1999: European Grand Prix: Ralf Deflated but Buoyant

June 20, 2014 by Jeremy McMullen

Not often is an individual held in higher esteem for coming up short. But, in a sport where there are many things that can override a fantastic result, Ralf Schumacher would pull up lame, and yet, would come away a sheer winner.

Ralf Schumacher's stock had been on the rise even before he reached Formula One. Being in the same family of a World Champion automatically raises the stock of an individual. However, being the brother of a two-time World Champion has everyone hedging their bets even before there is a single race. This was the case with Michael Schumacher's younger brother, Ralf.

Ralf wouldn't let his supporters down scoring a podium in just his third race with the Jordan team in 1997. The result would come at the cost of an inter-team rivalry, but it would be put down to youthful exuberance and a driven nature to win, just like his brother.

Then there would be 1998 and the rain-soaked Belgian Grand Prix. Jordan would have both cars running one-two with more than enough laps left in the race. Ralf would be much quicker than his former World Champion teammate, but orders would put the German in the unenviable position of either holding station or risk losing it all for a win. Ralf would choose to respect the team owner. His stock would rise all the more. But, his motivation within the Jordan team would be lost.

Schumacher would move on from Jordan to Williams. It had been more than a year since Williams had scored a victory, and during a decade in which it had been the dominant team in Formula One. Jacques Villeneuve and Heinz-Harald Frentzen were out. Ralf would join the team alongside Italian Alessandro Zanardi.

The team had finished the 1998 season 3rd in the Constructors' Championship having scored a number of podium finishes. Ralf would start the 1999 season off in a good way securing a 3rd place in the Australian Grand Prix. Sadly, it would be another seven races before he would set foot on the podium again, and Zanardi's inability to finish a race only further underlined the team's struggles.

If Jordan had left a bitter taste in Ralf's mouth then the fact that Frentzen, who replaced Schumacher in the Jordan team, would already have a victory and a couple of other podium finishes would only make Schumacher's situation all the more frustrating.

But this was Williams. It was a storied team with periods of utter domination. It seemed likely Ralf just needed to hang on. It would be known by this point in the 1999 season the team would be returning the following year with BMW engines, which were notoriously powerful from its previous forays into the sport. Schumacher just needed to make the best of a difficult situation.

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His season would rebound with a couple of 4th place finishes in a row. Then, at the British Grand Prix, Ralf would find himself back on the podium again with a 3rd place run in the Supertec-powered FW21. The German would continue to hang around the points while his teammate continued to struggle. This would raise Ralf's stock throughout the paddock even more. But, a 2nd place in the Italian Grand Prix would make everybody wager that the German just might be able to come through to victory, and before season's end.

Momentum seemed to be gaining for Ralf following the 2nd place result in the Italian Grand Prix. What's more, the next race would be on home soil. If ever there was a time for the young Schumacher to show his true colors it would be at a track with his national colors waving proudly overhead.

The 1999 European Grand Prix would take place on the 26th of September at the Nurburgring. Throughout its history, the Nurburgring has been noted for its dramatic races. There would be Fangio in '57, Stewart in '68 and many other examples of sheer brilliance amidst the tree-covered Eifel Mountains.

However, this was an entirely different Nurburgring in 1999. This would not be the 14 mile long behemoth. Instead, the circuit would be 2.82 miles in length, not even a quarter of the size of the 'Green Hell'. Still, every bit of the track would be just as precious to those arriving at the circuit in late September for what was to be the European Grand Prix.

So much would be riding on the race even before practice got underway. Mika Hakkinen would be suffering a bit of a dry spell after four victories in thirteen races and just one out of the last six. Eddie Irvine would be coming on strong after assuming the leadership role in Ferrari with Michael's leg injury. Then there would be Frentzen in the Jordan. His victory in the Italian Grand Prix had not only come at Ralf's expense, but it had also left him with a realistic shot at the championship, if, he could keep the strong performances throughout the remainder of the season. Ralf would not be in the championship picture arriving in Nurburg, but the race presented a great opportunity to come through before the home crowd and shock everyone by scoring that first win. It was an opportunity not to be missed. He would just need things to go his way.

In practice on Friday, everything would seem to go Ralf's way. The rain would be falling on the circuit making things very tricky for everyone, but not for the Williams driver. Ralf would be in a class all his own in the wet conditions. It would be remarkable how he seemed unbeatable in the wet conditions. It was reminiscent of Williams' days in the earlier part of the decade. The team had certainly improved and Schumacher was showing exactly why there were so many expecting big things from him throughout his career.

But then there would be that bitter taste again. The quickest man in qualifying would be Frentzen in the Jordan. The rains had left and the circuit would be awash in sunlight and dry conditions. The German Jordan driver would lap the circuit two-tenths a second quicker than David Coulthard in the McLaren and would claim the team's second pole.

But not all was bad for Ralf. He too would be impressive in his own right. Taking the Williams-Supertec to the circuit, he would lap, in qualifying, just half a second slower than Frentzen and would find himself starting from the second row of the grid right alongside the other McLaren of Mika Hakkinen. Things were actually looking good. If only there could be something that would make his situation look even better.

Approaching the start of the race, the weather would not look good. The sun would be shining as the drivers took their places behind the wheel. However, dark clouds would be in the area and it was more than obvious rain was going to play a part in the events of the race. This meant the outlook appeared bleak for some; good for others.

The cars would assemble in their grid places awaiting the lights to go out for the start of the 66 lap European Grand Prix. When they extinguished, Frentzen would get a good jump and would lead the way into the first turn. Hakkinen would be close behind followed by Coulthard and Schumacher. Ralf would be challenged heading into the turn but would more than manage to hold station while the field attempted to funnel itself through the right-left combination that started the lap. All would be well until Hill would get backed-up in his Jordan slowing the two Ferraris immediately. Pedro Diniz would be squeezed in the middle of the traffic and would be merely attempting to tip-toe his way through when one of the Benetton's would make a quick jerk to the right to avoid hitting the slowed Jordan of Damon Hill. Instead, Diniz's Sauber would be clipped in the rear and would be sent rolling across the track and off into the grass. The rest of the field would make it through but the situation would result in the safety car and emergency crews being deployed.

The cars would continue to circulate under the safety car while work continued on Diniz's Sauber. Schumacher would remain in 4th place but all thoughts would be toward Diniz as the rollbar would be torn off of the Sauber in the roll and he would be hurried away for medical attention.

Nearly half a dozen laps would be completed under the safety car. Everybody would hope everything would settle in and that proper racing could finally get underway. However, as the cars roared down the front straight at the restart, the cars would only get to enjoy about a dozen laps under sunny conditions. Peering on the horizon were dark clouds certainly pregnant with rain. Ralf would be sitting in 4th place at the time fully broken away from those behind him. But though he was back in 4th place at the time, he would be the one in pole-position if the rain started to fall again.

Even before the rain started to fall, Ralf would start to make his move. At one point he would be the fastest man on the circuit. He would be hanging onto the back of the Jordan and the two McLarens, but he seemed to be in a position of strength as everyone seemed to be racing the weather more than other cars on the circuit. But then the rains began to fall and the whole complexion of the race would change in an instant.

All manner of chaos would erupt with the falling rain. At a time when keeping one's head would be of greatest importance many were just starting to lose theirs. It would begin with Hakkinen pitting for wet tires but going off at one point dropping him well out of contention. Then there would be Eddie Irvine in the Ferrari. He had been on the charge, making his way forward. However, he would be left in the pits with just three tires on while the crew scrambled to get him another one. They had been expecting to give him wet tires and he wanted to stay on dry ones.

About the only one who seemed entirely relaxed in the conditions would be Ralf and he would take advantage of the situation by passing Coulthard for 2nd place. Schumacher would challenge Frentzen for the lead a number of times before he too would make one of his scheduled stops.

Frentzen appeared unbeatable in the Jordan. He continued to lead the race and enjoyed a comfortable margin. He would come into the pits with Coulthard all over him, but his crew would do the work necessary to get him back out, still in the lead of the race. It seemed as though Frentzen would firmly join the battle for the championship. But then, just when it appeared it was going to be Frentzen's day, the engine would cut out going into the first turn thereby ending his hopes of a race win. Coulthard would take over the lead of the race mere yards after emerging from the pitlane and Ralf Schumacher would be sitting in 2nd place.

Coulthard had been turning fast lap after fast lap right before his stop. The rain had also stopped and the circuit had developed a dry line. It seemed near impossible for Ralf to chase down the Scot for the lead. However, the weather in Germany would favor the German and the clouds would open up once again absolutely drenching the circuit in rain heavier than had fallen on the circuit earlier.

The rain would be falling in torrential amounts and would make life terribly difficult for the drivers as they would all be on dry weather tires at the time. Despite the conditions, Schumacher would be holding on and chasing hard after Coulthard. The wet conditions would catch more than a few out. Coulthard would hang onto the lead, but he would have drive as though on ice around a good portion of the circuit. Cars would pile into the pitlane to get wets. Coulthard, however, would carry on and would actually increase his lead over Ralf.

Coulthard appeared to have the conditions well in hand as he stayed on dry tires. Ralf too would be on dry tires, but would be slipping back from the McLaren slightly. But all of that would change on the 38th lap of the race as Coulthard would make it through the first couple of turns, but not much further before he buried his car into a tire wall.

Despite having dry tires, Ralf would prove the master of the conditions and would be in the lead of the race with less than half distance still to go. All of the major contenders were either out of the race, or, well down and out of the equation. Schumacher was firmly on course for a podium, and possibly a victory, as he was clearly faster than any other car on the track at that time.

Five, six laps would go by, and still, Ralf held onto the lead. He would be pulling away from Giancarlo Fisichella, the man he had a run-in with in his first year in the Jordan team. Watching Ralf more than hold onto the Williams in the wet conditions, many would consider the German a future World Champion himself and obviously Michael's brother.

But in a race that had offered so much drama throughout just the first half of the race wasn't done. Ralf would make his second stop and the German would emerge from the pits down in 3rd place, but he had handled the conditions so masterfully beforehand that it seemed a matter of time before he would find himself back in the lead.

The dry line would be developing and Schumacher would be making a run to the front. He would make his way past the Stewart driven by Johnny Herbert when the Stewart peeled off into the pits. Less than 20 laps remaining, Fisichella would be firmly in the lead but amidst all the craziness he would throw the car off the circuit. He would go off at the same point to which he had spun earlier. Ralf would be back in the lead of the race, apparently the only driver capable of mastering the conditions. The race was his. He had the pace. He was on dry tires on a drying track. Victory was within his hands. However, just when his first victory was in hand, his Williams would suffer a right-rear puncture heading into a fast left-hander. He would slide off the circuit but would manage to keep going. It was too late. The rear tire had already begun to shred before he even made it back onto the circuit and he had more than a half a lap still to go before the pitlane appeared. The victory was lost. Johnny Herbert would take over the lead in one of the most dramatic races of the season and Formula One history.

From the moment of the tire puncture, all hope would be lost for Ralf earning his first victory. He would become a bit player in a story in which he had featured so prominently for so long. It happened as a result of no fault of his own. The plot twisted back and forth and he had handled every scene change beautifully, and yet, he would end up with no recognition for the performance he turned in.

Schumacher would not quit, though his chance at victory had gone out the window. He had driven so beautifully that he would manage to make it back to the pits and would emerge with new tires and a possible 4th place finish well in hand. It would not be the result he expected, but the German would fight hard all the way to the finish to take what had been given him.

Ralf had lost a shoe and a chance at victory, but his performance was not lost. Though he would finish down in 4th place, an apparent non-factor in the printed race results, everyone around the Nurburgring, and within Formula One, knew who the real victor of the day was.

The Formula One community would celebrate with Jackie Stewart for his team finally securing victory before it became Jaguar Racing a season later, but most everybody handed the victory, at least in spirit, to Ralf Schumacher. He may have ended the race deflated, but he couldn't have been held in higher esteem by those in and around the sport.

Sources:
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'Drivers: Ralf Schumacher', (http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-schral.html). GrandPrix.com. http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/drv-schral.html. Retrieved 9 June 2014.

Walker, Murray. 'Murray's Memories: European GP, 1999—Herbert Tames Nurburgring', (http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/24750401). BBC Sport. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/24750401. Retrieved 9 June 2014.

'Europe 1999', (http://statsf1.com/en/1999/europe.aspx). Stats F1. http://statsf1.com/en/1999/europe.aspx. Retrieved 9 June 2014.

F1 1999 Europe Grand Prix Start. Video. (1999). Retrieved 9 June 2014 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8T-6HeDUt0.

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