The 1999 San Marino Grand Prix (formally the Gran Premio Warsteiner di San Marino 1999) was a Formula One motor race held at Imola on 2 May 1999. It was the third race of the 1999 Formula One World Championship.
The 62-lap race was won by German Michael Schumacher, driving a Ferrari, after he started from third position. Finn Mika Häkkinen took pole position in his McLaren-Mercedes, but crashed out after 17 laps. Häkkinen's teammate, Briton David Coulthard, finished second, with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello third in a Stewart-Ford.
Report
Race Mika Häkkinen took an instant lead from David Coulthard and Michael Schumacher after the start. Eddie Irvine was ahead of Rubens Barrichello, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, Damon Hill and Jean Alesi. Jacques Villeneuve was left stranded on the grid after a clutch problem. In an unforced error, Häkkinen crashed out at the final Traguardo chicane on lap 17, allowing David Coulthard into the lead ahead of Michael Schumacher.
This remained unchanged until both drivers made pitstops for fuel and tyres. Schumacher stopped earlier and for a shorter time than Coulthard allowing him to take over the lead from the McLaren driver. Schumacher then gradually expanded his lead to a maximum of about 23 seconds before making a second pit stop. He was able to stay in first place and thereafter comfortably retained his position to secure his first win of the season.
Meanwhile, Schumacher's teammate Irvine had settled in third place following Häkkinen's retirement. He was forced to retire from the race himself when his Ferrari engine expired on lap 47. Frentzen span off shortly afterwards on the oil left by Irvine's Ferrari. This allowed Hill to inherit third place, but he made his final stop in a three stop strategy two laps later. Barrichello was consequently promoted to third place which he held until the end of the race ahead of Hill.
Johnny Herbert looked set to finish in fifth place until his Ford engine expired coming out of the Villeneuve chicane with three laps remaining. Alessandro Zanardi spun off shortly afterwards on the fluid spread by Herbert's stricken Stewart-Ford, allowing Giancarlo Fisichella and Alesi to complete the top six.
Classification
Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap 1 1 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.362 2 2 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.384 +0.022 3 3 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:26.538 +0.176 4 4 Eddie Irvine Ferrari 1:26.993 +0.631 5 22 Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Supertec 1:27.313 +0.951 6 16 Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 1:27.409 +1.047 7 8 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:27.613 +1.251 8 7 Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:27.708 +1.346 9 6 Ralf Schumacher Williams-Supertec 1:27.770 +1.408 10 5 Alessandro Zanardi Williams-Supertec 1:28.142 +1.780 11 18 Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 1:28.205 +1.843 12 17 Johnny Herbert Stewart-Ford 1:28.246 +1.884 13 11 Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 1:28.253 +1.891 14 19 Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 1:28.403 +2.041 15 12 Pedro Diniz Sauber-Petronas 1:28.599 +2.237 16 9 Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:28.750 +2.388 17 10 Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:28.765 +2.403 18 14 Pedro de la Rosa Arrows 1:29.293 +2.931 19 23 Mika Salo BAR-Supertec 1:29.451 +3.089 20 15 Toranosuke Takagi Arrows 1:29.656 +3.294 21 21 Marc Gené Minardi-Ford 1:30.035 +3.673 22 20 Luca Badoer Minardi-Ford 1:30.945 +4.583107% time: 1:32.407Source:
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 3 Michael Schumacher Ferrari 62 1:33:44.792 3 10 2 2 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 62 + 4.265 2 6 3 16 Rubens Barrichello Stewart-Ford 61 + 1 lap 6 4 4 7 Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda 61 + 1 lap 8 3 5 9 Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 61 + 1 lap 16 2 6 11 Jean Alesi Sauber-Petronas 61 + 1 lap 13 1 7 23 Mika Salo BAR-Supertec 59 Electrical 19 8 20 Luca Badoer Minardi-Ford 59 + 3 laps 22 9 21 Marc Gené Minardi-Ford 59 + 3 laps 21 10 17 Johnny Herbert Stewart-Ford 58 Engine 12 11 5 Alessandro Zanardi Williams-Supertec 58 Spun off 10 12 Pedro Diniz Sauber-Petronas 49 Spun off 15 18 Olivier Panis Prost-Peugeot 48 Throttle 11 4 Eddie Irvine Ferrari 46 Engine 4 8 Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jordan-Mugen-Honda 46 Engine/Spun off 7 15 Toranosuke Takagi Arrows 29 Fuel pressure 20 6 Ralf Schumacher Williams-Supertec 28 Electrical 9 1 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 17 Accident 1 14 Pedro de la Rosa Arrows 5 Collision 18 10 Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 5 Collision 17 22 Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Supertec 0 Gearbox 5 19 Jarno Trulli Prost-Peugeot 0 Spun off 14 Sources:
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 16 2 Eddie Irvine 12 3 Mika Häkkinen 10 4 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 10 5 Ralf Schumacher 7Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 28 2 McLaren-Mercedes 16 3 Jordan-Mugen-Honda 13 4 Williams-Supertec 7 5 Stewart-Ford 6Source:
References