, and looked set to win until a wheel fell off his car. He pitted and rejoined, but retired soon after because it was too dangerous to continue. This gave the lead to Coulthard who had jumped Irvine in the stops. Coulthard went on to take a home victory, ahead of Irvine and Ralf Schumacher.

With a half of the championship complete, Häkkinen led the championship with 40 points. Schumacher was second with 32 even though he was expected to miss the rest of the season with his broken leg. Irvine also had 32 like his teammate, and clearly was going to be the new team leader. Frentzen was fourth with 26, Coulthard was fifth with 22, and Ralf was sixth with 19. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 64, two ahead of McLaren with 62. Jordan were third with 31.

The news before the round in Austria was that Mika Salo was hired as Schumacher's replacement. The two McLarens were dominant in qualifying, Häkkinen on pole as usual with Coulthard second, and Irvine in third over a second behind. Häkkinen got off well, but was tipped into a spin at the second corner by his teammate, which knocked him down to last. Neither car was damaged, and Coulthard took the lead. Coulthard led for most of the race, but Irvine jumped him in the second round of stops to take the win ahead of the Scotsman. Häkkinen drove a superb race, charging from the back to finish third.

The German GP did not receive as much anticipation as one would expect as home hero Schumacher was missing, but it did not deter Häkkinen from taking his 8th pole of the season, with Frentzen splitting the McLarens. Häkkinen raced away, and Coulthard passed Frentzen but Salo, starting in fourth got in front of both of them. Coulthard put Salo under pressure, and tried to pass, but hit the Ferrari's tyre and damaged his front wing, which forced him to pit for repairs. Häkkinen was cruising, but his refuelling equipment malfunctioned during the stops, and his long stop pushed him down to fourth. He passed Frentzen, and set off after the Ferraris only to suffer a puncture which punted him into the wall. Irvine was let through by Salo, and took his second consecutive win, with Salo making it a Ferrari 1–2, and Frentzen finished third.

Round 11 was in Hungary, and Häkkinen took pole as usual, with Irvine alongside him and Coulthard third. Häkkinen and Irvine quickly raced away, while Coulthard got passed by Giancarlo Fisichella and Frentzen. Coulthard jumped both drivers in the stops, and then chased after Irvine, and the Ulsterman cracked under the pressure with 8 laps left, by running wide, giving second to Coulthard. Häkkinen cruised to victory, and Coulthard completed McLaren's 1–2, and Irvine settled for third.

The field went to Belgium next, and Häkkinen took his tenth pole of the season, with Coulthard in second, and Frentzen third. At the start, Häkkinen got away slowly, and so Coulthard was alongside. Coulthard did not lift, and the two McLarens touched, but Coulthard was in front. Coulthard was never headed and eased to victory, with Häkkinen running around in and finishing second, and Frenzen third. Irvine was fourth.

With three-quarters of the season complete, Häkkinen led the championship with 60 points, but now Irvine with 59 was only 1 point behind him. Coulthard was third with 46, and in with an outside chance. Frentzen was fourth with 40, Michael Schumacher who was still out with a broken leg was fifth with 32, and Ralf was sixth with 24. In the Constructors' Championship, the two consecutive 1–2 finishes had given McLaren the lead with 106 points. Ferrari with 97 was only 9 points behind them. Jordan was third with 47.

Häkkinen took pole for the Italian GP ahead of Frentzen and Coulthard. Häkkinen led into the first chicane and pulled away, helped by Alessandro Zanardi who was up to second holding up the rest of the field. Häkkinen was set to win until he spun off at the first corner on lap 30, giving the lead to Frentzen who went on to win ahead of Ralf and Salo, while Coulthard and Irvine were a lacklustre fifth and sixth.

For the 14th round of the season in Europe, Frentzen took his first pole in 2 years, ahead of Coulthard and Häkkinen. At the start, Frentzen led Häkkinen and Coulthard into the first corner, but at the back Damon Hill suffered an electrical failure, causing Alexander Wurz to hit Pedro Diniz, which caused his Sauber to flip. There was a slight drizzle after 15 laps, and unlike others, Häkkinen pitted for wets. This was too early, and he lost a lot of time and had to pit again for dries. He rejoined a lap down. Irvine was stuck for 30 seconds on three wheels during his fuel stop, when his team couldn't find the fourth wheel. With a half of the race gone, Frentzen was leading Coulthard and Ralf. Frentzen's race cruelly ended with an electrical failure after his first stop. It started raining by then, and new leader Coulthard spun off and retired. This gave the lead to Ralf until he suffered a puncture, which dropped him to fifth. On the wet track, Fisichella inherited the lead, only to spin off himself and retire. The next leader was Johnny Herbert in the Stewart. The track dried out and Herbert won, ahead of Jarno Trulli's Prost and Rubens Barrichello's second Stewart. Late in the race, Irvine made a mistake while running sixth, and gave sixth to Häkkinen, who then went on to pass Marc Gené for fifth. Gené's teammate Luca Badoer was running 4th with 13 laps to go but had a gearbox failure, thus denying him of a points finish. Häkkinen thus took a two-point lead over Irvine going into the last two races.

The first ever Malaysian GP was the host of the penultimate round, and Schumacher had recovered and replaced Salo for the race. Schumacher took pole ahead of Irvine, with Coulthard and Häkkinen third and fourth. Irvine quickly raced away, while Schumacher purposely slowed down to keep both McLarens behind. Coulthard got in front of Schumacher, only for his car to break down. Schumacher kept Häkkinen behind, and prevented him from challenging Irvine. Irvine won with Schumacher completing the Ferrari 1–2, forcing Häkkinen to settle for third.

After the race, the Ferrari cars were found to be illegal by an FIA official and were disqualified, which would have the effect of making Häkkinen the world champion. Ferrari appealed and the FIA Court of Appeal in Paris later ruled that the cars were not illegal and the Ferraris were reinstated.

Irvine led the championship with 70 points, and Häkkinen with 66 was 4 points behind. A win for either driver would give them the championship. Frentzen was third with 51, Coulthard fourth with 48, Schumacher fifth with 38 and Ralf sixth with 33. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 118 points, and McLaren were second with 114; Jordan with 58 were a lonely third.

The championship decider was in Japan. Häkkinen qualified in second, behind Schumacher while Irvine crashed in qualifying and was only fifth. Häkkinen took the lead at the start, while Irvine was fourth behind Olivier Panis. Häkkinen and Schumacher got away, while Panis held up the others. Panis was dealt with at the first round of stops, but now Irvine was behind Coulthard's McLaren. Coulthard slowed his pace, and held Irvine up, and the gap to Häkkinen increased. Irvine was finally released when Coulthard spun off, but was well over a minute behind Häkkinen. Schumacher was within 5 second of Häkkinen, and piled on the pressure but Häkkinen kept him at bay to win the race and the championship. Schumacher was second, and third for Irvine was not enough for him, but was enough to win the Constructors' Championship for Ferrari.

Häkkinen, with 76 points, was the Drivers' Champion of 1999, his second successive championship. Irvine, who had battled with Häkkinen throughout the season, was 2 points behind with a total of 74. Frentzen, with 54 points in total, was third. Coulthard was fourth with 48 points, Michael Schumacher was fifth with 44 points, even though he missed over a third of the season with his broken leg, and his brother, Ralf Schumacher, finished sixth with 35. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari, with 128 points, were champions, beating second-placed McLaren by 4 points. Jordan ended up in third with 61.

[S griffin]

2011 was domination of Vettel and the year we introduced the dreaded DRS. 1999 was open till the end.