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 Eddie Irvine driving the Ferrari F399 at the1999 Canadian Grand Prix | |||||||||||
| Category | Formula One | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Ferrari | ||||||||||
| Designers | Ross Brawn(Technical Director) Rory Byrne(Chief Designer) Giorgio Ascanelli(Head of R&D) Aldo Costa(Head of Chassis Design) Marco Fainello(Head of Vehicle Dynamics) Willem Toet(Head of Aerodynamics) Nikolas Tombazis(Chief Aerodynamicist) Paolo Martinelli (Engine Technical Director) Gilles Simon (Engine Chief Designer) | ||||||||||
| Predecessor | F300 | ||||||||||
| Successor | F1-2000 | ||||||||||
| Technical specifications | |||||||||||
| Chassis | Carbon-fibre and honeycomb composite structure | ||||||||||
| Suspension (front) | Double-wishbone pushrod suspension | ||||||||||
| Suspension (rear) | Double-wishbone pushrod suspension | ||||||||||
| Engine | FerrariTipo 048/B/C 80-degreeV10 | ||||||||||
| Transmission | Ferrari seven-speed longitudinal sequential semi-automatic | ||||||||||
| Power | 790 hp @ 16,300 rpm[1] | ||||||||||
| Fuel | Shell | ||||||||||
| Tyres | Bridgestone | ||||||||||
| Competition history | |||||||||||
| Notable entrants | Scuderia FerrariMarlboro | ||||||||||
| Notable drivers | 3. Michael Schumacher3.  Mika Salo4.  Eddie Irvine | ||||||||||
| Debut | 1999 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| First win | 1999 Australian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last win | 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| Last event | 1999 Japanese Grand Prix | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Constructors' Championships | 1 (1999) | ||||||||||
| Drivers' Championships | 0 | ||||||||||
TheFerrari F399 was the car with which theFerrari team competed in the1999 Formula One World Championship. The chassis was designed byRory Byrne,Giorgio Ascanelli,Aldo Costa,Marco Fainello,Willem Toet, andNikolas Tombazis, withRoss Brawn playing a vital role in leading the production of the car as the team's technical director andPaolo Martinelli assisted byGiles Simon leading the engine design and operations.
The F399 was almost identical to the previous season'sF300, with small detail changes like a new front wing, wheel tethers, waisted sidepods, and an improved exhaust system and the use ofBridgestone tyres with four grooves instead of three. It was initially driven byMichael Schumacher andEddie Irvine, withMika Salo substituting for Schumacher when he broke his leg atSilverstone.[2]
Although the team's quest to win their first drivers' title since1979 was halted by Schumacher's injury and the faster speed of theMcLaren MP4/14, they managed to clinch their first constructors' title since1983.[3]
Thechassis of the Ferrari F399 was almost identical to its predecessor, theF300. It had a reinforcedcarbon-fibre and honeycombmonocoque structure that could protect the driver from most accidents. The engine was an MR(Mid-engine, Rear wheel drive) layout.[4]
Changes from the F300 were that the front wing was slightly modified, the sidepods were waisted, and the exhaust was improved in order so thatFerrari could push harder in their fight withMcLaren.
Thesuspension for the front and rear areas of the car were the pushrod/double wishbone suspension systems that still exist today in Formula 1. The car also has wheel tethers on each wheel to prevent the tires from hitting the driver's head, a regulation that is still used by Formula One to this day.
Theengine is an 790 BHP (552 KW), 80-degree 3.0 litreV10 engine manufactured byFerrari called the Tipo 048/B/C. It also bears a 7-shifttransmission that was in almost all Formula One car until the teams started using 8-shift transmission gearboxes since the2014 season began.
The car also usedShell fuel to power its engine while thetyres, which were designed byBridgestone, now had 4 grooves on all 4 tyres instead of 3 grooves on the front tyres. The new tyres with four grooves were a new rule change for the 1999 season and onward in the V10 era of the sport.[5]
Early in the season the car showed huge performance with Irvine winning the opening round inAustralia while Schumacher collected podiums along with wins atImola andMonaco, thereby making Ferrari a serious threat to theMcLaren duo ofMika Häkkinen andDavid Coulthard throughout much of the 1999 season.[6]
While Irvine would also go on to win back-to-back victories atAustria andGermany along with the inauguralMalaysian Grand Prix, Häkkinen and McLaren had shown great consistency over the season despite 4 retirements over the course of the season. Ferrari's championship aspirations also took a beating after Schumacher had broken his leg atSilverstone, resulting in Ferrari briefly replacing him with Mika Salo during the midway point of the season. Salo performed well, handing victory to Irvine in Germany and finishing third at Monza.[7]
The team were briefly excluded from Malaysia after the stewards found out that theirbargeboards were illegal, meaning that Häkkinen and McLaren were effectively handed their respective championships by default.[8] However, Ferrari managed to appeal against theFIA's decision in court and both of their drivers were subsequently reinstated.[9]
After the season had ended, Häkkinen had claimed the driver's title by two points from Irvine while Ferrari claimed the constructor's title by four points from McLaren.[10]
Ferrari used 'Marlboro' logos, except at theFrench,British andBelgian (which was replaced with "Ferrari Formula One Team" and "F1" logo rather than barcode or chevron) Grands Prix.
(key) (results inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Ferrari | Ferrari 048V10 | B | AUS | BRA | SMR | MON | ESP | CAN | FRA | GBR | AUT | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | EUR | MAL | JPN | 128 | 1st | |
| Michael Schumacher | 8 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Ret | 5 | DNS | 2 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Mika Salo | 9 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 3 | Ret | ||||||||||||||||
| Eddie Irvine | 1 | 5 | Ret | 2 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
