GRAND PRIX : Monza : The Tracks of Mika's Tears - Ferrari Happenings

...'nuff said.

Eddie checks the passes.

Salo drove as fast as the F399 would let him.

Irvine: "I was bad on the kerbs."

The Ferrari mechanics liked that 3rd place.

GRAND PRIX : Monza : The Tracks of Mika's Tears
Italy, 12.9.99

Although it was a difficult weekend for Scuderia-Ferrari, Mika Salo made it a reasonable one for the Tifosi when a strong drive and good race tactics and pit stop from the team saw him take third place by the flag. "It was great to be on the podium again and it was particularly emotional in front of all the Italian fans," said Salo, who had started from sixth place on the grid.

Eddie Irvine made a cautious start from eight spot to come through to sixth by the finish behind David Coulthard, while Rubens Barrichello had driven a good race for Stewart-Ford to take fourth place behind Salo whom he had passed briefly only to lose out again at the pit stop.

"I made a bit of a cautious start as I knew it was vital to finish this race and that might have cost me one or two places. The car was still not too good in the race, but in the end I got one point and my nearest rival got none," said Irvine, who is now equal on points with Hakkinen for the title with 60 points each.

McLaren managed to lose yet another Grand Prix when Mika Hakkinen spun off whilst holding a secure lead and David Coulthard managed to race all the way from third on the grid to fifth at the finish.

"I tried very hard to keep up with Mika, but he was just a bit too quick," said Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who had resigned himself to a second place finish to the Finn in the Italian Grand Prix. Until lap 30 of the 53 laps race, that is. As Frentzen came into the first chicane for the 30th time he saw Hakkinen parked on the grass having just spun off under braking while holding a comfortable eight seconds lead.

"I couldn't believe it. I saw him spin off all on his own and thought maybe he had a lack of concentration or something," said Frentzen, who took over the lead and went on to his second win of the season for the Jordan team.

Hakkinen said later he had selected first gear instead of second into the corner which had caused him to spin. "It was my fault," said the frustrated Finn, who jumped from his car and threw his gloves to the ground in disgust at his own mistake, one which cost him the chance of pulling out a healthy lead over Eddie Irvine who is now equal in the World Championship standings after a sixth place finish.

Despite pressure from Alex Zanardi's Williams in the opening laps, and then even more pressure from his teammate Ralf Schumacher for the rest of the race, Frentzen kept a cool head and his four seconds lead all the way to the flag to take his second win of the year and third win of his career.

With only three races to go, Frentzen has also put himself right in contention for the 1999 World Championship, just 10 points behind Hakkinen and Irvine, moving into third place overall two points ahead of David Coulthard.

Jean Todt

"Today was a case of damage limitation in relation to our main competitors. We are naturally pleased to have got five points towards the Constructors' Championship and also happy that Eddie's one point now puts him back in equal first place with Hakkinen. Mika drove a good race and deserved to get on the podium. We paid a heavy price for our grid positions, especially on a track where it is hard to overtake. There are still three races to go and it will be very difficult to achieve our objectives. However, as I have always said, we will try our hardest right to the end. Starting on Tuesday, we will spend two and a half days testing at Mugello, in preparation for the next race, the European Grand Prix."

Mika Salo

"This is an unbelievable result after two difficult days in practice. To go from the back on Friday to third today is fantastic. You only have to look at my pit-stop to see how well this team works. At the start Ralf (Schumacher) made his car very wide and I could not get by. Then he managed to get away from me when his team mate let him pass. Barrichello passed me because I could not overtake Zanardi as I was slow on the straight. But then a great pit-stop helped me get this result. It was fantastic to be on the podium again and it was particularly emotional here in front of all the Italian fans. My car was a bit better today than at the start of the weekend. We are trying very hard to improve our car and we have new parts which we will be testing next week."

Eddie Irvine

"I was a bit cautious at the start as I knew it was vital for me to finish the race and that might have cost me one or two places. Changes to the car meant that it was quicker in terms of top speed, but I was bad on the kerbs. In the end though, I got one point and my nearest rival got none. Now we are going to circuits which will suit our car much better and we will be in a much stronger position to fight for the wins. We knew we would struggle here. I was not worried about Zanardi at the end. I had backed off to make sure I got that valuable one point. At least it feels good to be leading the Championship again. Now we must work, work, work."

Race Results:


Italian Grand Prix
World Championship of Drivers, round 12;
Monza, September 12th, 1999;
53 laps, 305,810 kms.
Weather: Partly cloudy and dry


CLASSIFIED

Pos  Driver        Team                  Time        
 1. Frentzen      Jordan Mugen-Honda     1h 17:02.923
 2. R.Schumacher  Williams Supertec         +   3.200
 3. Salo          Ferrari                   +  11.900
 4. Barrichello   Stewart Ford              +  17.600
 5. Coulthard     McLaren Mercedes          +  18.100
 6. Irvine        Ferrari                   +  27.400
 7. Zanardi       Williams Supertec         +  28.000
 8. Villeneuve    BAR Supertec              +  41.700
 9. Alesi         Sauber Petronas           +  42.100
10. Hill          Jordan Mugen-Honda        +  56.200
11. Panis         Prost Peugeot             +   1 Lap *

NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS

Driver        Team               On Lap   Reason         
Herbert      Stewart Ford          40     clutch         
Takagi       Arrows TWR            35     brakes         
de la Rosa   Arrows TWR            35     brakes         
Hakkinen     McLaren Mercedes      29     spun off          
Trulli       Prost Peugeot         29     gearbox         
Zonta        BAR Supertec          25     wheel bearing         
Badoer       Minardi Ford          23     accident with Takagi
Wurz         Benetton Supertec     11     transmission/electronics
Diniz        Sauber Petronas        1     spun off         
Fisichella   Benetton Supertec      1     spun off         
Gene         Minardi Ford           0     collision with de la Rosa


Fastest Lap: R. Schumacher, lap 48, 1:25.579 (242,723 kmph)

Drivers Points Standings after 13 rounds:

 1. Hakkinen      60        
 =  Irvine        60
 3. Frentzen      50        
 4. Coulthard     48 
 5. M.Schumacher  32        
 6. R.Schumacher  30
 7. Barrichello   15        
 8. Fisichella    13
 9. Salo          10       
10. Hill           7 
11. Diniz          3        
 =  Wurz           3
13. Herbert        2        
 =  Panis          2
15. Alesi          1        
 =  Trulli         1
 =  de la Rose     1                           

Constructors' Points Championship:

1. McLaren-Mercedes          108
2. Scuderia Ferrari          102
3. Jordan-Mugen Honda         57
4. Williams-Supertec          30
5. Stewart-Ford               17
6. Benetton-Playlife          16
7. Sauber-Petronas             4
8. Prost Peugeot               3
9. Arrows                      1

All Timing Unofficial

Acknowledgements :
Photos - Sutton Photographic
Race Report - Atlas F1

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