F1 Legend Sim/Seasons/1999

1999 F1 Season

16 races · McLaren MP4/14

The 1999 season was one of the decade's most unpredictable, shaken by an unexpected mid-year twist. At Silverstone, Michael Schumacher suffered a heavy crash that broke his leg and sidelined him for six races, right in the thick of the title fight.

His absence thrust Eddie Irvine into the Ferrari lead, and the Northern Irishman responded with unexpected consistency that carried him into title contention until the final race. Mika Häkkinen, with a fast but less reliable McLaren, had to overcome his own errors and the pressure.

Schumacher returned for the closing rounds to support his team-mate, but it was Häkkinen who sealed his second consecutive title at Suzuka. As consolation, Ferrari won its first constructors' championship in sixteen years, a first trophy that foreshadowed the golden era to come.

Drivers’ Champion

Mika Häkkinen

McLaren MP4/14

Constructors’ Champion

Ferrari

16 races

See the 1999 simulation Ver en español

Key moment

«Schumacher, ankle broken at Silverstone, returns for the final race to support Irvine, unsuccessfully.»

The 1999 grid, car by car

The 11 teams that raced in 1999, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#TeamOur ratingDrivers
1McLaren
97
Mika Häkkinen · David Coulthard
2Ferrari
95
Michael Schumacher · Eddie Irvine
3Jordan
89
Heinz-Harald Frentzen · Damon Hill
4Benetton
83
Alexander Wurz · Giancarlo Fisichella
5Williams
83
Ralf Schumacher · Alessandro Zanardi
6Stewart
82
Rubens Barrichello · Johnny Herbert
7Prost
79
Jarno Trulli · Olivier Panis
8Sauber
78
Jean Alesi · Pedro Diniz
9BAR
76
Jacques Villeneuve · Ricardo Zonta
10Arrows
76
Pedro de la Rosa · Toranosuke Takagi
11Minardi
71
Marc Gene · Luca Badoer

How 1999 actually ended

The official final standings, from the Australian Grand Prix to the Japanese Grand Prix. This is the real result; the simulation is further down.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Mika HäkkinenMcLaren7651011
2Eddie IrvineFerrari74490
3Heinz-Harald FrentzenJordan54261
4David CoulthardMcLaren48260
5Michael SchumacherFerrari44263
6Ralf SchumacherWilliams35030
7Rubens BarrichelloStewart21031
8Johnny HerbertStewart15110

It came down to 2 points: Häkkinen and Irvine finished closer than a fourth place is worth. 6 different drivers won that year, and the final Grand Prix went to Mika Häkkinen.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

1999, race by race

All 16 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.

6different drivers won: Häkkinen 5 · Irvine 4 · Coulthard 2 · Frentzen 2 · Schumacher 2 · Herbert 1.

4different teams won: McLaren 7 · Ferrari 6 · Jordan 2 · Stewart 1.

4different drivers took pole: Häkkinen 11 · Schumacher 3 · Barrichello 1 · Frentzen 1.

11different drivers stood on the podium.

6one-twos for a single team: Ferrari 3 · McLaren 3.

3 of 16races were won from pole position.

1first-ever win: Eddie Irvine (Australian Grand Prix).

From 14ththe win from furthest back: Johnny Herbert, European Grand Prix.

28 years, 106 daysthe youngest winner of the year: David Coulthard, British Grand Prix.

52%of starts reached the flag (180 of 349).

8 of 22cars finished the Monaco Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.

#Grand PrixWinnerStarted
1Australian Grand PrixEddie IrvineFerrari6th
2Brazilian Grand PrixMika HäkkinenMcLaren1st
3San Marino Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari3rd
4Monaco Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari2nd
5Spanish Grand PrixMika HäkkinenMcLaren1st
6Canadian Grand PrixMika HäkkinenMcLaren2nd
7French Grand PrixHeinz-Harald FrentzenJordan5th
8British Grand PrixDavid CoulthardMcLaren3rd
9Austrian Grand PrixEddie IrvineFerrari3rd
10German Grand PrixEddie IrvineFerrari5th
11Hungarian Grand PrixMika HäkkinenMcLaren1st
12Belgian Grand PrixDavid CoulthardMcLaren2nd
13Italian Grand PrixHeinz-Harald FrentzenJordan2nd
14European Grand PrixJohnny HerbertStewart14th
15Malaysian Grand PrixEddie IrvineFerrari2nd
16Japanese Grand PrixMika HäkkinenMcLaren2nd

Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Our source has no fastest laps before 2004.

What if 1999 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 1999 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 16-race championship 100 times.

DriverAvg. finishTitles
Mika Häkkinenreal championMcLarenP198%
Michael SchumacherFerrariP2.41%
Eddie IrvineFerrariP3.11%
David CoulthardMcLarenP3.50%
Heinz-Harald FrentzenJordanP5.20%
Damon HillJordanP5.80%

Mika Häkkinen wins 98% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Michael Schumacher manages 1%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 1999 championship-winning car?

Build your own hypothesis

Hypotheses from other seasons

Schumacher vs Häkkinen 1998: the start of a great rivalry

1998 · Duel

▶ Simulate now

Drivers of 1999

Mika Häkkinen★ 2Michael Schumacher★ 7
All seasons 1980-2025

Keep reading

What we have measured about 1999 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.

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