Mika Hakkinen reclaimed the lead in the Formula One Drivers World Championship, after a firm win in the Luxembourg Grand Prix, which saw him finish just two seconds ahead of his main title rival, Michael Schumacher. Hakkinen's team-mate, David Coulthard, finished third, giving the McLaren team a 15-points lead in the constructors Championship - just one point short of securing their title today.
Although a dark sky loomed in the background, Sunday's race remained dry and the sun managed to break through keeping it fairly sunny. Michael Schumacher had a good start, but not better than his team-mate Eddie Irvine who led in the first lap; The McLarens of Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard followed in third and fourth respectively. Shortly after, Irvine conceded the lead and Schumacher broke away. After Schumacher obtained approximately 8 seconds between himself and his team-mate, Hakkinen passes Irvine and started his challenge on the lead.
Lap by lap, Irvine started to struggle and hold up Coulthard and Fisichella. This was a sign of things to come as reports came through that the Goodyear front tyres are causing Ferrari understeer. The first round of pits stop saw Mika Hakkinen barely pass Schumacher as the Finn came out of the pits. The German managed to stick close to the leading McLaren, keeping about a half-second behind. However, as the Goodyear tyres wore, Schumacher found himself quickly 2 seconds down. After the second round of pit stops, Schumacher remained in second with approximately four to five seconds separating himself from being either four critical points up or down with one race to go in the championship. Mika Hakkinen, McLaren and Bridgestone remained mistake free as the Finn captures a monumental win in front of his rival's home crowd.
A happy Hakkinen, who will celebrate his 30th birthday tomorrow, commented after the race: "We managed to solve the set up problems I had been experiencing in practice over the weekend. This made driving the car in the race really enjoyable. Our race strategy proved to be right and the team did a fantastic job of the pitstops to get me out ahead of Michael on both occasions." And a delirious McLaren team boss Rod Dennis, who vowed to remain unemotional prior to today's race, added: "(This was) probably the most important race in the history of the company. Today's race puts us in a very strong position for the Constructor's Championship and of course gives Mika the opportunity to win the World Championship. We shall enjoy the celebrations today but we will be focusing on Suzuka from tomorrow."
A full race report will appear on Atlas F1 on Wednesday
Timing
POS DRIVER NATION TEAM TIME 1. M.Hakkinen FIN McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 1h 32:14.789s 198.534 kph; 2. M.Schumacher GER Ferrari F300 1h 32:17.001s + 2.212 3. Coulthard GBR McLaren-Mercedes MP4/13 1h 32:48.952s + 34.164 4. E.Irvine GBR Ferrari F300 1h 33:12.971s + 58.183 5. H.H.Frentzen GER Williams-Mecachrome FW20 1h 33:15.036s + 1:00.248 6. G.Fisichella ITA Benetton-Mecachrome B198 1h 33:16.148s + 1:01.360 7 A.Wurz AUT Benetton-Mecachrome B198 1h 33:19.578s + 1:04.790 8. J.Villeneuve CAN Williams-Mecachrome FW20 66 laps + 1 lap 9. D.Hill GBR Jordan-Mugen-Honda 198 66 laps + 1 lap 10. J.Alesi FRA Sauber-Petronas C17 66 laps + 1 lap 11. R.Barrichello BRA Stewart-Ford SF2 65 laps + 2 laps 12. O.Panis FRA Prost-Peugeot AP01 65 laps + 2 laps 13 Jos Verstappen NED Stewart-Ford SF2 65 laps + 2 laps 14. M.Salo FIN Arrows A19 65 laps + 2 laps 15. S.Nakano JPN Minardi-Ford M198 65 laps + 2 laps 16. T.Takagi JPN Tyrrell-Ford 026 65 laps + 2 laps Fastest Lap: Mika Hakkinen Lap 25 1:20.450 secs 203.873 kph. Retirements: Lap 6 P.Diniz Arrows A19 hydraulics Lap 6 J.Trulli Prost-Peugeot AP01 gearbox mainshaft Lap 36 R.Rosset Tyrrell-Ford 026 engine Lap 37 J.Herbert Sauber-Petronas C17 engine Lap 53 R.Schumacher Jordan-Mugen-Honda 198 brake disc Lap 56 E.Tuero Minardi-Ford M198 changed broken driveshaft/ not classified |
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