1999 Formula One Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka
Michael Schumacher at the Hairpin (Qualifying)
1999 F-1 Japanese Grand Prix, photo by author
1999 Formula One season will be remembered as one of the most dramatic in recent memory: The crash & injury of Michael Schumacher at Silverstone, England which ended his Driver's Title hopes; The emergence of Eddie Irvine as Ferrari's #1 and as Formula One's #1 quotable character; The tribulations of Mika Hakkinen who had to overcome bad luck (losing a tire at Hockenheim, Germany), mistakes (shifting into wrong gear at Monza, Italy), and having no luxury of team orders as the #1 driver (knocked out by teammate Coulthard at A-1 Ring, Austria, and finishing 2nd behind him at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium); The emergence of Jordan and Stewart teams on the podium; The political game of technical rules which disqualified then reinstated Ferrari's 1-2 finish at Malaysia. All this drama was about to conclude at Suzuka Circuit in Japan, the last race of the Formula One season, with the Driver's and Constructor's Titles still at stake...
Mika Hakkinen at the Hairpin (Qualifying)
1999 F-1 Japanese Grand Prix, photo by author
The qualifying session was very exciting, which became a battle royale between Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen. In the first session, Mika matched the lap time of Schumacher exactly, @ 1:38.032. In the second session, Hakkinen outpaced Schumi to take provisional pole. In the third session, Schumacher took the pole position for good, as Hakkinen's session ended prematurely when Jean Alesi overran the chicane and caused Hakkinen to go off course. Schumacher showed the world who the best driver was - this was his second pole in two races since coming back from the injury. However, Hakkinen was not going to give up defending his Driver's Title easily as he qualified second, sharing the front row with Schumi...
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