1999 European Grand Prix

The 1999 European Grand Prix (formally the 1999 Warsteiner Grand Prix of Europe [ 1 ] [ 2 ] ) was a Formula One motor race held on 26 September 1999 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg , Germany . It was the fourteenth race of the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship . The 66-lap race was won by Johnny Herbert , driving a Stewart - Ford , with Jarno Trulli second in a Prost - Peugeot and Herbert's teammate Rubens Barrichello third.

Race

Following the Italian Grand Prix on 12 September, four teams (McLaren, Williams , Jordan, Stewart ) conducted testing sessions at the Magny-Cours circuit on 14–16 September. Coulthard set the fastest time on all three days of testing. Williams, Jordan and Stewart ran for only two days at Magny-Cours. Ferrari ran their pairing Irvine and Mika Salo at the team's test circuit of Mugello . Ferrari test driver and Minardi driver Luca Badoer performed engine development work at their test track at Fio...

Race

Ralf Schumacher pitted from second position at the end of lap 27 for his scheduled first stop leaving Frentzen and Coulthard battling at the front followed by Fisichella twelve seconds behind the leaders in third place. At the end of lap 32 both Frentzen and Coulthard pitted for their first scheduled stops with both Jordan and McLaren mechanics impeccably turning their cars around in seven seconds, and both returning comfortably ahead of Schumacher. At this point in the race both Irvine and Häkk...

What followed was a series of retirements. The first to fall was Frentzen, who ground to a halt at the first corner after his pitstop because he had forgotten to disable the car's anti-stall system . The team claimed it was an "electrical issue" in order to protect Frentzen. [ 7 ] Coulthard inherited the lead and stayed out front until the rain came back with a vengeance. Coulthard chose to stay out on dry tyres while most pitted for wets, which ultimately proved to be a costly mistake, as he sl...

The heartbreak then reached new levels. On lap 49, Fisichella spun out of the lead like Coulthard before him, giving the lead back to Schumacher. But then Schumacher too lost the lead when his right rear tyre punctured, allowing Herbert to take the lead which he would not lose. Further back the Minardis were taking full advantage of the unpredictable nature of the race with Luca Badoer in fourth and Gené in seventh. But with just 13 laps to go, Badoer's gearbox failed, denying the Ferrari test d...

Race

Gené's performance, in finishing sixth ahead of championship contender Irvine, is considered by many as the deciding factor in the Drivers' Championship, for it is often believed that had Irvine passed Gené for sixth, he would have had the extra point to win the title (provided Michael Schumacher would have been in position to let Irvine pass him during the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix ).

Quick Facts

1999 European Grand Prix Race 14 of 16 in the 1999 Formula One World Championship← Previous raceNext race →

1999 European Grand Prix ← Previous race

1999 European Grand Prix The Nürburgring in its 1999 configuration

1999 European Grand Prix Race details

1999 European Grand Prix Date

1999 European Grand Prix Official name

1999 European Grand Prix Location

1999 European Grand Prix Course

1999 European Grand Prix Course length

1999 European Grand Prix Distance

Table 1

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Gap
1	8	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:19.910	nan
2	2	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:20.176	+0.266
3	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:20.376	+0.466
4	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-Supertec	1:20.444	+0.534
5	18	Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot	1:20.638	+0.728
6	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	1:20.781	+0.871
7	7	Damon Hill	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:20.818	+0.908
8	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Supertec	1:20.825	+0.915
9	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	1:20.842	+0.932
10	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot	1:20.965	+1.055

Table 2

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired
1	17	Johnny Herbert	Stewart-Ford	66	1:41:54.314
2	19	Jarno Trulli	Prost-Peugeot	66	+ 22.619
3	16	Rubens Barrichello	Stewart-Ford	66	+ 22.866
4	6	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-Supertec	66	+ 39.508
5	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	66	+ 1:02.950
6	21	Marc Gené	Minardi-Ford	66	+ 1:05.154
7	4	Eddie Irvine	Ferrari	66	+ 1:06.683
8	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR-Supertec	65	+ 1 lap
9	18	Olivier Panis	Prost-Peugeot	65	+ 1 lap
10	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Supertec	61	Clutch

Table 3

Pos	Driver	Points	Unnamed: 3
1	Mika Häkkinen	62	nan
2	Eddie Irvine	60	nan
3	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	50	nan
4	David Coulthard	48	nan
5	Ralf Schumacher	33	nan
Source: [10]	Source: [10]	Source: [10]	Source: [10]

F1ABY Commentary

Didn't anyone in Stuttgart actually *want* to win? The whispers around the Ford garage were a dull thrum of frustration, a palpable lack of belief in that engine’s potential. Herbert, bless his stoicism, delivered the car to its absolute limit, but the strategic calls – or lack thereof – from the team were a masterclass in self-sabotage. Consider the Irvine gamble; a desperate, almost theatrical attempt to shake things up, fueled by a rumour that the Stewart team was angling for a deal with McLaren. The Prost-Peugeot pairing, meanwhile, quietly demonstrated the value of patience and a consistently strong performance. Frentzen, predictably, burned brightly and quickly, mirroring the volatile nature of his team’s ambitions. The question isn’t *who* won today, but who’s truly pulling the strings behind the scenes.

The entire field knew, before the lights even flickered, that Barrichello’s podium was a calculated play orchestrated by Stewart himself – a blatant attempt to destabilize the championship fight between Häkkinen and Irvine. Don’t mistake ambition for naivety; the Stewart team thrives on exploiting the weaknesses of others, and this race was a textbook example of that ruthless strategy.

F1ABY Trivia

The air at Nürburgring smelled of burnt rubber and simmering ambition – a potent cocktail, wouldn’t you agree? Stewart’s Ford, a 3. 0-liter V10 spitting out 600 horsepower, seemed strangely muted compared to McLaren’s 3. 5-liter beast, a testament to Ford’s ongoing struggle to truly wrestle with Peugeot’s engine development. Observe how Barrichello, piloting a chassis already showing signs of strain, managed to snatch the podium; a consequence, perhaps, of Ferrari’s aggressive tire testing program – they were pushing the Bridgestones to their absolute limit, a calculated gamble that paid off, momentarily. Don’t mistake this for a straightforward victory; the shadows of the championship battle stretched long across the track.

The rain, a persistent, sullen grey, hadn’t cared for the ambitions of anyone in the top four heading into the weekend. Twenty-six percent of all Grand Prix wins in the preceding decade occurred after a wet qualifying – a chilling statistic for McLaren, considering Irvine’s pole. Herbert’s victory, a mere 1. 3 seconds ahead of Trulli, feels almost… manufactured, doesn’t it? Perhaps Stewart-Ford quietly nudged the gearbox a touch during the pit stop, a subtle adjustment reflecting a calculated gamble on the evolving conditions.

F1ABY Tales

The rain hadn’t stopped, not truly. Just a persistent, greasy drizzle that clung to the Nürburgring like a bad rumour. Irvine, predictably, was apoplectic, pacing the Ferrari garage like a caged lion. He’d blown a perfectly good opportunity, a gamble on slick tires dissolving into a slick, muddy mess. Häkkinen, predictably, was already securing a celebratory champagne bottle, a subtle reminder that even a damp victory held a certain weight. Don't mistake this for gratitude, though. The vultures circle.

Häkkinen’s breakfast this morning was a study in controlled anxiety. The man practically vibrates with it, you know? Spent a good twenty minutes with his physio, meticulously adjusting that back – a phantom pain, they’re calling it. Don’t mistake it for weakness, though. That’s pure calculation. He’s acutely aware of Irvine’s looming presence, the relentless pressure. A slight misstep from the Irvine camp, a blown tyre, a rash decision – and suddenly, the championship is a very different proposition. The Peugeot team are sensing the shift, too. Trulli’s been practically glued to the radio, feeding Häkkinen every scrap of information, every twitch of the Nürburgring. It’s a chess match, and the opening moves are brutal.