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135-647: British American Racing ( BAR ) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell , and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership with Honda which lasted for the next six years. The team was named after British American Tobacco plc (BAT), which owned and sponsored it in order to display its Lucky Strike and 555 brands. The headquarters were in Brackley , Northamptonshire , United Kingdom . In mid-November 2004, Japanese automobile manufacturer Honda purchased 45% of
270-451: A full F1 manufacturer team . In addition, Jenson Button's Williams contract was bought out for US$ 30 million, and Button signed a multi-year contract with Honda. Following the sale of the team to Honda, BAT would return to Formula One in 2019 sponsoring McLaren in a "global partnership" agreement under its A Better Tomorrow campaign, relating to electronic cigarettes and related alternative smoking products. ( key ) BAR tested
405-486: A rev limiter . The Formula One Teams Association (FOTA) believed that allowing some teams to have such technical freedom would have created a 'two-tier' championship, and thus requested urgent talks with the FIA. But talks broke down and FOTA teams announced, with the exception of Williams and Force India , that 'they had no choice' but to form a breakaway championship series . On 24 June, Formula One's governing body and
540-653: A Ferrari 1–2, and Frentzen finished third. Round eleven took place in Hungary and Häkkinen took pole as usual, with Irvine alongside him and Coulthard third. Häkkinen and Irvine quickly raced away, while Coulthard got passed by Giancarlo Fisichella and Frentzen. Coulthard jumped both drivers in the stops and then chased after Irvine. The Ulsterman cracked under the pressure with eight laps left, by running wide and thus settling for third position. Häkkinen cruised to victory and Coulthard completed McLaren's 1–2. The field went to Belgium next and Häkkinen took his tenth pole of
675-621: A Grand Prix driver. Pedro Diniz left Arrows for Sauber . Johnny Herbert , whose Sauber seat was taken by Diniz, joined Rubens Barrichello at Stewart . Stewart's drivers from 1998 were both absent from the Formula One grid this year: Jan Magnussen moved to the American Le Mans Series , while Jos Verstappen became the test driver for the Honda F1 project, which was later aborted. Finally, Minardi also fielded
810-627: A ban on ground-effect aerodynamics during 1983 . But by then, turbocharged engines, which Renault had pioneered in 1977 , were producing over 520 kW (700 bhp) and were essential to be competitive. By 1986 , a BMW turbocharged engine achieved a flash reading of 5.5 bar (80 psi) pressure, estimated to be over 970 kW (1,300 bhp) in qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix . The next year, power in race trim reached around 820 kW (1,100 bhp), with boost pressure limited to only 4.0 bar. These cars were
945-558: A completely new driver pairing: Luca Badoer (who had last driven for Forti in 1996 but became Ferrari test driver in the following years) and the third rookie driver, reigning Open Fortuna by Nissan champion Marc Gené . Their previous drivers Shinji Nakano and Esteban Tuero became a test driver for Jordan and driver in the Argentinian TC 2000 Championship , respectively. A wrist injury to Luca Badoer led to Prost test driver Stéphane Sarrazin making his F1 debut at
1080-563: A deal to become Honda's only team in 2003, despite finishing behind Honda's other team, Jordan, in both 2001 and 2002. BAR brought in Jenson Button to replace Panis for the 2003 Formula One season . Villeneuve's contract negotiation arguments with David Richards eventually ended with him being replaced before the end of the season by Japanese driver Takuma Sato . Honda has traditionally liked its teams to field Japanese drivers for publicity reasons in its home country. Jenson Button led
1215-469: A driver's fastest lap in that period (barring infractions) counts. Any timed lap started before the end of that period may be completed and will count toward that driver's placement. The number of cars eliminated in each period is dependent on the total number of cars entered into the championship. Currently, with 20 cars, Q1 runs for 18 minutes, and eliminates the slowest five drivers. During this period, any driver whose best lap takes longer than 107% of
1350-430: A five-year management contract to run BAR. BAT and Prodrive had a prior relationship with BAT sponsoring Subaru's World Rally Championship team, operated by Prodrive. 2002 was a transient season for BAR. A significant proportion of the workforce was culled while technical director Malcolm Oastler and designer Andy Green left. Villeneuve still struggled to score points and Panis also failing to reach expectations. BAR signed
1485-482: A guerrilla war with a very long-term aim in view". FOCA threatened to establish a rival series and boycotted a Grand Prix, and FISA withdrew its sanction from races. The result was the 1981 Concorde Agreement , which guaranteed technical stability, as teams were to be given reasonable notice of new regulations. Although FISA asserted its right to the TV revenues, it gave FOCA the administration of those rights. FISA imposed
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#17327915106461620-404: A management buyout to become Brawn GP , with Ross Brawn and Nick Fry running and owning the majority of the organisation. Brawn GP laid off hundreds of employees, but won the year's world championships. BMW F1 was bought out by the original founder of the team, Peter Sauber . The Lotus F1 Team was another, formerly manufacturer-owned team that reverted to "privateer" ownership, together with
1755-533: A modified BAR-Honda 007 car, which they intended to use in an attempt to set the land speed record for a car meeting FIA Formula One regulations. The team aimed for 400 km/h (249 mph), and had planned to attempt the record at Bonneville Salt Flats . The driver for this project was Alan van der Merwe . The modified chassis performed a shakedown test on the 10,000-foot (3.0 km) long runway at Mojave Airport in California , on 5 November 2005, under
1890-468: A new Concorde Agreement committing them to the sport until 2025, including a $ 145 million budget cap for car development to support equal competition and sustainable development. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the sport to adapt to budgetary and logistical limitations. A significant overhaul of the technical regulations intended to be introduced in the 2021 season was pushed back to 2022, with constructors instead using their 2020 chassis for two seasons and
2025-512: A new record the following year. Formula One Formula One , commonly known as Formula 1 or F1 , is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one of the world's premier forms of racing since its inaugural running in 1950 . The word formula in
2160-530: A number of Grand Prix racing organisations made suggestions for a new championship to replace the European Championship, but due to the suspension of racing during the conflict, the new International Formula for cars did not become formalised until 1946, to become effective in 1947. The new World Championship was instituted to commence in 1950 . The first world championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix , took place at Silverstone Circuit in
2295-404: A partnership with Lego , with the first new sets releasing in 2025. The regulations governing Formula One are set to be revised for the 2026 season, with big changes planned to help encourage closer and more competitive racing. Changes include: In November 2024, General Motors reached an agreement to enter Formula 1 in 2026 with its Cadillac brand. A Formula One Grand Prix event spans
2430-497: A place when Häkkinen went up an escape road at Mirabeau , but soon after, Coulthard retired from third with a mechanical failure. Schumacher won by half a minute, with Irvine making it a Ferrari 1–2, and Häkkinen had to be content with the last podium spot. With a quarter of the season gone, Schumacher led the championship with 26 points and teammate Irvine was second with 18. Häkkinen was third with 14, 12 points behind Schumacher, and only one point ahead of fourth-placed Frentzen. In
2565-470: A press release stating it had been informed it was not entered for the 2010 season, and an FIA press release said the FOTA representatives had walked out of the meeting. On 1 August, it was announced FIA and FOTA had signed a new Concorde Agreement, bringing an end to the crisis and securing the sport's future until 2012. To compensate for the loss of manufacturer teams, four new teams were accepted entry into
2700-578: A race for the first time at the 2003 United States Grand Prix . The team struggled due to its use of Bridgestone tyres. In the off-season they changed to rival company Michelin . Early in 2004 , the team saw a further upswing in its fortunes, Button scoring many podium finishes. He also took their first pole position at San Marino . BAR finished the season in 2nd place in the Constructors' Championship, beating every team except for Ferrari . Despite this, BAR's first win still eluded them. During
2835-516: A reason to impose rule changes that otherwise, under the Concorde Agreement, would have had to be agreed upon by all the teams—most notably the changes introduced for 1998 . This so-called 'narrow track' era resulted in cars with smaller rear tyres, a narrower track overall, and the introduction of grooved tyres to reduce mechanical grip. The objective was to reduce cornering speeds and produce racing similar to rainy conditions by enforcing
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#17327915106462970-434: A season (13, since beaten by Max Verstappen ), and most Drivers' Championships (seven, tied with Lewis Hamilton as of 2021). Schumacher's championship streak ended on 25 September 2005, when Renault driver Fernando Alonso became Formula One's youngest champion at that time (until Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and followed by Sebastian Vettel in 2010 ). During 2006, Renault and Alonso won both titles again. Schumacher retired at
3105-576: A sixteen-race series that commenced on 7 March and ended on 31 October. Defending champion Mika Häkkinen was again awarded the World Drivers' Championship . His team McLaren just missed out: it was Ferrari that clinched the World Constructors' Championship by a margin of four points. It would be the last Drivers' title for a McLaren driver until 2008 . It was Ferrari's first Constructors' title since 1983 , but would also mark
3240-467: A slight drizzle fell and Häkkinen pitted for rain tires . He was the only one and it turned out to be a mistake. He lost a lot of time when he had to pit again for dry tires and he rejoined a lap down. Irvine had a slow stop of 30 seconds when his team couldn't find the fourth wheel to put on and with half of the race gone, Frentzen was leading Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher . Frentzen's race cruelly ended with an electrical failure after his first stop and
3375-442: A smaller contact patch between tyre and track. According to the FIA, this was to reduce cornering speeds in the interest of safety. Results were mixed, as the lack of mechanical grip resulted in the more ingenious designers clawing back the deficit with aerodynamic grip. This resulted in pushing more force onto the tyres through wings and aerodynamic devices, which in turn resulted in less overtaking, as these devices tended to make
3510-706: A team's cars must carry largely identical liveries. BAR lodged a complaint with the International Chamber of Commerce (as permitted under F1's regulations) but simultaneously lodged a complaint with the European Commission. Pollock was summoned to the World Motor Sport Council to explain the team's behaviour. A potential fine and/or ban was averted when Pollock agreed to abide by the F1 arbitration process, admitted that in filing
3645-427: A token system limiting which parts could be modified introduced. The start of the 2020 season was delayed by several months, and both it and 2021 seasons were subject to several postponements, cancellations, and rescheduling of races due to shifting restrictions on international travel. Many races took place behind closed doors and with only essential personnel present to maintain social distancing . In 2022,
3780-743: A valid Super Licence , the highest class of racing licence the FIA issues, and the races must be held on grade one tracks , the highest grade rating the FIA issues for tracks. Formula One cars are the world's fastest regulated road-course racing cars , owing to very high cornering speeds achieved by generating large amounts of aerodynamic downforce , much of which is generated by front and rear wings. The cars depend on electronics, aerodynamics , suspension , and tyres . Traction control , launch control , and automatic shifting , and other electronic driving aids were first banned in 1994 . They were briefly reintroduced in 2001 , and have more recently been banned since 2004 and 2008 , respectively. With
3915-403: A weekend. It typically begins with two free practice sessions on Friday, and one free practice session on Saturday. Additional drivers (commonly known as third drivers ) are allowed to run on Fridays, but only two cars may be used per team, requiring a race driver to give up their seat. A qualifying session is held after the last free practice session. This session determines the starting order for
4050-399: A world championship race. It entered the 1961 British Grand Prix , the only front-engined car to compete that year. During 1962 , Lotus introduced a car with an aluminium-sheet monocoque chassis instead of the traditional space-frame design. This proved to be the greatest technological breakthrough since the introduction of mid-engined cars. In 1968 , sponsorship was introduced to
4185-559: Is allocated one set of the softest tyres for use in Q3. The cars that qualify for Q3 must return them after Q3; the cars that do not qualify for Q3 can use them during the race. As of 2022, all drivers are given a free choice of tyre to use at the start of the Grand Prix, whereas in previous years only the drivers that did not participate in Q3 had free tyre choice for the start of the race. Any penalties that affect grid position are applied at
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4320-434: The 1955 Le Mans disaster . The first major technological development in the sport was Bugatti 's introduction of mid-engined cars. Jack Brabham , the world champion in 1959 , 1960 , and 1966 , soon proved the mid-engine's superiority over all other engine positions. By 1961 all teams had switched to mid-engined cars. The Ferguson P99 , a four-wheel drive design, was the last front-engined Formula One car to enter
4455-485: The 1997 champion Jacques Villeneuve , moved to the newly founded British American Racing (BAR) team. He was partnered with McLaren test driver and FIA GT1 champion Ricardo Zonta , one of three F1 rookies on the grid at the beginning of the season. 1998 Tyrrell driver Ricardo Rosset had retired from racing, while his teammate Toranosuke Takagi moved to Arrows . He was joined by Jordan's test driver from last year, Pedro de la Rosa , who also made his debut as
4590-457: The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix . Other changes included the qualifying format, the point-scoring system, the technical regulations, and rules specifying how long engines and tyres must last. A 'tyre war' between suppliers Michelin and Bridgestone saw lap times fall, although, at the 2005 United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis, seven out of ten teams did not race when their Michelin tyres were deemed unsafe for use, leading to Bridgestone becoming
4725-401: The 2005 French Grand Prix , not helped by the team's use of Michelin tyres causing them to not start the 2005 United States Grand Prix . Takuma Sato had a particularly poor season, scoring just one point, and subsequently, his contract was not renewed by BAR at the end of the season. Sato was replaced in the new Honda team by former Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello . Button scored in each of
4860-403: The 2014 Japanese Grand Prix , where Jules Bianchi collided with a recovery vehicle after aquaplaning off the circuit, dying nine months later from his injuries. Since 1994, three track marshals have died, one at the 2000 Italian Grand Prix , one at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix and one at the 2013 Canadian Grand Prix . Since Senna's and Ratzenberger's deaths, the FIA has used safety as
4995-425: The 2017 and 2018 seasons featured a title battle between Mercedes and Ferrari. Mercedes ultimately won the titles with multiple races to spare and continued to dominate in the next two years, eventually winning seven consecutive Drivers' Championships from 2014 to 2020 and eight consecutive Constructors' titles from 2014 to 2021. During this eight-year period between 2014 and 2021, a Mercedes driver won 111 of
5130-603: The Alfa Romeo name, Sauber introduced a title partnership with the online casino Stake.com , resulting in the team's new identity as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber . Sauber will hold Stake's sponsorship name until the end of 2025, after which it will become the Audi works team for the 2026 season onwards. Scuderia AlphaTauri , Red Bull's junior team, dropped its name and took on sponsors from Hugo Boss and Cash App, becoming Visa Cash App RB, or VCARB for 2024. Formula One announced
5265-528: The Brazilian Grand Prix . It would end up being the Frenchman's only ever race in the series. Mika Salo , driving for Arrows in 1998 , was left without a full-time drive for 1999, but he later served as an injury replacement for both Ricardo Zonta for three races (after his accident during practice of the Brazilian Grand Prix ), and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher for six races after
5400-500: The Grand Prix Manufacturers Association (GPMA), the manufacturers negotiated a larger share of Formula One's commercial profit and a greater say in the running of the sport. In 2008 and 2009, Honda , BMW , and Toyota all withdrew from Formula One racing within a year, blaming the economic recession . This resulted in the end of manufacturer dominance of the sport. The Honda F1 team went through
5535-710: The Imperial Tobacco 's Gold Leaf livery at the 1968 Spanish Grand Prix . Aerodynamic downforce slowly gained importance in car design with the appearance of aerofoils during the 1968 season. The wings were introduced by Lotus's owner Colin Chapman who installed modest front wings and a rear spoiler on his Lotus 49 B at the 1968 Monaco Grand Prix . In the late 1970s, Lotus introduced ground-effect aerodynamics, previously used on Jim Hall 's Chaparral 2J in 1970, that provided enormous downforce and greatly increased cornering speeds. The aerodynamic forces pressing
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5670-470: The Jaguar Racing team, new manufacturer-owned teams entered Formula One for the first time since Alfa Romeo's and Renault's departures in 1985. By 2006, the manufacturer teams—Renault, BMW , Toyota , Honda, and Ferrari—dominated the championship, taking five of the first six places in the Constructors' Championship. The exception was McLaren, which at the time was part-owned by Mercedes-Benz. Through
5805-505: The World Manufacturers' Championship ( 1925 – 1930 ) and European Drivers' Championship ( 1931 – 1939 ). The formula is a set of rules that all participants' cars must follow. Formula One was a formula agreed upon in 1946 to officially become effective in 1947 . The first Grand Prix in accordance with the new regulations was the 1946 Turin Grand Prix , anticipating the formula's official start. Before World War II ,
5940-409: The safety car periods, Coulthard tried to overtake Irvine, but they collided and spun off. Coulthard's miseries ensued when he ignored the red light at the end of the pit lane and was handed a stop-go penalty . All this left Heinz-Harald Frentzen in second, only for him to crash heavily with a brake failure 4 laps from the end. This brought out the safety car until the end of the race, thus making it
6075-409: The 'sprint shootout'; such a system made its debut at the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix and is set to be used throughout all sprint sessions in place of the traditional second free practice session. Sprint qualifying sessions are run much shorter than traditional qualifying, and each session required teams to fit new tyres - mediums for SQ1 and SQ2, and softs for SQ3 - otherwise they cannot participate in
6210-585: The 160 races, with Hamilton winning 81 of these and taking six Drivers' Championships during this period to equal Schumacher's record of seven titles. In 2021 , the Honda-powered Red Bull team began to seriously challenge Mercedes, with Verstappen beating Hamilton to the Drivers' Championship after a season-long battle that saw the pair exchange the championship lead multiple times. This era has seen an increase in car manufacturer presence in
6345-472: The 2006, 2007 and 2008 seasons. During 2008, the Honda RA109 was being developed for the following year while Honda attempted to sell the team. A management buy-out by team principal Ross Brawn and an engine supply deal with Mercedes-Benz resulted in a remarkable 2009 season in which Brawn GP team won the Constructors' Championship with Jenson Button winning the Drivers' Championship. Mercedes bought
6480-538: The 2010 season ahead of a much anticipated 'cost-cap'. Entrants included a reborn Team Lotus —led by a Malaysian consortium including Tony Fernandes , the boss of Air Asia ; Hispania Racing —the first Spanish Formula One team; and Virgin Racing — Richard Branson 's entry into the series following a successful partnership with Brawn the year before. They were also joined by the US F1 Team , which planned to run out of
6615-561: The 2010 season, Mercedes-Benz reentered the sport as a manufacturer after it purchased Brawn GP and split with McLaren after 15 seasons with the team. During the 2009 season, Formula One was gripped by the FIA–FOTA dispute . FIA President Max Mosley proposed numerous cost-cutting measures for the next season, including an optional budget cap for the teams; teams electing to take the budget cap would be granted greater technical freedom, adjustable front and rear wings, and an engine not subject to
6750-519: The Constructors' Championship, Ferrari with 44 points had a big lead over McLaren with 20, and Jordan with 16. For the next race in Spain , Mika Häkkinen took pole position as usual ahead of Eddie Irvine , teammate David Coulthard and Michael Schumacher . Both Ferraris got away poorly, Irvine was passed by Coulthard and both were passed by Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR . The McLarens disappeared into
6885-446: The F1 governing body announced a major rule and car design change intended to promote closer racing through the use of ground effects , new aerodynamics, larger wheels with low-profile tyres, and redesigned nose and wing regulations. Red Bull emerged as the dominant force after the rule shakeup. The 2022 and 2023 Constructors' and Drivers' Championships were won by Red Bull and Verstappen, with multiple races to spare. In 2023
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#17327915106467020-421: The FIA opened applications for new teams to enter Formula 1 in the then near future. Of the teams that applied, only Andretti were approved by the FIA, with them then being rejected by Formula One Management , though they have launched an appeal. In early 2024, the Formula One landscape underwent a significant change in the sphere of team sponsorships and collaborations. Having competed for five seasons under
7155-517: The Ferrari's tire and damaged his front wing, which forced him to pit for repairs. Häkkinen was cruising, but his refuelling equipment malfunctioned during the stops, and the delay pushed him down to fourth. He repassed Frentzen and set off after the Ferraris, only to suffer a puncture and crashed into the wall . Irvine was let through by Salo and took his second consecutive win, with Salo making it
7290-452: The German jumped his rival in the stops to win, sending the tifosi wild. Coulthard came home in second and Barrichello took third after Irvine retired with an engine failure. Häkkinen took pole again at Monaco , but this time, Schumacher prevented a lockout of the front row. Schumacher actually beat Häkkinen on the run to the first corner and then pulled away. Both Irvine and Coulthard gained
7425-650: The UK in the 1960s and 1970s. Promoters held non-championship Formula One events for many years. Due to the increasing cost of competition, the last of these was held in 1983. This era featured teams managed by road-car manufacturers, such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati . The first seasons featured prewar cars like Alfa Romeo's 158 , which were front-engined , with narrow tyres and 1.5-litre supercharged or 4.5-litre naturally aspirated engines. The 1952 and 1953 seasons were run to Formula Two regulations, for smaller, less powerful cars, due to concerns over
7560-524: The United Kingdom on 13 May 1950. Giuseppe Farina , competing for Alfa Romeo , won the first Drivers' World Championship, narrowly defeating his teammate Juan Manuel Fangio . Fangio won the championship in 1951 , 1954 , 1955 , 1956 , and 1957 . This set the record for the most World Championships won by a single driver, a record that stood for 46 years until Michael Schumacher won his sixth championship in 2003. A Constructors' Championship
7695-557: The United States as the only non-European-based team in the sport. Financial issues befell the squad before they even made the grid. Despite the entry of these new teams, the proposed cost-cap was repealed and these teams—which did not have the budgets of the midfield and top-order teams—ran around at the back of the field until they collapsed; HRT in 2012, Caterham (formerly Lotus) in 2014 and Manor (formerly Virgin, then Marussia), having survived falling into administration in 2014, at
7830-406: The average annual cost of running a team—designing, building, and maintaining cars, pay, transport—at approximately £220,000,000 (or $ 265,000,000), Formula One's financial and political battles are widely reported. The Formula One Group is owned by Liberty Media , which acquired it in 2017 from private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners for £6.4 billion ($ 8 billion). Formula One originated from
7965-867: The ban on driver aids was in name only, as they "proved difficult to police effectively". The teams signed a second Concorde Agreement in 1992 and a third in 1997. On the track, the McLaren and Williams teams dominated the 1980s and 1990s. Brabham was also competitive during the early 1980s, winning two Drivers' Championships with Nelson Piquet . Powered by Porsche , Honda , and Mercedes-Benz , McLaren won 16 championships (seven constructors' and nine drivers') in that period, while Williams used engines from Ford , Honda, and Renault to also win 16 titles (nine constructors' and seven drivers'). The rivalry between racers Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost became F1's central focus during 1988 and continued until Prost retired at
8100-636: The buy-out of the Renault team by Genii Capital investors. But a link with its previous owners still survived, with its car continuing to be powered by a Renault engine until 2014. McLaren also announced that it was to reacquire the shares in its team from Mercedes-Benz (McLaren's partnership with Mercedes was reported to have started to sour with the McLaren Mercedes SLR road car project and tough F1 championships, which included McLaren being found guilty of spying on Ferrari ). Hence, during
8235-403: The cars to the track were up to five times the car's weight. As a result, extremely stiff springs were needed to maintain a constant ride height , leaving the suspension virtually solid. This meant that the drivers depended entirely on the tyres for any small amount of cushioning of the car and driver from irregularities of the road surface. Beginning in the 1970s, Bernie Ecclestone rearranged
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#17327915106468370-648: The championship, at the cost of Coulthard, and his sixth place brought Eddie Irvine level with Häkkinen at the top of the standings. At the European Grand Prix , Frentzen took his second and last career pole, ahead of Coulthard and Häkkinen. After two aborted starts, Frentzen led Häkkinen and Coulthard into the first corner, but at the back of the pack, Damon Hill got away slow because of an electrical failure. This caused Alexander Wurz to hit Pedro Diniz . The Sauber driver rolled upside down and his rollbar failed, but Diniz escaped uninjured. After 15 laps,
8505-609: The complaint to the EC his lawyers had acted independently and that declarations made in the claim did not reflect his personal views. He also apologised to the Council and reiterated his acceptance of the FIA's authority. To get around the ban, BAR ran one side of their cars painted in the Lucky Strike colours, and the other side in the blue and yellow of 555. BAR reverted to a more traditional style of livery for 2000 onwards. BAR had
8640-648: The course of the 2004 season, a dispute with WilliamsF1 threatened to overshadow BAR's on-track performance. Both teams believed they had a valid contract for Button in 2005 . The issue finally went to the Contract Recognition Board , which found in favour of BAR. Button was to drive for BAR in 2005, but signed a contract to join Williams for 2006. With increasing restrictions being placed upon tobacco companies' opportunities to advertise in Formula One, rumours suggested that BAT would try to sell
8775-456: The dearth of Formula One cars. When a new Formula One formula for engines limited to 2.5 litres was reinstated for the 1954 world championship, Mercedes-Benz introduced its W196 , which featured things never seen on Formula One cars before, such as desmodromic valves , fuel injection , and enclosed streamlined bodywork. Mercedes drivers won the championship for the next two years, before the team withdrew from all motorsport competitions due to
8910-551: The distance and cruised to a 1–2 finish (Häkkinen before Coulthard), while the Ferraris finally got by Villeneuve at the pit stops , Schumacher finishing third. It was at the Canadian GP that Häkkinen's string of poles was broken, the Finn being pushed to second by Schumacher. The front two maintained their positions at the start and pulled away. Schumacher led until he hit the infamous Wall of Champions and retired. After one of
9045-409: The end of 1993 . Senna died at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix after crashing into a wall on the exit of the notorious curve Tamburello . The FIA worked to improve the sport's safety standards since that weekend, during which Roland Ratzenberger also died in an accident during Saturday qualifying. No driver died of injuries sustained on the track at the wheel of a Formula One car for 20 years until
9180-541: The end of 2006 after 16 years in Formula One, but came out of retirement for the 2010 season, racing for the newly formed Mercedes works team, following the rebrand of Brawn GP . During this period, FIA frequently changed the championship rules with the intention of improving the on-track action and cutting costs. Team orders , legal since the championship started during 1950, were banned during 2002, after several incidents in which teams openly manipulated race results, generating negative publicity, most famously by Ferrari at
9315-439: The end of 2016. A major rule shakeup in 2014 saw the 2.4-litre naturally aspirated V8 engines replaced by 1.6-litre turbocharged hybrid power units. This prompted Honda to return to the sport in 2015 as the championship's fourth power unit manufacturer. Mercedes emerged as the dominant force after the rule shakeup, with Lewis Hamilton winning the championship closely followed by his main rival and teammate, Nico Rosberg , with
9450-490: The end of qualifying. Grid penalties can be applied for driving infractions in the previous or current Grand Prix, or for changing a gearbox or engine component. If a car fails scrutineering, the driver will be excluded from qualifying but will be allowed to start the race from the back of the grid at the race stewards' discretion. 2021 saw the trialling of a 'sprint qualifying' race on the Saturday of three race weekends, with
9585-456: The engine manufacturers could not supply two teams forever. This prompted a battle between BAR and Jordan for the use of Honda engines in the long term. The car was once again designed in co-operation with Adrian Reynard despite talk of tension between him and team principal Craig Pollock. At the launch of the 002 car, Pollock himself described the 2000 season as a chance to "wipe the slate clean" following their awful first season and admitted that
9720-459: The entire race was run in wet conditions. Barrichello led for the first few laps until Coulthard passed him, only for the Scot to retire with a gearbox failure. Häkkinen quickly charged up to second, only to spin and undo his hard work. Schumacher was now second, and soon passed Barrichello to take the lead. He pulled away, but then suffered an electrical problem, which cost him a lot of time and handed
9855-466: The fastest getting first place on the grid, referred to as pole position . From 1996 to 2002, the format was a one-hour shootout. This approach lasted until the end of 2002 before the rules were changed again because the teams were not running in the early part of the session to take advantage of better track conditions later on. Grids were generally limited to 26 cars – if the race had more entries, qualification would also decide which drivers would start
9990-511: The fastest time in Q1 will not be allowed to start the race without permission from the stewards. Otherwise, all drivers proceed to the race albeit in the worst starting positions. This rule does not affect drivers in Q2 or Q3. In Q2, the 15 remaining drivers have 15 minutes to set one of the ten fastest times and proceed to the next period. Finally, Q3 lasts 12 minutes and sees the remaining ten drivers decide
10125-532: The first ever race to finish behind the safety car. Häkkinen won from a surprising Giancarlo Fisichella and the recovering Irvine. Qualifying for the next race in France was disrupted by rain, and it resulted in Rubens Barrichello taking pole ahead of Jean Alesi 's Sauber and Olivier Panis 's Prost . Coulthard was fourth, Schumacher sixth and Häkkinen way down in 14th. The race was no drier, and
10260-434: The first of six successive titles up to 2004 . It was the final season for 1996 world champion Damon Hill . It was also the last Drivers' Championship for McLaren until Lewis Hamilton in 2008 . The following teams and drivers competed in the 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship. All teams competed with tyres supplied by Bridgestone . All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration. After three decades in
10395-489: The first ten grid positions. At the beginning of the 2016 Formula 1 season, the FIA introduced a new qualifying format, whereby drivers were knocked out every 90 seconds after a certain amount of time had passed in each session. The aim was to mix up grid positions for the race, but due to unpopularity, the FIA reverted to the above qualifying format for the Chinese GP, after running the format for only two races. Each car
10530-460: The front row. Ferrari 's Michael Schumacher qualified in third. Just like last year's final race , however, Schumacher stalled on the warm-up lap and had to start at the back of the grid. So the McLarens were first and second into the first corner and pulled away, until both suddenly broke down: Coulthard when his gearbox failed and Häkkinen with electrical trouble. This left Eddie Irvine in
10665-475: The intention of testing the new approach to qualifying. The traditional qualifying would determine the starting order for the sprint, and the result of the sprint would then determine the start order for the Grand Prix. The system returned for the 2022 season, now titled the 'sprint'. From 2023, sprint races no longer impacted the start order for the main race, which would be determined by traditional qualifying. Sprints would have their own qualifying session, titled
10800-399: The last 10 races of the season, culminating in 2 podium positions. Confirmation of this improvement was shown in a skillful pass made by Jenson Button, overtaking Jacques Villeneuve at the fast Pouhon corner at Spa-Francorchamps , in the rain, and around the outside. At the end of 2005, Honda obtained 100% ownership of BAR from British American Tobacco , completing their ambition to become
10935-459: The latter broke his legs at Silverstone . He scored one second place and one third for Ferrari. The 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship comprised the following 16 races. For 1999, there were only minor changes to the technical regulations. The first round of the championship was in Australia and, unsurprisingly, the two McLarens of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard started on
11070-419: The lead at the start, while Irvine was fourth behind Olivier Panis . Häkkinen and Schumacher got away, while Panis held up the others. At the first round of stops, Irvine got in front of Panis but then had to deal with Coulthard. The McLaren slowed his pace and held Irvine up to increase the gap to Häkkinen. Irvine was finally released when Coulthard spun off, but was well over a minute behind the lead. Schumacher
11205-529: The lead back to Barrichello. Nearing the end of the race, Häkkinen completed his comeback by passing Barrichello to lead, but then both of them, with most other front-runners, had to stop for extra fuel. Frentzen started with a full tank and took the second win of his career, ahead of Häkkinen and Barrichello. It seemed that normal service resumed in Great Britain , with Häkkinen on pole ahead of Schumacher and Coulthard. Häkkinen started well, but Schumacher
11340-399: The lead to Irvine for the championship and slowed down to keep both McLarens behind. Coulthard finally got in front, only for his car to break down. Schumacher kept Häkkinen behind to complete a Ferrari 1–2 finish, giving Irvine a four-point lead going into the last race. After the race, the Ferrari cars were found to be illegal by an FIA official and were disqualified, which would make Häkkinen
11475-565: The management of Formula One's commercial rights; he is widely credited with transforming the sport into the multibillion-dollar business it now is. When Ecclestone bought the Brabham team during 1971, he gained a seat on the Formula One Constructors' Association , and in 1978, he became its president. Previously, the circuit owners controlled the income of the teams and negotiated with each individually; Ecclestone persuaded
11610-456: The minority partners. The deal was announced on 2 December 1997. The team was still officially known as Tyrrell in 1998, before it became BAR the following year. On 23 July 1998, BAR announced the signing of 1997 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve away from Williams with a lucrative contract for the 1999 season . Pollock had managed Villeneuve throughout his racing career. Villeneuve was joined by F1 rookie Ricardo Zonta . The car's chassis
11745-509: The most powerful open-wheel circuit racing cars ever. To reduce engine power output and thus speeds, the FIA limited fuel tank capacity in 1984 , and boost pressures in 1988 , before banning turbocharged engines completely in 1989 . The development of electronic driver aids began in the 1980s. Lotus began to develop a system of active suspension , which first appeared during 1983 on the Lotus 92 . By 1987, this system had been perfected and
11880-439: The name refers to the set of rules all participants' cars must follow. A Formula One season consists of a series of races, known as Grands Prix . Grands Prix take place in multiple countries and continents on either purpose-built circuits or closed roads. A point-system is used at Grands Prix to determine two annual World Championships: one for the drivers , and one for the constructors (the teams). Each driver must hold
12015-530: The new leader Coulthard spun off into retirement when the rain truly arrived. This handed the lead to Ralf until he suffered a puncture and fell back to fifth. Giancarlo Fisichella inherited the lead, but he also spun off and retired, so Johnny Herbert in the Stewart gained first place. And on a drying track, he held on to finish ahead of Jarno Trulli in the Prost and teammate Rubens Barrichello . Marc Gené
12150-410: The pit crews time to clear themselves and their equipment from the grid for the race start. 1999 Formula One World Championship The 1999 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 53rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1999 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 1999 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over
12285-426: The race on Sunday. Each driver may use no more than thirteen sets of dry-weather tyres, four sets of intermediate tyres, and three sets of wet-weather tyres during a race weekend. For much of the sport's history, qualifying sessions differed little from practice sessions; drivers would have one or more sessions in which to set their fastest time, with the grid order determined by each driver's best single lap, with
12420-404: The race, not during the post-race scrutineering. The FIA, and later the court, disagreed. In addition to the disqualification, the team was banned for two races, a period which included the lucrative Monaco Grand Prix . The team initially indicated that they planned to fight the decision before a regular civil court but later decided to accept the verdict. Max Mosley , the president of the FIA, saw
12555-461: The race. During the early 1990s, the number of entries was so high that the worst-performing teams had to enter a pre-qualifying session, with the fastest cars allowed through to the main qualifying session. The qualifying format began to change in the early 2000s, with the FIA experimenting with limiting the number of laps, determining the aggregate time over two sessions, and allowing each driver only one qualifying lap. The current qualifying system
12690-421: The restart, Häkkinen pulled away from Irvine and Coulthard and looked set to win until one of his rear wheels suddenly became detached. This led to his retirement and handed the lead to Coulthard, who had jumped Irvine in the stops. Coulthard went on to take a victory on home soil, ahead of Irvine and Ralf Schumacher . With half of the championship complete, Häkkinen led the championship with 40 points. Schumacher
12825-415: The sanction as very lenient; he had wanted the team to be banned for the rest of the season. However, they were unable to prove deliberate intent to cheat as they had with BAR's predecessor, Tyrrell , in the 1984 season . When BAR returned at the European Grand Prix , the team struggled to find its feet. In stark contrast to the previous season, BAR failed to score a single point until the midway point, at
12960-478: The season at Belgium , only to twice more fail to finish the race in the European and Malaysian Grands Prix later on. The Belgian event was notable also for both Villeneuve and Zonta having similar serious crashes during qualifying sessions, reportedly as a result of the drivers betting they could take the famous Eau Rouge corner flat. Zonta sustained an injury during practice for the Brazilian Grand Prix and
13095-406: The season took place at Imola , and even though the tifosi were out in full force for Ferrari, McLaren locked out the front row of the grid for the third successive race. Schumacher and Irvine were confined to the second row. Häkkinen, who was on a two-stopper, raced away from the field early on, only to lose control and crash on the 18th lap. This left Coulthard and Schumacher to battle it out, and
13230-455: The season with an all-new driver pairing: Ralf Schumacher (driving for Jordan in 1998 ) and Alessandro Zanardi . The Italian had last driven in F1 for Lotus in 1994 . In the years between, he had won the 1997 and 1998 CART championships for Chip Ganassi Racing . Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed a straight swap with the younger Schumacher, taking the vacant seat at Jordan alongside 1996 champion Damon Hill . Frentzen's 1998 teammate,
13365-547: The season, ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and David Coulthard . He led into the first corner and pulled away, helped by Alessandro Zanardi , who got up to second but then held up his rivals. Häkkinen was set to win until he spun off at the first corner on lap 30, handing the lead to Frentzen who went on to win ahead of Ralf Schumacher in the Williams and Mika Salo in the Ferrari . This promoted Frentzen to third place in
13500-411: The season, with Coulthard in second and Frentzen third. At the start, Häkkinen got away slowly and opened the door for Coulthard. The McLarens touched, but Coulthard came out on top. He was never headed and eased to victory, with Häkkinen finishing second and Frentzen third. Irvine finished fourth. With three-quarters of the season complete, Häkkinen led the championship with 60 points, but Irvine with 59
13635-460: The second Ferrari to take his first ever win ahead of Jordan 's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher in the Williams . After the cancellation of two proposed races left an unusual five-week gap in the calendar, the Grand Prix circus struck down in Brazil . Häkkinen and Coulthard started 1–2 again, with home hero Rubens Barrichello in third for Stewart . This time, Coulthard faltered at
13770-459: The session. The race begins with a warm-up lap, after which the cars assemble on the starting grid in the order they qualified. This lap is often referred to as the formation lap, as the cars lap in formation with no overtaking (although a driver who makes a mistake may regain lost ground). The warm-up lap allows drivers to check the condition of the track and their car, gives the tyres a chance to warm up to increase traction and grip, and also gives
13905-425: The slogan of "A tradition of excellence", which was viewed as humorous by pundits as the team had no history and therefore no such tradition at all. Adrian Reynard also made an ambitious claim that the team would win a race in their debut season. In a disastrous maiden season, BAR failed to score a single point in the Constructors' Championship, being the only one of the eleven teams that season not to do so. The car
14040-406: The sole tyre supplier to Formula One for the 2007 season by default. On 20 December 2007 Bridgestone signed a contract that officially made it the exclusive tyre supplier for the next three seasons. During 2006, Max Mosley outlined a 'green' future for Formula One, in which efficient use of energy would be an important factor. Starting in 2000, with Ford's purchase of Stewart Grand Prix to form
14175-487: The sport . Team Gunston became the first team to run cigarette sponsorship on its Brabham cars, which privately entered in orange, brown and gold colours of Gunston cigarettes in the 1968 South African Grand Prix on 1 January 1968. Five months later, the first works team , Lotus, initially using the British racing green , followed this example when it entered its cars painted in the red, gold, and white colours of
14310-603: The sport, the Tyrrell team was sold to British American Tobacco and its entry was used by the new British American Racing (BAR) team, with Supertec engines replacing the Ford - Cosworth units of the previous season. In 1998, Goodyear supplied tires to five teams, but when the company withdrew from the sport after 34 years, it left Bridgestone as the sole tire supplier. The Mecachrome engines used by Williams in 1998 were rebadged as Supertec units. Williams entered
14445-663: The sport. After Honda's return as an engine manufacturer in 2015, Renault came back as a team in 2016 after buying back the Lotus F1 team. In 2018, Aston Martin and Alfa Romeo became Red Bull and Sauber's title sponsors, respectively. Sauber was rebranded as Alfa Romeo Racing for the 2019 season, while Racing Point part-owner Lawrence Stroll bought a stake in Aston Martin to rebrand the Racing Point team as Aston Martin for 2021. In August 2020, all ten F1 teams signed
14580-493: The start and he had to be pushed into the pitlane . He rejoined three laps down on the rest of the field. Häkkinen looked dominant, but when he got stuck in third gear, he was passed by Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. Barrichello was on a two-stopper and pitted early, leaving Schumacher in first, only to be jumped by a recovering Häkkinen during the pit stops . Häkkinen won ahead of Schumacher, and Frentzen took third after Barrichello's engine blew up. The first European race of
14715-437: The supervision of safety co-ordinator executive, Jamie Hardwick. The four published times recorded in this test were 393 km/h (244 mph), 405 km/h (252 mph), 410 km/h (255 mph) and 413 km/h (257 mph). However, these tests did not constitute the record attempt itself and waterlogging of the salt flats resulted in the attempt being postponed. The chassis was used by BAR's successor, Honda, to set
14850-554: The team at their Brackley base as well as received full-factory support from Honda including official team vehicles and free engines. Honda had planned to enter Formula One as a factory team, but relented due to Harvey Postlethwaite 's untimely death at the beginning of the previous year. It was the first time Honda had been directly involved in Formula One since 1992. BAR did not have exclusive use of Honda engines though, as Jordan Grand Prix also used Mugen Honda power units. The following year, Jordan were given factory Honda engines, but
14985-431: The team had made many mistakes in their first season. In 2000, the new Honda powered BAR did show a significant improvement. It proved to be considerably more reliable than the team's previous effort, but the team still only had a best finish of 4th and the victory they had promised in 1999 still eluded them. At the end of the season, the team finished 5th in the Constructors' Championship. The progression and improvement of
15120-601: The team in November 2009 and as of December 2023, the team competes as Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team . British American Tobacco (BAT) had been involved in Formula One for many years, with several of its brands being displayed on F1 cars run by various teams. In 1997, the corporation was convinced by Craig Pollock to provide most of the equity to purchase the Tyrrell Formula One team for £ 30 million. Pollock, Adrian Reynard and Rick Gorne were
15255-414: The team was enough to convince Villeneuve to remain at the team. Villeneuve reached the podium twice in 2001 for BAR, but neither he nor his new teammate Olivier Panis 's results were consistent enough. Under pressure from British American Tobacco, Pollock resigned on the eve of the launch of the 2002 car and was replaced as team principal by David Richards . Richards' Prodrive company was also awarded
15390-485: The team winning 16 out of the 19 races that season. The team continued this form in the next two seasons, again winning 16 races in 2015 before taking a record 19 wins in 2016 , with Hamilton claiming the title in the former year and Rosberg winning it in the latter by five points. The 2016 season also saw a new team, Haas , join the grid, while Max Verstappen became the youngest-ever race winner at age 18 in Spain . After revised aerodynamic regulations were introduced,
15525-463: The team, and in September 2005, purchased the remaining 55% share to become the sole owner. Consequently, BAR Honda became Honda Racing F1 Team for the 2006 Formula One season . BAT continued as title sponsor with the Lucky Strike brand, but due to new tobacco advertising regulations worldwide, pulled its sponsorship from Formula One entirely at the end of the 2006 season. Honda ran the team for
15660-484: The team. In mid-November 2004, BAR announced that Honda had purchased 45% and, as part of the deal, David Richards left to be replaced by Nick Fry as team principal. Prodrive's management contract was also terminated early. The start of the 2005 season didn't go according to plan for BAR, as they struggled in the "flyaway" races at the start of the season. Just as they became competitive in San Marino , BAR Honda
15795-507: The teams reached an agreement to prevent a breakaway series. It was agreed teams must cut spending to the level of the early 1990s within two years; exact figures were not specified, and Max Mosley agreed he would not stand for reelection to the FIA presidency in October. Following further disagreements, after Mosley suggested he would stand for reelection, FOTA made it clear that breakaway plans were still being pursued. On 8 July, FOTA issued
15930-600: The teams to "hunt as a pack" through FOCA. He offered Formula One to circuit owners as a package they could take or leave. In return for the package, almost all that was required was to surrender trackside advertising. The formation of the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) in 1979 set off the FISA–FOCA war , during which FISA and its president Jean-Marie Balestre argued repeatedly with FOCA over television revenues and technical regulations. The Guardian said that Ecclestone and Max Mosley "used [FOCA] to wage
16065-672: The technological advances of the 1990s, the cost of competing in Formula One increased dramatically, thus increasing financial burdens. This, combined with the dominance of four teams (largely funded by big car manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz), caused the poorer independent teams to struggle not only to remain competitive but to stay in business. This effectively forced several teams to withdraw. Michael Schumacher and Ferrari won five consecutive Drivers' Championships (2000–2004) and six consecutive Constructors' Championships (1999–2004). Schumacher set many new records, including those for Grand Prix wins (91, since beaten by Lewis Hamilton ), wins in
16200-478: The track as well. Drivers from McLaren , Williams , Renault (formerly Benetton ), and Ferrari , dubbed the "Big Four", won every World Championship from 1984 to 2008 . The teams won every Constructors' Championship from 1979 to 2008 , as well as placing themselves as the top four teams in the Constructors' Championship in every season between 1989 and 1997 , and winning every race but one (the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix ) between 1988 and 1997 . Due to
16335-425: The wake behind the car turbulent or 'dirty'. This prevented other cars from following closely due to their dependence on 'clean' air to make the car stick to the track. The grooved tyres also had the unfortunate side effect of initially being of a harder compound to be able to hold the grooved tread blocks, which resulted in spectacular accidents in times of aerodynamic grip failure, as the harder compound could not grip
16470-459: The world champion instantly. However, Ferrari won their case of appeal and their results were reinstated. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 118 points, in front of McLaren with 114; Jordan with 58 were a lonely third. The championship decider took place in Japan . Häkkinen qualified in second, behind Schumacher, while Irvine crashed in qualifying and was only fifth. Häkkinen took
16605-532: Was added in the 1958 season . Stirling Moss , despite being regarded as one of the greatest Formula One drivers in the 1950s and 1960s, never won the Formula One championship. Between 1955 and 1961, Moss finished second in the championship four times and third the other three times. Fangio won 24 of the 52 races he entered—still the record for the highest Formula One winning percentage by an individual driver. National championships existed in South Africa and
16740-525: Was adopted in the 2006 season. Known as "knock-out" qualifying, it is split into three periods, known as Q1, Q2, and Q3. In each period, drivers run qualifying laps to attempt to advance to the next period, with the slowest drivers being "knocked out" of qualification (but not necessarily the race) at the end of the period and their grid positions set within the rearmost five based on their best lap times. Drivers are allowed as many laps as they wish within each period. After each period, all times are reset, and only
16875-403: Was built by Reynard Motorsport at a new factory in Brackley and was powered by Supertec (rebadged Renault ) engines. At the launch of their new car, BAR unveiled separate liveries for their cars; Villeneuve's car painted in a white and red Lucky Strike livery and Zonta's carrying a blue and yellow 555 livery. The FIA deemed the dual liveries illegal under F1 regulations which state that
17010-427: Was disqualified for running with illegal cars. The allegation was that the cars were able to race with their total weight below 605 kg (1323 lb), the minimum weight required for a Formula 1 car. BAR disputed this, saying that the engine required a minimum of 6 kg (13 lb) of fuel to work, thus keeping them above the minimum weight. Their interpretation of the rules was that this limit applies only during
17145-545: Was driven to victory by Ayrton Senna in the Monaco Grand Prix that year. In the early 1990s, other teams followed suit and semi-automatic gearboxes and traction control were a natural progression. The FIA, due to complaints that technology was determining races' outcomes more than driver skill, banned many such aids for the 1994 season. This resulted in cars that previously depended on electronic aids becoming very "twitchy" and difficult to drive. Observers felt
17280-518: Was only 1 point behind him. Coulthard was third with 46, and in with an outside chance. Frentzen was fourth with 40 and Schumacher, not having raced since the British GP was still on 32. In the Constructors' Championship, consecutive 1–2 finishes had given McLaren the lead with 106 points. Ferrari with 97 was only 9 points behind them. Jordan was third with 47. In Italy , Mika Häkkinen took his eleventh and what would be his last pole position of
17415-410: Was passed by Coulthard and Irvine. Although the race was suspended, because two cars were stalled on the grid, Schumacher raced down to Stowe corner and tried to retake Irvine's place, when his brakes failed and he was pitched him into the tire barrier at 320 kph (200 mph). Schumacher sustained a broken leg and thus his potential as a Drivers' World Championship contender was cut short. After
17550-576: Was relatively quick and often qualified in the midfield, as seen especially in the Spanish Grand Prix , where Villeneuve had briefly been in third place ahead of the Ferraris before pitting in. However, the car suffered from chronic reliability issues, resulting in many instances of the car failing to finish the race. This was especially the case of Villeneuve, who started the season with 11 straight retirements before his first race finish of
17685-711: Was second with 32, but he was expected to miss the rest of the season. Irvine also stood on 32 points and suddenly had to become the new team leader. Frentzen was fourth with 26 and Coulthard was fifth with 22. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 64, two ahead of McLaren with 62. Jordan were third with 31. The news before the round in Austria was that Mika Salo was hired as Michael Schumacher 's replacement. The two McLarens were dominant in qualifying per usual: Mika Häkkinen on pole with David Coulthard second. Eddie Irvine started in third and Salo in seventh for his debut with Ferrari . Häkkinen got off well, but
17820-422: Was set for an evenly shocking points finish for Minardi , but he suffered a gearbox failure. Häkkinen finished fifth and Irvine sixth, separating them by two points in the championship. The first ever Malaysian GP was the host of the penultimate round. Michael Schumacher had recovered and replaced Salo. He took pole ahead of Irvine, with Coulthard and Häkkinen third and fourth. At the start, Schumacher handed
17955-673: Was tipped into a spin at the second corner by his teammate. He sustained no damage, but was demoted to last place. Coulthard led for most of the race, but Irvine jumped him in the second round of pit stops to take the win ahead of the Scot . Häkkinen charged back to finish third. The German GP saw Häkkinen taking his eighth pole of the season. This time, Heinz-Harald Frentzen split the McLarens to start in second place. Häkkinen raced away and Coulthard passed Frentzen, but Salo, starting in fourth, actually got in front of both of them. Coulthard put Salo under pressure and tried to pass, but hit
18090-536: Was unable to participate in qualifying for the race. He was also forced to miss out on the next three races due to that injury. Mika Salo , who filled in for Zonta in those three races, provided the team with its season best finish of 7th at San Marino (although Salo himself did not reach the chequered flag at the end of the race). During the 1999 season, BAR announced that Honda had become their engine supplier beginning in 2000. The Honda deal not only meant they would supply engines, but that Honda staff would work with
18225-511: Was within five seconds of Häkkinen, and piled on the pressure, but Häkkinen kept him at bay to win the race. Reigning champion Häkkinen was awarded the 1999 Drivers' Championship with 76 points, two points ahead of Irvine. Frentzen was third (54 points), ahead of Coulthard (48 points) and Michael Schumacher (44 points). In the Constructors' Championship , Ferrari beat McLaren by four points. Jordan ended up in third. Points were awarded to
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