It was a day of mixed emotions at the British Grand Prix as David Coulthard won his first Grand Prix of 1999, while Michael Schumacher was injured after he crashed heavily on the opening lap of the race which was red flagged.
The re-start came 40 minutes later, Mika Hakkinen heading the field comfortably until shortly after the first pit stops when a rear wheel hub problem eventually put him out of the race just after half distance.
Hakkinen's retirement left an all-British battle for their home race, honours divided between David Coulthard in the remaining McLaren and Eddie Irvine in the surviving Marlboro-Ferrari who ran just seconds apart for the entire race. Irvine led initially, but it was Coulthard who took the advantage at the first round of pit stops when Irvine overshot his pit by a few feet.
"I couldn't get a clear view of my pit because of the McLaren mechanics standing in the pit lane waiting for Mika. When I saw the pit it was a bit late and I slid straight on a few feet too far. That cost the mechanics a couple of extra seconds getting the fuel in and tyres changed which was enough to cost me the race when I came out behind David," said Eddie.
His Marlboro-Ferrari took the flag at the end of the 60 lap race just 1.8s behind Coulthard's McLaren. The Scot was the first to admit that "the race could have gone either way. Track position is everything here and when I got ahead at the first pit stop and stayed there at the second, it won me the race."
After initial treatment in the circuit medical centre, Michael Schumacher was flown to Northampton general hospital where he was operated upon for a fractured tibia and fibula of the lower right leg, simple fractures that were not expected to cause any complications. He was also suffering from a badly bruised right knee. He was lucky to escape without any more serious injuries after his car left the road at the ultra-fast 240 kph Stowe Corner and plunged into the tyre barrier at almost undiminished speed due to a suspected rear brake problem.
Almost half a minute behind the winning pair was Michael's brother Ralf who took third place, the Williams driver moving ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Jordan at the first round of pit stops and then holding third place despite Frentzen closing the gap and pushing him hard all the way to the flag.
Fifth place, only a few seconds adrift, was Frentzen's team- mate and local hero Damon Hill who had to slow in the final laps with a pneumatic valve pressure problem. The ex-World Champion was still refusing to answer speculation over his retirement after the race, as he had done throughout the weekend.
The final point of the race went to Pedro Diniz in the Sauber- Petronas a further 15 seconds adrift, the Brazilian holding off a tough challenge from Giancarlo Fisichella's Benetton in the closing laps.
Rubens Barrichello was an unlucky eighth. He was heading for fifth place sandwiched between the two Jordans when an unscheduled pit stop to replaced a punctured tyre cost him a finish in the points. His team mate Johnny Herbert was also a likely candidate for a points finish, but he was delayed by a 10 second stop-go penalty for passing Jean Alesi under the safety car.
Alesi himself had slowed with a throttle problem which dropped him back to 14th place a lap behind after a good opening half of the race running in seventh place.
There were only five retirements from the 21 cars which took the re-start, both the BAR cars amongst them when Jacques Villeneuve blew an engine and Ricardo Zonta stopped with a rear suspension failure. Villeneuve had already had a reprieve from the first start when a gearbox failure on the line left him sitting on the grid.
Race Results:
British Grand Prix
World Championship of Drivers, round 8;
Silverstone, July 11th, 1999;
60 laps, 308,296 kms
Weather: Sunny, Dry
CLASSIFIED
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Coulthard Mclaren Mercedes 1h32:30.144
2. Irvine Ferrari + 0:01.800
3. R.Schumacher Williams Supertec + 0:27.400
4. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda + 0:27.700
5. Hill Jordan Mugen-Honda + 0:38.600
6. Diniz Sauber Petronas + 0:53.600
7. Fisichella Benetton Playlife + 0:54.600
8. Barrichello Stewart Ford + 0:58.500
9. Trulli Prost Peugeot + 1:12.000
10. Wurz Benetton Playlife + 1:12.100
11. Zanardi Williams Supertec + 1:17.100
12. Herbert Stewart Ford + 1:17.700
13. Panis Prost Peugeot + 1:20.400
14. Alesi Sauber Petronas + 1 Lap
15. Gene Minardi Ford + 2 Laps
16. Takagi Arrows TWR + 2 Laps
NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS
Driver Team On Lap Reason
Zonta BAR Supertec 41 rear suspension
Hakkinen Mclaren Mercedes 35 rear hub
Villeneuve BAR Supertec 29 engine
Badoer Minardi Ford 6 overheating
de la Rosa Arrows TWR 0 Gearbox
M.Schumacher Ferrari DNS crash / injury
Fastest Lap: Mika Hakkinen, Lap 28, 1:28.309 (209.536 kmph)
Race Leaders: Laps 01-24, Hakkinen;
Laps 25-26, Irvine;
Laps 27-42, Coulthard;
Laps 43-44, Frentzen;
Laps 45-45, Hill;
Laps 46-60, Coulthard.
Drivers Points Standings after 8 rounds:
1. Hakkinen 40 2. M.Schumacher 32
= Irvine 32 4. Frentzen 26
5. Coulthard 22 6. R.Schumacher 19
7. Fisichella 13 8. Barrichello 10
9. Hill 5 10. Herbert 2
= Diniz 2 11. Alesi 1
= Panis 1 = Wurz 1
= Trulli 1 = de la Rose 1
Constructors' Points Championship:
1. Scuderia Ferrari 64
2. McLaren-Mercedes 62
3. Jordan-Mugen Honda 31
4. Williams-Supertec 19
5. Benetton-Playlife 14
6. Stewart-Ford 12
7. Sauber-Petronas 3
8. Prost Peugeot 2
= Arrows TWR 2
All Timing Unofficial