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GRAND PRIX : Barcelona : The McLarens Come Back
Slowed by traffic ahead from his fourth place start on the grid, Michael Schumacher had to lift off after a strong start which allowed Jacques Villeneuve into third place in the opening laps, delaying the German's chase of the leaders and any chance of staying with Hakkinen.
"I had a chance to take Villeneuve on the first lap, but it would have been too risky," said Schumacher, who tailed the Canadian until the first round of pit stops when a quicker stop from the Ferrari camp saw Schumacher move into third place, his teammate Eddie Irvine taking fourth spot.
While Hakkinen had a trouble-free race, dominating from the head of the field, Coulthard had to work hard to stay ahead of Schumacher, who was right behind him as he came out of the pits after his second stop.
"I had a problem with the handling on my first set of tyres," said Coulthard. "I changed the tyre pressures for my second set and they were even worse. Luckily my third set was a lot better and I was able to stay ahead of him until the end of the race without too much problem." Coulthard finished six seconds behind his teammate and four ahead of the Ferrari of Schumacher, at the flag.
"It was good to be able to race with the McLarens. We were not that far away and I am happy to have the four points from here," said Michael, who still holds a six point lead over Hakkinen after five races.
He left fifth place to Ralf Schumacher's Williams, the German just avoiding being lapped by the end of the race, 1:27.208 adrift of the leader and over 50 seconds behind Irvine.
Jarno Trulli and Jean Alesi had a great scrap for the final point in the opening laps of the race, but after an incident together on the track , Trulli was left an unchallenged sixth, a lap behind the winner, after Alesi parked his Sauber with a gearbox problem.
Heinz Harald Frentzen's good run this season was brought to a halt just after his first pit-stop when he parked on te circuit with a differential failure.
Damon Hill won a long battle with Rubens Barrichello to take seventh place for Jordan after a great overtaking move around the outside on a corner, one of the few passes in what rapidly became a processional race.
Mika Salo's last race for the BAR team saw the Finn cross the line in ninth place holding off a strong challenge from Giancarlo Fisichella who was tenth, his Benetton teammate Wurz in eleventh spot.
The two Arrows of de la Rosa and Takagi completed the 13 finishers, the Spaniard a further lap behind and a lap clear of his teammate Takagi, who finished three laps adrift.
Spanish Grand Prix World Championship of Drivers, round 5; Circuit de Catalunya, May 30th, 1999; 65 laps, 307,196 kms. CLASSIFIED Pos Driver Team Time 1. Hakkinen Mclaren Mercedes 1h34:13.665, 195.608 kmph 2. Coulthard Mclaren Mercedes + 6.238 3. M.Schumacher Ferrari + 10.845 4. Irvine Ferrari + 30.182 5. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec + 1:27.208 6. Trulli Prost Peugeot 1 Lap 7. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda 1 Lap 8. Barrichello Stewart Ford 1 Lap 9. Salo BAR Supertec 1 Lap 10. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1 Lap 11. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1 Lap 12. de la Rosa Arrows TWR 2 Laps 13. Takagi Arrows TWR 3 Laps NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS Driver Team On Lap Reason Badoer Minardi Ford 50 spun, stalled Villeneuve BAR Supertec 40 gearbox Diniz Sauber Petronas 40 gearbox Herbert Stewart Ford 39 transmission Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 35 differential Alesi Sauber Petronas 27 gearbox Zanardi Williams Supertec 24 transmission Panis Prost Peugeot 24 hydraulic pressure to box Gene Minardi Ford 0 transmission Fastest Lap: Michael Schumacher, 1:24.982 (200.287 kmph), lap 29 Drivers Points Standings after 5 Rounds: 1. M.Schumacher 30 2. Hakkinen 24 3. Irvine 21 4. Frentzen 13 5. Coulthard 12 6 R.Schumacher 9 7. Fisichella 7 8 Barrichello 6 9. Hill 3 10. de la Rosa 1 = Alesi 1 = Panis 1 = Wurz 1 = Trulli 1 Constructors' Points Championship: 1. Scuderia Ferrari 51 2. McLaren-Mercedes 36 3. Jordan-Mugen Honda 16 4. Williams-Supertec 9 5. Benetton-Playlife 8 6. Stewart-Ford 6 7 Prost Peugeot 2 8. Sauber-Petronas 1 = Arrows TWR 1
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Starting from pole position, Mika Hakkinen headed home a McLaren one-two in the Spanish Grand Prix, the Finn leading every lap but for his two pit stops when his teammate David Coulthard took the relay. It was the first McLaren one-two since Hockenheim last year.
"I was down around 15 seconds on David Coulthard after the first stops and caught up to him before the second stop. Unfortunately, I had a slower Arrows car ahead of me when I came in for my second stop and that spoiled my chance of taking second place," said Schumacher after the race.
A further 19 seconds back, Irvine brought the second Ferrari home to the points in fourth place, although Hakkinen's second win of the season has pushed him back to third place in the points standings, Schumacher retaining his lead however.
Villeneuve's hopes of his first finish for BAR and their first points ended on his second pit stop while running in fifth place. A long second stop to remove part of the rear wing became academic when he then suffered a first gear problem as he tried to leave the pits and was forced to retire.