The European Grand Prix has been hosted by a handful of circuits, the most recent being Baku in 2016. However, at the Nurburgring in Germany, no fewer than 12 races took place there as the ‘Grand Prix of Europe’ and the 1999 event was one of the most memorable.

By the time Formula 1 reached the Nurburgring, there were four drivers in contention for the championship, with only three races of the season remaining. Reigning World Champion Mika Hakkinen was equal on points with Ferrari’s Eddie Irvine. The Finn was desperate to make up for his mistake in Monza two weeks earlier, while Irvine needed a good result after a poor showing in Italy. Also in the title fight was Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Jordan after his win at Monza and the other McLaren of David Coulthard, just 12 points behind Hakkinen.

It was Frentzen who had the advantage in qualifying, taking a second career pole position and his first for Jordan whilst Coulthard was second after out-qualifying Hakkinen for only the second time in 1999. Irvine was way down in ninth after another difficult session.

On race day there was drama right from the off as the start was aborted despite most of the field moving from the grid. At the second attempt there was chaos at Turn 1 as Damon Hill slowed in the Jordan, causing Alexander Wurz’s Benetton to clip the Sauber of Pedro Diniz, sending the Brazilian into a frightening roll. The Sauber dug into the wet grass and the roll bar gave way but fortunately Diniz escaped unscathed.

Following the safety car Frentzen was still in the lead from both McLaren’s, with Hakkinen ahead of his teammate after the start. Ralf Schumacher was fourth in the Williams and Giancarlo Fisichella’s Benetton was fifth. The Italian was pressured into a mistake by a fired up Eddie Irvine on Lap 17, as the Ulsterman continued his quest to remain in championship contention.

Then rain began to fall, Ralf Schumacher seized the opportunity to pass Coulthard for third. Hakkinen took a gamble on Lap 20 to pit for wet tyres, but it didn’t pay off as the rain quickly passed. Irvine also pitted a lap later opting for dry tyres yet the unprepared Ferrari crew took 28 seconds to fit the new rubber having just dealt with an unexpected stop from the other Ferrari of Mika Salo. Irvine lost several places but did pass Hakkinen for 12^th place, who was lapping seven seconds off the pace.

On Lap 32 the leaders, Frentzen and Coulthard, made their stops together. The German staying ahead on the exit but to the shock of the Jordan team, ground to a halt at the first corner with an electrical failure, a crushing blow to the team’s hopes of title glory. It was now looking good for Coulthard, leading with his title rivals out of the points. However, the Scotsman slid off the track on Lap 38 as the rain returned, all but ending his championship hopes in the process.

Giancarlo Fisichella inherited the lead and was in sight of his first F1 victory but threw it away on Lap 49 when difficult track conditions caught the Benetton driver out. This left Ralf Schumacher in first, the young German had driven magnificently but Williams’ first win for two seasons went begging when a right-rear puncture forced him to limp back to the pits.

Incredibly Johnny Herbert in the Stewart who had started down in 14^th position had now taken the lead. While a fantastic drive from Luca Badoer saw the Italian drag his Minardi up to fourth, also championship contenders Irvine and Hakkinen were still engaged in their battle, albeit for seventh place.

With just 13 laps remaining, there was heartbreak for Minardi as Badoer’s gearbox failed. The Ferrari test driver lost what would have been his only points finish in F1 and burst into tears at the side of his stricken car. Italian hearts sank again when Eddie Irvine made a costly error running wide at the Veedol chicane, allowing Hakkinen through into the points. At the front Herbert still led from Jarno Trulli in the Prost.

Johnny Herbert negotiated the final lap to take his third career victory and the first for Stewart Grand Prix. It was an emotional day for Jackie and Paul Stewart with both drivers on the podium. Ralf Schumacher was fourth ahead of Hakkinen and there was small consolation for Minardi as Marc Gene scored the teams first points finish in nearly four years.

For the Stewart team it was their only win in their final few races before they became Jaguar Racing. Whilst Jaguar failed to find success, the team they later became went on to achieve greatness as Red Bull Racing.