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GRAND PRIX : Hungary : Ferraris Mauled by McLaren 1-2
Hungary, 15.8.99
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The McLaren team held together and the F399s trailed.
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Mika Hakkinen scored an efficient flag-to-flag victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix to put his Championship hopes back on track in what was a convincing demonstration of his McLaren's superiority when everything runs according to plan. At one stage, the Finn was holding a 30 seconds lead over his rivals. "The car was perfect and I had to tell myself to slow down and not push so hard and keep pulling further and further ahead," said Hakkinen later. He finished the race with 10 seconds in hand over his own team-mate David Coulthard at the flag.
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The need for a Ferrari driver ½ sec/lap quicker was clearly shown.
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Eddie Irvine put up a spirited chase until lap 63 of the 77-lap race when a trip across the grass under pressure from Coulthard saw him slip back to third place.
"I didn't want David right up my gearbox in the final laps of the race, so I was pushing as hard as I could to open up a gap. Unfortunately, I had a tyre problem with all three sets. They were OK to start with and then the rears went off big time causing the car to oversteer badly. That's why I lost the rear end and slid off," explained Eddie.
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From hero to zero. Salo's weekend is one to forget.
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"There were a couple of things we didn't get right this weekend. We are going to have sit down and go over the data and see if we can find out what went wrong. I was surprised we were not more competitive, we didn't do particularly well, but it's the first time I have scored points here and I am still leading the Championship, so things could have been worse," he added.
Team-mate Mika Salo was unable to contribute to the team's points total at this race. Starting from a distant 18th on the grid after a disappointing qualifying he slipped back to 20th off the line running a heavy fuel load in a one stop race strategy. He got stuck behind slower traffic for the early part of the race and even though he was able to make up places as cars ahead pitted twice or retired, he finished a distant twelfth at the flag, two laps behind the winner.
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Eddie may be a little less loquacious now.
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Ferrari's lead over their McLaren rivals is now back to just 4 points, wile Irvine leads the drivers' championship by two points over Hakkinen.
Heinz Harald Frentzen, who had led Coulthard until the first round of pit stops, ended up in fourth place for Jordan-Mugen Honda, well clear of the Stewart Ford of Rubens Barrichello who profited from being one of the few cars to make only one pit stop instead of two like the leaders.
The final point of the day, in what turned out to be a very processional race around the Hungaroring track, went to Damon Hill, who started sixth and finished sixth with the second Jordan.
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The brighter side of the Hungaroring paddock.
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Despite the warm weather and tricky track, only six cars failed to reach the flag.
Jean Todt
"We have never underestimated our strongest opponents, who did not put a foot wrong here. To all intents and purposes, we ran this race with one car, given Salo's position on the grid. Eddie could have finished second. Despite great work from the mechanics in the pits, Eddie lost second place when he went wide at a corner. Salo, whose race was also compromised by his unfortunate start position, was in pain for the last twenty laps because part of the seat belt got caught behind his right shoulder, impeding his driving. Despite the result, we are still leading both championships, by two and four points. Next week we are testing at Mugello in preparation for the race at Spa. As usual, we will fight hard and do all we can to maintain our position in the championships."
Eddie Irvine
"This is a disappointing result, but at least I have come away with four points, the first time I have scored any here. My start was as good as it should have been on that side of the track, but after just two or three laps my tyres went off badly and I was having problems with the front and rear of the car, which was jumping all over the road. I think we got a couple of things wrong, which we will have to look at very carefully in the de-brief. It is unusual for us not to be quick in the race. Before my second stop I had been cautious but I pushed hard on my "in" lap and that meant I was able to get out ahead of Coulthard but I was struggling. During lap 63, I lost control of the rear and ran wide at Turn 5 and then got slower and slower as the tyres got worse. We have some new aerodynamic developments coming for the next couple of races, so hopefully we can be more competitive in Spa."
Mika Salo
"I had a terrible race. I got stuck behind slower cars after the start and could not get past them. Basically, I could not find the right set-up all weekend. To be honest I am embarrassed by my performance and I feel I have let the team down. The car was terrible to drive and was all over the place all the time. I was on a one stop strategy, which was the only solution possible, given that I was eighteenth on the grid. During the race, I could do good lap times, but I could not overtake. Now, I am looking forward to testing next week, which will give me the chance to understand what went wrong this weekend. I am sure I can do better at Spa, which is my favourite circuit."
Race Results:
Hungarian Grand Prix
World Championship of Drivers, round 11;
Hungaroring, August 15th, 1999;
77 laps, 305.844 kms
Weather: Sunny and warm
CLASSIFIED
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1h 46:23.536
2. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes + 09.706
3. Irvine Ferrari + 27.228
4. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda + 31.815
5. Barrichello Stewart Ford + 43.808
6. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda + 55.726
7. Wurz Benetton Playlife + 1:01.000
8. Trulli Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap
9. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec + 1 Lap
10. Panis Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap
11. Herbert Stewart Ford + 1 Lap
12. Salo Ferrari + 2 Laps
13. Zonta BAR Supertec + 2 Laps
14. Badoer Minardi Ford + 2 Laps
15. de la Rosa Arrows TWR + 2 Laps
16. Alesi Sauber Petronas + 3 Laps *
17. Gene Minardi Ford + 3 Laps
* Retired due to fuel pick-up problems
NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS
Driver Team On Lap Reason
Villeneuve BAR Supertec 60 clutch
Fisichella Benetton Playlife 52 fuel pressure
Takagi Arrows TWR 26 gearbox
Diniz Sauber Petronas 19 spun out
Zanardi Williams Supertec 10 electronic differential
Fastest Lap: David Coulthard, lap 69, 1:20.699 (177.236 kmph)
Drivers Points Standings after 11 rounds:
1. Irvine 56
2. Hakkinen 54
3. Frentzen 36
= Coulthard 36
5. M.Schumacher 32
6. R.Schumacher 22
7. Fisichella 13
8. Barrichello 12
9. Salo 6
= Hill 6
11. Diniz 3
= Wurz 3
13. Herbert 2
= Panis 2
15. Alesi 1
= Trulli 1
= de la Rose 1
Constructors' Points Championship:
1. Scuderia Ferrari 94
2. McLaren-Mercedes 90
3. Jordan-Mugen Honda 42
4. Williams-Supertec 22
5. Benetton-Playlife 16
6. Stewart-Ford 14
7. Sauber-Petronas 4
8. Prost Peugeot 3
9. Arrows TWR 2
Acknowledgements:
Race data by AtlasF1.
Pics by Sutton Photographic
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