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1999 BELGIAN GRAND PRIX

Hungarian GP - Aug 15 Aug 29 Italian GP - Sept 12
Formula One with C.E.
Team Details                   Championship



Mika qualifies on pole yet again Photograph copyright McLaren International

Grid Positions
P Driver Time
1 Mika Hakkinen 1:50.329
2 David Coulthard 1:50.484
3 Heinz-Harald Frentzen 1:51.332
4 Damon Hill 1:51.372
5 Ralf Schumacher 1:51.414
6 Eddie Irvine 1:51.895
7 Rubens Barrichello 1:51.974
8 Alessandro Zanardi 1:52.014
9 Mika Salo 1:52.124
10 Johnny Herbert 1:52.164
11 Jacques Villeneuve 1:52.235
12 Jarno Trulli 1:52.644
13 Giancarlo Fisichella 1:52.762
14 Ricardo Zonta 1:52.840
15 Alexander Wurz 1:52.847
16 Jean Alesi 1:52.921
17 Olivier Panis 1:53.148
18 Pedro Diniz 1:53.778
19 Tora Takagi 1:54.099
20 Luca Badoer 1:54.197
21 Marc Gene 1:54.557
22 Pedro De La Rosa 1:54.579
The race was decided in the first corner
Photograph by McLaren
Ferrari made a particularly poor showing
Photograph by ICN
Damon drove well after a poor start to pick up a point for the Jordan team
Photograph by ICN
Race Results
P Driver
1 David Coulthard - McLaren
2 Mika Hakkinen - McLaren
3 Heinz-Harald Frentzen - Jordan
4 Eddie Irvine - Ferrari
5 Ralf Schumacher - Williams
6 Damon Hill - Jordan

West McLaren Mercedes driver David Coulthard led every lap of the Belgian Grand Prix from the start to the finish. His team mate Mika Hakkinen claimed second place which earns the team the full sixteen points putting the West McLaren Mercedes team in the lead of both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships.

Coulthard screamed from the line to lead into La Source hairpin but Hakkinen, desperate to lead from pole position, touched him as they started to accelerate out of the hairpin.

"Mika went forward before the lights changed and then made a bad start," recalled Coulthard. "He came over to defend his line and there was a little bit of contact just turning into La Source. After that I was surprised I was able to pull away from Mika and then maintain the gap. This is my favourite circuit and it's my first win here in any formula."

World champion Hakkinen, despite regaining his championship lead, was tight lipped about the incident immediately after the race.

The Benson and Hedges Jordan team came away with a further five points to boost its World Championship fight. Frentzen held his qualifying position to finish third, his fifth podium finish of the season. Hill made a bad start but was able to fight back to win a point with a sixth place finish, his second consecutive points scoring race.

The Ferraris had a bad weekend, winning only three points with a fourth place finish by Irvine. Mika Salo finished 7th, protecting Irvine's position from drivers' behind him, a tactic which was not appreciated by Williams' Technical Director, Patrick Head. Head commented, "Unfortunately Ralf fell foul of Ferrari's cynical approach of running a one car team with a blocking tactic to protect Irvine's position. Ferrari has been doing this for the last number of years and I have to say that I very much appreciate the more sporting approach of McLaren in running a two car team."

Jacques Villeneuve had his first finish of the season after his massive accident on Saturday. The Canadian was 15th in the BAR while Pedro Diniz was lucky to walk away uninjured after crashing his Sauber at Eau Rouge, where Villeneuve and Ricardo Zonta crashed the previous day.

The season moves on to Monza in Italy on September 12. We will have a full qualifying report for you on the 11th. Will Michael Schumacher make a return? Will Ferrari repeat last year's amazing 1-2 on home ground? As ever, anything could happen.

Kelvin Fagan

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