The 1999 Australian Grand Prix looked set to be dominated by the McLaren duo of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard.
However, when both drivers hit trouble, it was Eddie Irvine who picked up the pieces at the Albert Park Circuit to claim his maiden Formula 1 victory.
McLaren topped the timesheets in practice and qualifying, with Hakkinen securing pole position by four tenths of a second from Coulthard. Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed the top five.
The first start was aborted after smoke began to emerge from the two Stewart machines. Barrichello and Johnny Herbert’s cars had both suffered oil leaks, and the former switched to the spare, while his team-mate was forced to retire before the race had even got going.
The problematic start to the 1999 season continued when Hakkinen’s car suffered issues as he went to pull away from the grid to complete the warm-up lap. He managed to get going before the last car, but Schumacher had stalled behind him and had to line up at the back of the pack.
On the second attempt, Hakkinen had a strong launch from the grid, retaining first place into Turn 1. The top six remained the same through the early stages of the race and the two McLarens pulled away from the chasing field.
However, it was a race of high attrition, with Coulthard retiring with transmission problems on lap 13. At the same time, Hakkinen’s lead was cut when the safety car was deployed after a rear wing failure for Jacques Villeneuve. The Finn was slow away on the restart and it soon became clear he was suffering a mechanical issue. Irvine took the lead, while Hakkinen exited the race.
The Irishman was then left to fight Frentzen, eventually finishing just one second ahead of the Jordan driver to claim his first ever F1 victory. Ralf Schumacher completed the podium for Williams, with Giancarlo Fisichella and Barrichello next up. Pedro de la Rosa rounded out the top six and scored the final point for Arrows.
Only eight drivers were classified at the finish, with Irvine’s team-mate Schumacher being the last of them. He suffered a puncture and later had to pit for a steering wheel change, meaning he ended the race one lap down.
McLaren topped the timesheets in practice and qualifying, with Hakkinen securing pole position by four tenths of a second from Coulthard. Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello and Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed the top five.
The first start was aborted after smoke began to emerge from the two Stewart machines. Barrichello and Johnny Herbert’s cars had both suffered oil leaks, and the former switched to the spare, while his team-mate was forced to retire before the race had even got going.
The problematic start to the 1999 season continued when Hakkinen’s car suffered issues as he went to pull away from the grid to complete the warm-up lap. He managed to get going before the last car, but Schumacher had stalled behind him and had to line up at the back of the pack.
On the second attempt, Hakkinen had a strong launch from the grid, retaining first place into Turn 1. The top six remained the same through the early stages of the race and the two McLarens pulled away from the chasing field.
However, it was a race of high attrition, with Coulthard retiring with transmission problems on lap 13. At the same time, Hakkinen’s lead was cut when the safety car was deployed after a rear wing failure for Jacques Villeneuve. The Finn was slow away on the restart and it soon became clear he was suffering a mechanical issue. Irvine took the lead, while Hakkinen exited the race.
The Irishman was then left to fight Frentzen, eventually finishing just one second ahead of the Jordan driver to claim his first ever F1 victory. Ralf Schumacher completed the podium for Williams, with Giancarlo Fisichella and Barrichello next up. Pedro de la Rosa rounded out the top six and scored the final point for Arrows.
Only eight drivers were classified at the finish, with Irvine’s team-mate Schumacher being the last of them. He suffered a puncture and later had to pit for a steering wheel change, meaning he ended the race one lap down.
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