Europe 1999: Team Race Reports

[ Arrows | Benetton | BAR | Ferrari | Jordan | McLaren | Minardi | Sauber | Stewart | Prost | Williams | Bridgestone ]


Arrows [start]

Not present at this time


Benetton [start]

Retired Giancarlo Fisichella (chassis B199/07) - 48 laps in 1:15:30,379 Retired Alexander Wurz (chassis B199/04) - 0 laps.

Wurz went off the track on the first lap following a collision with Hill and Diniz. During the race the team decided that Fisichella should do two pit-stops. Rain fell twice but Fisichella stayed on dry tyres and succeeded in leading the race, until he lost control of the car and went off the track.

Rocco Benetton
"The team worked very well and did all the right moves today. We chose the right strategy as we didn't believe the rain would last and all this worked in our favour. Unfortunately Giancarlo made a small mistake and Alexander was caught up in an accident at the start that he couldn't have avoided."

Giancarlo Fisichella
"I'm really sorry for the team. I went off the track because of my own error and if not I would have won the race. I threw away a unique opportunity. I only have a small justification that during the race I lost my headrest and in the chicane my head fell back and I lost control of the car."

Alexander Wurz
"I did a good start then I got caught behind Hill who must have had a problem because he slowed down completely and I had nowhere to go to avoid him. I touched him just as Diniz's Sauber touched me. It is extremely disappointing but above all I hope Pedro is OK as his crash looked quite bad."


British American Racing [start]

The Eifel Mountain trolls were working overtime, and what they euphemistically call the "vagaries of weather" that can turn a race on the Nurburgring upside down, came as advertised. The result was the strangest race of this season's FIA Formula One series, with favourites littering the track and back markers in the points when the spray had cleared at today's European Grad Prix.

It was also a bittersweet day for British American Racing, with Ricardo Zonta surviving the dry and wet conditions to finish eighth, one lap down from the winner, and suspected clutch failure prematurely ending Jacques Villeneuve's race with fours laps remaining while he ran in the points (fifth). The Canadian had driven an aggressive race, running on dry tyres throughout the various squalls, until mechanical difficulties claimed him.

The race was jinxed from the outset, with a false start caused by an unnaturally long set of starting lights, and then a first-lap accident that knocked Damon Hill (Jordan), Alexander Wurz (Benetton) and (Sauber's) Pedro Diniz out of the race, and sent Diniz to hospital. The McLaren and Ferrari teams were plagued by bad tyre decisions, which essentially ended the victory aspirations of Mika Hakkinen and Eddie Irvine, and then three straight leaders fell by the wayside: Jordan's polesitter Heinz-Harald Frentzen with mechanical failure, McLaren's David Coulthard locking his front tyres and spinning out, and Williams' Ralf Schumacher sustaining a puncture.

In the end, Stewart-Ford had its first-ever race victory in three years of Grand Prix racing, Johnny Herbert coming from 13th to capture his third career win. His team-mate, Ruben Barrichello was third, and the Stewart duo was joined on the podium by Prost's Jarmi Trulli, in second. Schumacher claimed fourth, and Hakkinen hung on for fifth and two World Championship points, giving him a 62-60 lead over Irvine on the season with only two races remaining. Marc Gene of Minardi gave that team a rare point with a sixth-place finish.

The Formula One circus now leaves Europe for the final two rounds of the 1999 calendar, in Malaysia and Japan. The next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, takes place on the brand-new, high-tech Sepang circuit just outside Kuala Lumpur, on October 17. The season will end on Halloween day at Suzuka in Japan.

Jacques Villeneuve : Retired/Classified 10th
"It was extremely disappointing to stop with four laps to go, but I had been expecting it because I had problems changing gear for 10 laps before that. Our one-stop race strategy was good because we had to take risks, although maybe we should have gone to wets, because during the first rain I spun at the chicane and had to take it easy for a bit until the rain eased off. The positive thing now is that the car is competitive and we just have to go for it in the last two races. Points should now be our aim, not just finishing races."

Ricardo Zonta : 8th
"It was my choice to come in for wets during the first rainstorm and this was a mistake because the rain was not that bad. It's a pity because the car was fast and good to drive and I could have finished higher without that extra pit stop. The guys did a great job for me, particularly 'Rocky' Rocquelin who was my engineer for the first time. We had the opportunity over the weekend to change a lot to see which would be the best set-up. I think if I could start the weekend from now, I would qualify better."

Craig Pollock : Chairman & CEO, British American Racing
"In spite of another non-finish for Jacques, things are starting to come together now. The car proved very competitive today - both drivers were able to lap quickly, and Ricardo's times in particular were up with the leaders as the track started to dry. The team worked very well together, we held our nerve, and the one-stop strategy for Jacques almost got us in the points. We feel that we missed out this time by a very small margin. We still have to do better, however."


Ferrari [start]

Jean Todt
"The race was a series of problems enlivened with much drama. We were unable to make the most of the continual changes in the weather and the situations these created. At the first pit stops, we were waiting for Eddie, but Salo came in first to change his damaged front wing, losing valuable time. Irvine came in immediately after Mika, when a last minute change of tyre choice also lost us time. At the end of lap 45, Salo stopped with a brake problem which we are currently analysing.

In these unusual circumstances, our main rivals coped with the conditions better than us. The championships are still up for grabs. This is not the time for recriminations. If we want to fight to the end of the championship we must not stumble like this in the remaining races."

Eddie Irvine
"Our strategy was a bit wrong. We stayed out when we should have come in. It was yet another great opportunity missed. As for my first pit stop, the pit crew was ready for me, but Salo came in first and so the mechanics got rid of my tyres to put his tyres on. Then when I came in they could not find one of my tyres. They eventually found it and I lost a lot of time. It is difficult when you have one group of mechanics serving two cars. We got our pit stops out of sequence.

We should have been attacking ahead, instead of covering Hakkinen but there were too many mistakes. At the end, when the track was drying, I was unable to keep on the pace as the balance of my car was not right. Even so, we have got off lightly as I am still only two points behind the championship leader."

Mika Salo
"When I first changed onto wet tyres was a mistake, but then I had a problem with the brakes as they were on all the time. It felt as though I had a handbrake on. The car was very difficult to drive, even in a straight line, as every time I backed off the throttle, I locked up the rear wheels. When the track started to dry out it was impossible to continue. I am not sure what went wrong with the pit stop."


Jordan [start]

After leading the European Grand Prix for 32 laps, Heinz-Harald Frentzen was forced to retire with a suspected electrical problem. The German driver had come into the pits with David Coulthard's McLaren right behind him, but maintained his lead thanks to a first class pit stop by his Benson and Hedges Jordan team mechanics.

Shortly after exiting the pit lane he abandoned his race when the car suddenly slowed, then stopped. Frentzen now lies twelve points behind championship leader Mika Hakkinen with two races to go. Damon Hill also had a disappointing day, retiring with loss of drive after the first corner.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen
"Today was a huge disappointment," said Heinz." It feels awful to drop out of the race when you are leading. Everything had gone so well for the first half of the race and the team did a fantastic job in the pits to get me out ahead of David (Coulthard) but as I came out I seemed to have an electrical problem. We are not sure what it was and we need to analyse it. Our strategy had worked well and I was able to hold back the McLarens which felt really good. But these things happen in motor racing and a lot of driver did not finish the race today or were outside the points. What it important is that Pedro (Diniz) was not hurt because this is the only thing that matters."

Damon Hill
"I had a good start," said Damon. "But, when I came out of the first corner I had no power and could not get out of the way. The ensuing accident was very nasty and I saw it happening but there was nothing I could do. I saw Pedro (Diniz) fly past me and I was very worried as I was on the scene when they were tending to him. I am very relieved to hear that he is ok."

Eddie Jordan
"This race was a litany of disasters for all the key teams," said Eddie Jordan. "For us and for Heinz-Harald it was an opportunity lost. But we lead the race and were doing a superb job before we went out. Ours is not the only disappointed team today. I feel sorry for Heinz, but there is a list of other drivers too to feel sorry for - David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella. The Championship is still open. It was great to see Johnny win the race and I would like to congratulate Stewart on the team's first win."

European Grand Prix Weekend