Formula One: Hakkinen-Coulthard deliver one-two punch for McLaren
31 May 1999
BARCELONA, Spain--Mika Hakkinen moved to within six points of Michael Schumacher in the Formula One World Championship with a victory in the Spanish Grand Prix.Hakkinen led virtually the entire way, giving up first place to his West McLaren-Mercedes teammate David Coulthard only during pit stops. Coulthard ended up second, 6.238 seconds behind Hakkinen, to give McLaren-Mercedes its first one-two finish of the season.
"It's great to be back on the top of the podium," Hakkinen said after scoring his second Grand Prix victory of the season and the 11th of his career.
Hakkinen moves ahead of Eddie Irvine to take second in the standings and now has 24 points to Schumacher's 30.
Schumacher, who took third place in his Ferrari, maintained his remarkable record of finishing in the top six and scoring points in each of his nine consecutive Spanish Grand Prix appearances. Hakkinen averaged 121.544 mph (195.608 km/h) to complete the 65-lap, 190.882-mile race in one hour, 34 minutes and 13.665 seconds.
Starting from the pole, Hakkinen grabbed the lead, followed by Coulthard. Former Indianapolis 500 winner Jacques Villeneuve made a brilliant start to jump from sixth to third by the first corner.
"I'd like to know (how I did it) because I'd like to do it again," Villeneuve said of his start.
Villeneuve's fast getaway allowed him to get in front of Schumacher, and Villeneuve held Schumacher at bay until they both pitted on Lap 24. Quick pit work by the Ferrari crew put Schumacher and Irvine ahead of Villeneuve after the first round of stops.
For the rest of the race, the order of the top four -- Hakkinen, Coulthard, Schumacher and Irvine -- remained unchanged except when the second round of pit stops briefly interrupted the sequence.
Villeneuve held on to fifth place but was slowed when a flap on his rear wing broke, and he finally retired with gearbox woes.
Two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi had yet another unhappy weekend. While his Winfield Williams-Supertec teammate Ralf Schumacher headed for fifth place, Zanardi retired when his gearbox broke as he tried to leave the pits.
Rubens Barrichello finished eighth, but his Stewart-Ford was disqualified due to a technical infringement with the skid pads on the car.
Of the 12 finishers -- the highest number this season -- two deserve special mention. Jarno Trulli, who took sixth in his Gauloises Prost-Peugeot, scored his first point of the year. And Mika Salo finished eighth in his BAR, marking the first time ever that one of the new BAR team cars has made it to the finish line of a Grand Prix.
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