Motor racing: Class of 99: Your starter for ten
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Mika Hakkinen
Finnish, Age 30
Starts: 112; Poles: 10
Wins: 9; Points: 218
World Champion 1998
Favourite for championship following last year's success
David Coulthard
Scottish, 27
Starts: 74; Poles: 8
Wins: 4; Points: 173
Nice guy who needs more arrogance to win in what could be his last year at McLaren
FERRARI
Michael Schumacher
German, 30
Starts: 118; Poles: 20
Wins: 33; Points: 526
World Champion 1994, 1995
Yardstick by which others are judged; fast and ruthless
Eddie Irvine
British, 33
Starts: 81; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 99
Wants his share of the limelight after playing second fiddle to Schumacher since 1996
WILLIAMS
Ralf Schumacher
German, 23
Starts: 33; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 27
Showed great speed in 1998 and poised to become a serious contender
Alex Zanardi
Italian, 32
Starts: 25; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 1
CART Champion 1997, 1998
Returns to F1 with reputation as most charismatic racer
JORDAN
Damon Hill
British, 38
Starts: 100; Poles: 20
Wins: 22; Points: 353
World Champion 1996
Seasoned veteran - proved a point scoring Jordan's first win
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
German, 31
Starts: 74; Poles: 1
Wins: 1; Points: 88
Once touted as `faster than Schumacher', failed miserably in two years at Williams
BENETTON
Giancarlo Fisichella
Italian, 26
Starts: 41; Poles: 1
Wins: 0; Points: 36
Initial promise not been fully tapped. Capable of great things in right circumstances
Alexander Wurz
Austrian, 25
Starts: 19; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 21
Quick, sensible and a thinker, looked great initially but form went off after shunts last year
SAUBER
Jean Alesi
French, 34
Starts: 151; Poles: 2
Wins: 1; Points: 234
Alesi is the great untapped talent of F1. Fast, ebullient and still equipped for glory
Pedro Diniz
Brazilian, 28
Starts: 66; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 7
No longer an easy target after outqualifying team-mates such as Hill and Salo at Arrows
STEWART
Johnny Herbert
British, 34
Starts: 129; Poles: 0
Wins: 2; Points: 83
Perennial happy chappy, Herbert is just what Stewart needs to drive the team forward
Rubens Barrichello
Brazilian, 26
Starts: 97; Poles: 1
Wins: 0; Points: 56
Rated very highly by a few, underrated by most, Barrichello is a star who lost his way
PROST
Olivier Panis
French, 32
Starts: 75; Poles: 0
Wins: 1; Points: 54
May have given up at times in a difficult car last season - this year could be his last hurrah
Jarno Trulli
Italian, 24
Starts: 30; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 4
Suffered a poor car last year, but capable of springing big surprises in the right machine
BRITISH AMERICAN RACING
Jacques Villeneuve
Canadian, 27
Starts: 49; Poles: 13
Wins: 11; Points: 180
World Champion 1997
A definite winner in the right car, but will this be it?
Ricardo Zonta
Brazilian, 22
Starts: 0; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 0
Rated very highly by McLaren as their tester, may raise a few
eyebrows in his first season
ARROWS
Mika Salo
Finnish, 31
Starts: 68; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 15
If he doesn't get replaced at the last minute by Tora Takagi, expect Salo to push hard
Pedro De la Rosa
Spanish, 28
Starts: 0; Poles: 0
Wins: 0; Points: 0
Do nice guys make it? His speed won him the Japanese F3000 series in 1997
1999 SCHEDULE
7 March: Australian GP (Melbourne)
11 April: Brazilian GP (Sao Paulo)
2 May: San Marino GP (Imola)
16 May: Monaco GP (Monaco)
31 May: Spanish GP (Barcelona)
13 June: Canadian GP (Montreal)
27 June: French GP (Magny Cours)
11 July: British GP (Silverstone)
25 July: Austrian GP (Spielberg)
1 August: German GP (Hockenheim)
15 August: Hungarian GP (Budapest)
29 August: Belgian GP (Spa-Francorchamps)
12 September: Italian GP (Monza)
26 September: European GP (Nurburgring)
17 October: Malaysian GP (Kuala Lumpur)
31 October: Japanese GP (Suzuka)
*Argentinian GP cancelled
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