This post fits the Throwback tag, meant for events that happened a certain number of years ago. These can only be posted one year, three years, or in multiples of five years after the date. Throwbacks should highlight something still relevant to fans today. Just chatting about random moments doesn’t qualify. However, big events like memorials can be posted every year. Ongoing stuff can get exceptions too if the mods allow it.
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(Spoilers ahead!) Here’s a quick breakdown:
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First start got called off because Gené and Zanardi lined up wrong.
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Huge crash at turn one after Hill’s car stopped working. Wurz swerved and slammed into Diniz, whose car flipped and dug into the dirt. Luckily, he was fine.
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Hakkinen, fighting for the championship, pitted for wet tires way too early and lost tons of time.
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Eddie Irvine, also in the championship race, had a chaotic 28-second pit stop because his team got mixed up with last-minute tire changes.
By lap 32, when Frentzen and Coulthard pitted, both Irvine and Hakkinen were nowhere near scoring points.
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Frentzen’s car died right after his pit stop because the team forgot to switch off the anti-stall system.
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Then, when rain hit again, Coulthard spun out of the lead on lap 38 because he hadn’t gone to wet tires yet.
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On lap 49, Fisichella, who was leading the race, spun out, his engine died, and he lost what could’ve been his first win. He was visibly heartbroken.
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Ralf Schumacher took the lead but quickly lost it after a tire blew out right after the main straight.
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Badoer, in a Minardi, lost 4th place due to a gearbox failure, keeping him from scoring his first points ever. He ended up in tears.
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Villeneuve’s BAR broke down with a clutch issue, stopping him from scoring the team’s first points.
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Further back, Irvine and Hakkinen battled for the last points position. Hakkinen forced Irvine into a mistake and overtook him, eventually passing Gené too for 5th place. Gené held onto 6th, scoring Minardi’s first point of the year and keeping Irvine from a point that could’ve made a big difference in the title fight.
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Herbert ended up winning the race—his third and last victory in F1. Trulli took 2nd (his first podium, and Prost’s last), and Barrichello rounded out the podium. This was Stewart Grand Prix’s only win ever.
Crazy that Herbert ended up winning. It was one of those races where it seemed like no one actually wanted to win.
Parker said:
Crazy that Herbert ended up winning. It was one of those races where it seemed like no one actually wanted to win.
Summed up the entire 1999 season—the year when no one seemed to want the championship either.
People saying Luca Badoer was a bad driver should watch this race. He was super quick in those tricky conditions. I remember years ago, someone posted lap times on a forum showing that Badoer was even catching up to 3rd place.
@Ren
Anyone judging Luca by his 2009 Ferrari run needs to remember that Fisichella, who was in great form and almost won a race earlier in the year, also couldn’t score a single point with that terrible car.
@Gray
Believe it or not, there’s always been talk that Schumacher could have come back in 2009 but backed out once he realized how bad the car was.
@Gray
Yeah, that Ferrari was horrible to drive. Badoer had no shot, and then everyone threw him under the bus.
@Ren
With the current points system, Badoer would have more than 20 points because he finished 7th-10th so many times. Several drivers today have scored points and dodged Badoer’s reputation by finishing in those spots.
@Onyx
I saw a post once redoing old standings using today’s points system. Even with more points, the rankings pretty much stayed the same—Minardi still last, Sauber still mid-pack, etc. So, while more points would’ve been handed out, it wouldn’t change things a whole lot.
@Ren
I looked into it too and found some info, but sadly the site’s now behind a paywall after some buyouts. If you have access, here’s the link: https://forix.com/gp.php?l=0&r=19990014&c=7
Here’s a more detailed gap analysis: https://forix.com/gp.php?l=0&r=19990014&c=56
From what I could see, he wasn’t catching 3rd place, but he was keeping pace with better cars. He was on track to get passed by Ralf before the end, but he still would’ve been way ahead of Hakkinen in 5th.
I really wanted it to be true that he could’ve caught 3rd, but looks like he would’ve just stayed solid in 4th. Maybe the guy who did the original analysis looked at some other factors.
In Italy, this race is remembered as one of the biggest commentator curses ever. Gianfranco Mazzoni managed to jinx every leader and Badoer one by one without missing a beat.
Can’t believe it’s been 25 years. I was just a kid back then, and that season was so exciting. I was sure Rubens would get the win, but Herbert pulled it off instead.
Thorn said:
Can’t believe it’s been 25 years. I was just a kid back then, and that season was so exciting. I was sure Rubens would get the win, but Herbert pulled it off instead.
Funny how Barrichello was faster all year (he outscored Herbert 17-5 without this race), yet Herbert got Stewart’s only win. It’d be like Stroll getting Aston Martin’s first win instead of Alonso.
25 years ago? Feels like the 80s to me. Time is weird.
This is the kind of race Hulkenberg needs to finally get that first podium.