1999 Austrian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Häkkinen leads with 40 points going into the second half of the season. Schumacher is second with 32 but will miss this race and the rest of the season after breaking his right leg at Silverstone. Irvine is also on 32 points and assumes the role of Ferrari’s championship lead. Frentzen is fourth with 26; Coulthard fifth with 22. Ferrari lead the Constructors’ with 64 points, one ahead of McLaren on 62.

Previous race

The British Grand Prix at Silverstone was red-flagged when race director Charlie Whiting accidentally pressed the red flag button rather than the pit lane exit button. When the red flag was shown, Schumacher — still running — drove on to Stowe corner and crashed into the tyre barrier at 320 kph when his brakes failed. He sustained a broken right leg and will not race again until later in the season at the earliest. After the restart, Häkkinen’s rear wheel detached while he was leading, handing the win to Coulthard.

Between-race developments

Ferrari have appointed Mika Salo to substitute for Schumacher. Salo was without a full-time seat for 1999 after Arrows replaced him; he had already stood in for Zonta at BAR in the three preceding rounds.