Formula One: Helped by McLaren clash, Irvine closes to within two points of Hakkinen with win
25 July 1999
SPIELBERG, Austria -- Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine second his career Grand Prix victory, snatched from David Coulthard's grasp by just .313 of a second in Austria, pulling Irvine to within just two points of Mika Hakkinen in the World Championship points battle.The West McLaren-Mercedes duo of Coulthard and Hakkinen did their part in helping Irvine win by colliding on the opening lap.
"I knew qualifying did not represent our true performance," said Irvine, who had qualified his Ferrari third with a time a full second slower than Hakkinen's pole-winning McLaren-Mercedes. "And because of that and the right strategy, I was able to do the job. I proved that I can win."
With Michael Schumacher out of action for about three months after breaking his right leg after crashing in the recent British Grand Prix, Irvine has taken over Ferrari's bid to win the Drivers and Constructors Championships. After nine of 16 races, Hakkinen now has 44 points to Irvine's 42. It's equally close in the Constructors Championship, where Ferrari leads with 74 points over McLaren-Mercedes with 72 points.
Hakkinen took the lead at the start of the race but was knocked into a spin as his teammate Coulthard tried to pass him going into the second corner. That dropped Hakkinen to last place.
"I'm going to have a serious discussion with a certain person on a certain subject!" Hakkinen said afterward.
Hakkinen lived up to his nickname "The Flying Finn" by charging spectacularly through the field to eventually finish third.
Coulthard led for the first 39 laps, while Rubens Barrichello ran second in his Stewart-Ford and Irvine third. The mid-race pit stops, however, vaulted Irvine into the lead on lap 40 as he took advantage of Coulthard being slowed by traffic and having a pit stop that lasted a second longer.
Coulthard chased Irvine all the way to the checkered flag. Irvine's margin of victory, .313 of a second, was the closest Grand Prix win since Ayrton Senna beat Nigel Mansell by .215 of a second at Monaco in 1992.
Irvine averaged 129.609 mph (208.587 km/h) to complete the 71-lap, 190.546-mile (306.649-km) race in one hour, 28 minutes and 12.438 seconds. Heinz-Harald Frentzen finished fourth in his B&H Jordan-Mugen-Honda.
Austria's Alexander Wurz took fifth in his Mild Seven Benetton-Playlife, and Pedro Diniz rounded out the points-paying positions with a sixth place in his Red Bull Sauber-Petronas.
Barrichello was in fourth place when he retired with less than 20 laps to go after an oil-feed pipe problem caused his engine to fail.
Johnny Herbert's Stewart-Ford had its rear wing knocked off on the first lap by Mika Salo's Ferrari as Herbert slowed for the traffic jam caused by the two McLarens tangling. Salo, Schumacher's replacement at Ferrari, finished ninth.
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