1999 Japanese Grand Prix

Championship standings

Irvine leads the Drivers’ Championship by four points — 70 to 66 — going into the season finale. Ferrari lead the Constructors’ by four points over McLaren, 118 to 114.

Previous race

Irvine won Malaysia, with Schumacher second and Häkkinen third. Immediately after the race, the FIA disqualified both Ferraris for a bargeboard infringement, which would have handed Häkkinen the title. Ferrari lodged an appeal; the FIA’s Court of Appeal upheld it and reinstated the results, restoring Irvine’s four-point lead going to Suzuka.

Championship permutations

Häkkinen needs to win the race, or to finish second with Irvine no higher than fifth, or to finish third with Irvine finishing outside the top six. Victory for Häkkinen clinches the title regardless of where Irvine finishes — if both score equally on wins, Häkkinen holds the advantage by five wins to four.

Milestones

This is the final race for Stewart Grand Prix, which will be rebranded for 2000. Damon Hill, Toranosuke Takagi, and Alessandro Zanardi are all racing in Formula One for the last time.