Mika Hakkinen wins - Spanish GP

Sunday May 30th, 1999

Hakkinen heads home McLaren double

Spanish GP - the podiumStarting from pole position, Mika Hakkinen headed home an impressive McLaren Mercedes double in the Spanish Grand Prix, the Finn leading every lap but for his two pit stops when his teammate David Coulthard took the relay. It was the first McLaren one-two since Hockenheim last year.

Slowed by traffic ahead from his fourth place start on the grid, Michael Schumacher had to lift off after a strong start which allowed Jacques Villeneuve into third place in the opening laps, delaying the German's chase of the leaders and any chance of staying with Hakkinen.

"I had a chance to take Villeneuve on the first lap, but it would have been too risky," said Schumacher, who tailed the Canadian until the first round of pit stops when a quicker stop from the Ferrari camp saw Schumacher move into third place, his teammate Eddie Irvine taking fourth spot.

"I was down around 15 seconds on David Coulthard after the first stops and caught up to him before the second stop. Unfortunately, I had a slower Arrows car ahead of me when I came in for my second stop and that spoiled my chance of taking second place," said Schumacher after the race.

While Hakkinen had a trouble-free race, dominating from the head of the field, Coulthard had to work hard to stay ahead of Schumacher, who was right behind him as he came out of the pits after his second stop.

Spanish GP - the start"I had a problem with the handling on my first set of tyres," said Coulthard. "I changed the tyre pressures for my second set and they were even worse. Luckily my third set was a lot better and I was able to stay ahead of him until the end of the race without too much problem." Coulthard finished six seconds behind his teammate and four ahead of the Ferrari of Schumacher, at the flag.

A further 19 seconds back, Irvine brought the second Ferrari home to the points in fourth place, although Hakkinen's second win of the season has pushed him back to third place in the points standings, Schumacher retaining his lead however.

"It was good to be able to race with the McLarens. We were not that far away and I am happy to have the four points from here," said Michael, who still holds a six point lead over Hakkinen after five races.

Villeneuve's hopes of his first finish for BAR and their first points ended on his second pit stop while running in fifth place. A long second stop to remove part of the rear wing became academic when he then suffered a first gear problem as he tried to leave the pits and was forced to retire.

He left fifth place to Ralf Schumacher's Williams, the German just avoiding being lapped by the end of the race, 1:27.208 adrift of the leader and over 50 seconds behind Irvine.

Spanish GP - winner Mika HakkinenJarno Trulli and Jean Alesi had a great scrap for the final point in the opening laps of the race, but after an incident together on the track , Trulli was left an unchallenged sixth, a lap behind the winner, after Alesi parked his Sauber with a gearbox problem.

Heinz Harald Frentzen's good run this season was brought to a halt just after his first pit-stop when he parked on te circuit with a differential failure.

Damon Hill won a long battle with Rubens Barrichello to take seventh place for Jordan after a great overtaking move around the outside on a corner, one of the few passes in what rapidly became a processional race.

Mika Salo's last race for the BAR team saw the Finn cross the line in ninth place holding off a strong challenge from Giancarlo Fisichella who was tenth, his Benetton teammate Wurz in eleventh spot.

The two Arrows of de la Rosa and Takagi completed the 13 finishers, the Spaniard a further lap behind and a lap clear of his teammate Takagi, who finished three laps adrift.

Race Results:

Spanish Grand Prix
World Championship of Drivers, round 5;
Circuit de Catalunya, May 30th, 1999;
65 laps, 307,196 kms.

CLASSIFIED

Pos  Driver        Team               Time                     
 1.  Hakkinen      Mclaren Mercedes   1h34:13.665, 195.608 kmph
 2.  Coulthard     Mclaren Mercedes    +    6.238              
 3.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari             +   10.845              
 4.  Irvine        Ferrari             +   30.182              
 5.  R.Schumacher  Williams Supertec   + 1:27.208              
 6.  Trulli        Prost Peugeot         1 Lap                 
 7.  Hill          Jordan Mugen-Honda    1 Lap                 
 8.  Barrichello   Stewart Ford          1 Lap                 
 9.  Salo          BAR Supertec          1 Lap                 
10.  Fisichella    Benetton Playlife     1 Lap                 
11.  Wurz          Benetton Playlife     1 Lap                 
12.  de la Rosa    Arrows TWR            2 Laps                
13.  Takagi        Arrows TWR            3 Laps                

NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS

Driver        Team               On Lap    Reason  
Badoer        Minardi Ford         50      spun, stalled         
Villeneuve    BAR Supertec         40      gearbox          
Diniz         Sauber Petronas      40      gearbox          
Herbert       Stewart Ford         39      transmission          
Frentzen      Jordan Mugen-Honda   35      differential          
Alesi         Sauber Petronas      27      gearbox          
Zanardi       Williams Supertec    24      transmission          
Panis         Prost Peugeot        24      hydraulic pressure to box          
Gene          Minardi Ford          0      transmission          

Fastest Lap: Michael Schumacher, 1:24.982 (200.287 kmph), lap 29

Lap Leaders: Lap  1-23  Hakkinen; 
             Lap 24-26  Coulthard;
             Lap 27-44  Hakkinen;
             Lap 45     Coulthard;
             Lap 46-65  Hakkinen.


Drivers Points Standings after 5 rounds:

1. M.Schumacher  30        2. Hakkinen      24
3. Irvine        21        4. Frentzen      13
5. Coulthard      12       6  R.Schumacher   9
7. Fisichella     7        8  Barrichello    6
9. Hill           3       10. de la Rosa     1
=  Alesi          1        =  Panis          1
=  Wurz           1        =  Trulli         1

Constructors' Points Championship:

1. Scuderia Ferrari           51
2. McLaren-Mercedes           36
3. Jordan-Mugen Honda         16
4. Williams-Supertec           9
5. Benetton-Playlife           8
6. Stewart-Ford                6
7  Prost Peugeot               2
8. Sauber-Petronas             1
=  Arrows TWR                  1


All Timing Unofficial


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