1999 Malaysian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Häkkinen holds a two-point lead over Irvine — 62 to 60 — going into the penultimate round. The championship will not be settled here unless the gap widens significantly; one round remains after Malaysia regardless of the result.

Previous race

The European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring was one of the most chaotic races of the season. At the start, Damon Hill’s Jordan stopped with an electrical failure in the middle of the field, causing Wurz to swerve into Diniz; the Sauber was launched into a barrel roll, the rollbar failed when it hit the ground, but Diniz walked away uninjured. A series of retirements from championship contenders — Frentzen with an electrical failure while leading, Coulthard in a spin in the rain, Schumacher (Ralf) with a puncture — handed the lead to Johnny Herbert in the Stewart, who held on to win. Häkkinen recovered from a bad tyre stop to finish fifth; Irvine seventh.

Between-race developments

Michael Schumacher has been cleared to return from the broken leg he sustained at Silverstone. He races for Ferrari for the first time since the British Grand Prix, replacing Salo.

Milestones

This is the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix, the first world championship race at the new Sepang International Circuit.