Irvine Steps Up, Häkkinen Holds On

With Michael Schumacher injured at Silverstone, Eddie Irvine carried Ferrari's challenge to the final race, where Mika Häkkinen won to keep his title.

McLaren started 1999 as the team to beat, and Mika Häkkinen took pole at eleven of the sixteen rounds. The season still refused to settle. Goodyear had gone, leaving Bridgestone as the only tire supplier, and the McLarens were fast but fragile. In Melbourne both broke down while running first and second, and Eddie Irvine collected his first win for Ferrari, the reward for being next in line. Michael Schumacher won at Imola and Monaco; Häkkinen replied in Brazil, Spain and Canada, where for the first time a race ended behind the safety car.

The calendar

• Australian Grand Prix, won by Eddie Irvine
• Brazilian Grand Prix, won by Mika Häkkinen
• San Marino Grand Prix, won by Michael Schumacher
• Monaco Grand Prix, won by Michael Schumacher
• Spanish Grand Prix, won by Mika Häkkinen
• Canadian Grand Prix, won by Mika Häkkinen
• French Grand Prix, won by Heinz Harald Frentzen
• British Grand Prix, won by David Coulthard
• Austrian Grand Prix, won by Eddie Irvine
• German Grand Prix, won by Eddie Irvine
• Hungarian Grand Prix, won by Mika Häkkinen
• Belgian Grand Prix, won by David Coulthard
• Italian Grand Prix, won by Heinz Harald Frentzen
• European Grand Prix, won by Johnny Herbert
• Malaysian Grand Prix, won by Eddie Irvine
• Japanese Grand Prix, won by Mika Häkkinen