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Some 25 years have now passed since a drama-filled Formula 1 campaign that remains etched in the memories of drivers, team members and fans. A thrilling battle between giants McLaren and Ferrari, Michael Schumacher being sidelined by a heavy crash (on this precise day), underdog teams triumphing and the title getting decided at the very final race – the 1999 season had twists and turns aplenty. In a special reflective feature mini-series, we caught up with a host of personalities involved in F1’s 50th year for a special trip down memory lane. Here’s the first instalment…
McLaren versus Ferrari – the rematch
F1 fans had been offered a sign of things to come in 1998 when McLaren and Ferrari, and Mika Hakkinen and Schumacher, went head-to-head for title glory – the Woking operation and their Finnish driver emerging victorious. At McLaren, with a design department led by the already highly respected Adrian Newey, the team were approaching the latest peak in their illustrious F1 history, but at Ferrari, a rebuilding phase under Jean Todt and Ross Brawn’s leadership was yet to bear the ultimate fruit, with the Maranello force last winning the constructors’ title in 1983 and the drivers’ crown in 1979. The 1999 season served as a rematch, with Hakkinen and McLaren looking to continue where they left off, and Schumacher and Ferrari hoping that a fourth campaign together would bring the next step.
Mika Hakkinen, McLaren driver: “When I became world champion, my confidence level went up in a big way… I had huge confidence. I remember I had a very busy winter with marketing work. Without sponsors, there is no racing, so we needed to work hard. When you won you had to work nearly harder with the sponsors than when you were losing! But my confidence was high and, at the very first test of 1999, I went into the paddock, I looked at the mechanics, they looked at me with a smile on their faces, and they were like, ‘Come on, let’s go for it’. We didn’t have to say anything, it was just the impression on our faces that we did it and we could do it again.”
BEYOND THE GRID: Mika Hakkinen on Schumacher, Senna and recovery from injury
Mark Arnall, Mika Hakkinen’s performance coach: “It was a big fight between Mika and Michael in 1998. I think after you’ve been in that sort of situation, and you’ve won the championship, there’s always that expectation that as long as the car’s good, you’re going to carry on with that momentum. I think from a preparation point of view, we didn’t really do anything differently. The car was still great in 1999, Adrian was obviously still working with the team [as Technical Director], and [the whole performance] was just an evolution of ‘98.”
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