1999 Driver Profiles by Julie Gates

Team: Ferrari

by Julie Gates

The Team: Winning their first Constructors' Championship since 1986, Ferrari has performed well throughout the second half of the season. From eight races, that's sixteen starts between both drivers, with only one retirement. Indeed, their only mechanical infringement came back in the spring at San Marino when Irvine suffered an engine failure. Regardless of pit stop blunders at Luxembourg, lack of pace at Spa and controversy at Malaysia, the team performed extraordinarily to take the Constructor's title with no assistance from Michael Schumacher for three months. Working non-stop, they introduced new parts from Europe, and this proved evident at the last two rounds of the championship. Their reliability has been astounding, as has the consistency of all three drivers; Eddie Irvine, Michael Schumacher and Mika Salo. Like McLaren, they too made mistakes and suffered some team controversy, but reliability saw them clinch the Constructors' Cup. Many deem Ferrari's policy of number one and number two drivers wrong, and Irvine has publicly slated it on many occasions this year. Had the team backed Irvine right from the Silverstone incident rather than concentrating on the comeback of Schumacher, it is quite possible they would have won the Drivers' Championship trophy, too.

Driver - Eddie Irvine: Finished as the 1999 World Championship runner-up, a mere two points adrift of Mika Hakkinen. Has demonstrated consistency all year round, scoring in fourteen of the sixteen races. He took on the challenge of being the team's number one remarkably well, and even though he hasn't the outright speed of Schumacher, was always there battling for positions. He has not made one driving error this season, and considering he was thrown in at the deep end with Ferrari, is quite an achievement. Winning the Austrian, German and Malaysian Grands Prix, he pressurised Hakkinen when it mattered most and always kept a positive outlook on the situation. His mouth got the better of him on more than one occasion, but he defied his critics on the track as well as off it. However, at the end of the day, he was not the best nor the quickest driver and therefore ended the season as the number two rather than the number one.

Driver - Michael Schumacher: After his massive accident at the British Grand Prix on July 11th, he returned to racing at the Malaysian Grand Prix in terrific style. Claiming pole position and winning the race, only to hand it over to Eddie Irvine, was quite a comeback for the German. Again claiming pole at Suzuka, his usual off-track arrogance surfaced when he sounded off regarding the tactics of McLaren and Coulthard. Many also report he did not try his best to win the race so that Irvine would not win the title, but even if this is the case, he proved in the last two races that his accident is well and truly a thing of the past.

Driver - Mika Salo: The Finn performed extremely well for Ferrari. Faced with a competitive car for the first time in his career, he led the German Grand Prix to hand victory to Eddie Irvine. He coped well with the pressure of racing in front of the tifosi, even out-qualifying and out racing Irvine at the Italian Grand Prix. Overall, an impressive stand in for the Finn, who subsequently earned himself a full-time drive with Sauber in 2000.

Conclusion: With bullet-proof reliability and consistency, the team were there to pick up the pieces when McLaren faulted. Taking their first team title since 1986, they witnessed only one mechanical failure all year. Coping well with the unfortunate departure of Schumacher, Irvine proved the team could be winners without the German. However, pit stop cock-ups and the controversy surrounding team tactics and barge-boards all take valuable marks off their final grade.

Grade: A