1999 Australian Grand Prix
The 1999 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 1999 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 7 March 1999 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia. The 57-lap race was the first round of the 1999 Formula One season, the 50th World Championship season in the history of Formula One.
| 1999 Australian Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 1 of 16 in the 1999 Formula One World Championship
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Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit (last modified in 1998) | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 7 March 1999 | ||||
| Official name | 1999 Qantas Australian Grand Prix | ||||
| Location | Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia | ||||
| Course | Temporary street circuit | ||||
| Course length | 5.303 km (3.295 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 57 laps, 302.271 km (187.823 miles) | ||||
| Scheduled distance | 58 laps, 307.574 km (191.118 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Sunny and dry with temperatures reaching up to 19 °C (66 °F) | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:30.462 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:32.112 on lap 55 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second | Jordan-Mugen-Honda | ||||
| Third | Williams-Supertec | ||||
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Lap leaders | |||||
Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard dominated in practice and the opening stage of the race but retired with technical problems; the new McLaren MP4/14 proved to be very fast but not yet reliable, a trait shared by a number of Adrian Newey designed cars. Michael Schumacher also had problems during this eventful race, which gave his Ferrari teammate Eddie Irvine the opportunity to take his first Grand Prix victory. He made no mistakes and beat Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher to the finish by a few seconds. It was Frentzen's first race at Jordan-Mugen-Honda.