Formula One: Hakkinen strikes back with dominant victory, pulls to within two points of Irvine

16 August 1999

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Mika Hakkinen cut Eddie Irvine's lead in the World Championship to just two points with a dominating victory Sunday in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hakkinen led his West McLaren-Mercedes teammate David Coulthard to a one-two finish, and the 16 points they amassed also slashed Ferrari's lead in the Constructors Championship from 16 points to just four.

Eddie Irvine ran second for much of the race in his Ferrari but ran wide with 15 laps to go. That allowed Coulthard, who was following him closely, to snatch second place.

Irvine now has 56 points to Hakkinen's 54. Coulthard and Heinz-Harald Frentzen are tied for third with 36 points each. In the constructors' standings, Ferrari has 94 and McLaren-Mercedes 90.

Hakkinen was cheered on by thousands of Finnish fans, who had made the pilgrimage to Budapest to cheer for the two Mikas -- Hakkinen and Salo.

"The Finns have always come to support me here ever since the first time I raced in Hungary back in 1991," Hakkinen said. "This year it's been mega: The grandstands are full of Finns. This is fabulous, and the atmosphere is great."

Hakkinen's fourth victory of the season and the 13th of his career was his first since the Canadian Grand Prix in June. He averaged 107.201 mph (172.524 km) to complete the 77-lap 190.090-mile (305.921-km) race in one hour, 46 minutes and 23.536 seconds. His margin of victory was 9.706 seconds.

Starting from the pole, Hakkinen led the entire race. Irvine ran second while Coulthard, who had made a poor start, dropped to fifth before eventually working his way up to third, just behind Irvine. They both made their second pit stop at the same time, and Irvine was able to stay ahead until he made a mistake on lap 65.

Both B&H Jordan-Mugen-Honda drivers finished in the points, with Heinz-Harald Frentzen claiming fourth and Damon Hill taking sixth. Rubens Barrichello and the Stewart-Ford team were one of the few in the race to choose a strategy of one instead of two pit stops, and that helped Barrichello to finish fifth after starting eighth.

Giancarlo Fisichella ran third and fourth for most of the 52 laps until he retired with engine woes.

Once again, both former CART champions retired. Alex Zanardi was the first out of the race when he pulled his Winfield Williams-Supertec into the pits with differential problems. Jacques Villeneuve completed the most laps yet in a Grand Prix this season - 60 - before stopping with clutch problems on his British American Racing-Supertec.

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