The 1990s were a time of great change and variety in Formula One, and one of the most unpredictable seasons was 1999. The brand new Ferrari F399 for Assetto Corsa throws it back to the final season of the old millenium.
Before the Ferrari dominance of the early 2000s and after Williams being lightyears ahead of everyone in 1992 and 1993 (and again in 1996), the late 1990s saw exciting season after exciting season in Formula One. 1997 had seven different race winners spread across four teams and, of course, the highly controversial season finale at Jerez. 1998 saw the introduction of grooved tires and narrow-track cars, with the emergence of Mika Häkkinen and Mclaren-Mercedes in a season filled with drama.
But that was nothing compared to the 1999 season. The rematch between McLaren and Ferrari, led by Michael Schumacher, was on - until the British Grand Prix. Schumacher infamously crashed out on the first lap, breaking his right leg. "The Michael", as Häkkinen used to call him, was forced to sit out six races before returning for the final two GPs.
Eddie Irvine got within two points of the 1999 title after Schumacher's injury.
This, in turn, meant that his teammate Eddie Irvine had to carry the Scuderia. And carry them he did, partially aided by McLaren's mishaps throughout the season, and by Schumacher's replacement Mika Salo. Eventually, the Northern Irishman finished just two points behind Häkkinen in the final standings - despite the Finn having a massive lapse at Monza, spinning off completely unforced at the first chicane. The scenes of him crying in the woods beside the track went around the world.
The race was won by Heinz-Harald Frentzen in his Jordan, who still had a chance at the title at this point as well. Yes, the little privateer team was actually in the championship hunt, having won the French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours and finishing on the podium regularly. What could have been one of the great Cinderella stories in F1 history came grinding to a halt at the next race, the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.
The German retired after his first pit stop, however, as the car went into anti-stall mode unintentionally. McLaren's David Coulthard took the lead, only to crash out when gambling on dry tires once the rain hit again. Ralf Schumacher then took over, handing the lead to Giancarlo Fisichella after his pit stop.
Both would drop out in short succession a bit later - no one seemed to want to win the race. Until Johnny Herbert finally did, with Rubens Barrichello in third securing a double podium for the Stewart team, split by Prost's Jarno Trulli.
Even Minardi almost had two cars in the points, with Luca Badoer running in fourth close to the finish - only to retire with gearbox failure, the Italian famously breaking down crying next to his car. At least teammate Marc Gené finished in sixth, grabbing a single point for the team.
There were even more incidents, like the start lights not working properly or Ferrari forgetting to have a new rear right tire ready for Irvine at one of his pit stops. The latter led to a now-famous quote by Martin Brundle on commentary: "Now they're gonna have a commitee meeting about it! Stick it on and send him out!"
Like the other cars at the time, the F399 is basically the antithesis of today's F1. We already mentioned grooved tires, but the car is also about 300 kg lighter, weighing in at just 600 kg including driver and fluids. Couple that to almost 800 hp being produced by the V10 behind the driver, and you have a an agile, but very tricky car.
Mika Salo's sky blue helmet in the #3 Ferrari F399 remains an unusual sight, even 25 years later. Schumacher's stand-in should have won the 1999 German Grand Prix, but dutifully let Irvine pass for the win.
This translates very well to the Assetto Corsa version. While confidence-inspiring, pushing the F399 to its limits is extremely hard, as it is on the very edge of grip at all times then. It also has a tendency to cook its rear tires, making the right choice of compound from soft, medium and hard and some setup work absolutely imperative. Of course, there was no Traction Control to take care of this effect, as that was still outlawed at the time.
Meanwhile, those who love great engine sounds in sim racing are in for a treat - at least for the external sounds. The onboard noise sounds a bit off, but in the replay cams, the F399 unleashes all its V10 glory in the same way you would have heard it coming from your CRT TV back in the day. It is a fantastic noise that fans of the sport still miss to this day.
Of course, the F399 looks the part as well. Being an evolution of the 1998 F300, many similar design cues can be found, like the aggresively-raised nose, top-exiting exhausts (as introduced at the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix) and slightly sculpted sidepods. To see how the 3D model came to be, check out the video embedded below.
Take Monza, for instance. Any sim racer probably knows about the Turn 1 meme, but finding a version of the track with the old double Rettifilo chicane, but the changes of 1994 (so slower Lesmos and Variante della Roggia moved slightly forward) is seemingly impossible.
Similarly, the Nürburgring without the Mercedes Arena opening sector, which was introduced in 2002, is not around. Sure, AC has the Red Bull Ring as part of its stock content, with the same layout as the A1 Ring as it was known then - but that had a lot more gravel instead of the tarmac run-off of the modern version. The same applies to Catalunya's Moto layout, which is already in the game as well.
Anyway, this does not take away from the enjoyable experience of driving the F399 too much. Mastering the car on any track is a challenge - but a highly rewarding one. And who knows - maybe the Grand Prix 3 and Grand Prix 4 era of tracks will get some more love from modders again.
What are your favorite moments from the 1999 F1 season? Have you tried the F399 yet? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
Before the Ferrari dominance of the early 2000s and after Williams being lightyears ahead of everyone in 1992 and 1993 (and again in 1996), the late 1990s saw exciting season after exciting season in Formula One. 1997 had seven different race winners spread across four teams and, of course, the highly controversial season finale at Jerez. 1998 saw the introduction of grooved tires and narrow-track cars, with the emergence of Mika Häkkinen and Mclaren-Mercedes in a season filled with drama.
But that was nothing compared to the 1999 season. The rematch between McLaren and Ferrari, led by Michael Schumacher, was on - until the British Grand Prix. Schumacher infamously crashed out on the first lap, breaking his right leg. "The Michael", as Häkkinen used to call him, was forced to sit out six races before returning for the final two GPs.
Eddie Irvine got within two points of the 1999 title after Schumacher's injury.
This, in turn, meant that his teammate Eddie Irvine had to carry the Scuderia. And carry them he did, partially aided by McLaren's mishaps throughout the season, and by Schumacher's replacement Mika Salo. Eventually, the Northern Irishman finished just two points behind Häkkinen in the final standings - despite the Finn having a massive lapse at Monza, spinning off completely unforced at the first chicane. The scenes of him crying in the woods beside the track went around the world.
The race was won by Heinz-Harald Frentzen in his Jordan, who still had a chance at the title at this point as well. Yes, the little privateer team was actually in the championship hunt, having won the French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours and finishing on the podium regularly. What could have been one of the great Cinderella stories in F1 history came grinding to a halt at the next race, the European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.
1999 European Grand Prix: Legendary Chaos
In changing conditions, the favorites for the win kept dropping out one after another. First, there was an enormous pile-up at the start that saw Pedro Diniz roll his Sauber. After the restart, Häkkinen was struggling with tire choice due to the changing weather, and Frentzen emerged at the front of the field.The German retired after his first pit stop, however, as the car went into anti-stall mode unintentionally. McLaren's David Coulthard took the lead, only to crash out when gambling on dry tires once the rain hit again. Ralf Schumacher then took over, handing the lead to Giancarlo Fisichella after his pit stop.
Both would drop out in short succession a bit later - no one seemed to want to win the race. Until Johnny Herbert finally did, with Rubens Barrichello in third securing a double podium for the Stewart team, split by Prost's Jarno Trulli.
Even Minardi almost had two cars in the points, with Luca Badoer running in fourth close to the finish - only to retire with gearbox failure, the Italian famously breaking down crying next to his car. At least teammate Marc Gené finished in sixth, grabbing a single point for the team.
There were even more incidents, like the start lights not working properly or Ferrari forgetting to have a new rear right tire ready for Irvine at one of his pit stops. The latter led to a now-famous quote by Martin Brundle on commentary: "Now they're gonna have a commitee meeting about it! Stick it on and send him out!"
Ferrari F399 For Assetto Corsa - Including Mika Salo
As you can see, it was a season with a number of memorable moments. Unfortunately, it is rather underrepresented in modern sim racing - but @Alexandr Balanesco and RTT are aiming to change this. Their Ferrari F399 is the first car of the 1999 grid to be released, coming with all three drivers that took the wheel during that season. Oh, and while the drivers title went to Häkkinen, Ferrari took the Constructors Championship with the car.Like the other cars at the time, the F399 is basically the antithesis of today's F1. We already mentioned grooved tires, but the car is also about 300 kg lighter, weighing in at just 600 kg including driver and fluids. Couple that to almost 800 hp being produced by the V10 behind the driver, and you have a an agile, but very tricky car.
Mika Salo's sky blue helmet in the #3 Ferrari F399 remains an unusual sight, even 25 years later. Schumacher's stand-in should have won the 1999 German Grand Prix, but dutifully let Irvine pass for the win.
This translates very well to the Assetto Corsa version. While confidence-inspiring, pushing the F399 to its limits is extremely hard, as it is on the very edge of grip at all times then. It also has a tendency to cook its rear tires, making the right choice of compound from soft, medium and hard and some setup work absolutely imperative. Of course, there was no Traction Control to take care of this effect, as that was still outlawed at the time.
Meanwhile, those who love great engine sounds in sim racing are in for a treat - at least for the external sounds. The onboard noise sounds a bit off, but in the replay cams, the F399 unleashes all its V10 glory in the same way you would have heard it coming from your CRT TV back in the day. It is a fantastic noise that fans of the sport still miss to this day.
Of course, the F399 looks the part as well. Being an evolution of the 1998 F300, many similar design cues can be found, like the aggresively-raised nose, top-exiting exhausts (as introduced at the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix) and slightly sculpted sidepods. To see how the 3D model came to be, check out the video embedded below.
Late 90s Tracks?
To fully enjoy a car as the F399, period-correct tracks would be immensely helpful. Unfortunately, not many of them are around in our download section. While it is possible to use some of the late 80s tracks around for seasons up until 1994, the changes in the following years led to an in-between period - still 90s, but not the modern 2000s-style tracks.Take Monza, for instance. Any sim racer probably knows about the Turn 1 meme, but finding a version of the track with the old double Rettifilo chicane, but the changes of 1994 (so slower Lesmos and Variante della Roggia moved slightly forward) is seemingly impossible.
Similarly, the Nürburgring without the Mercedes Arena opening sector, which was introduced in 2002, is not around. Sure, AC has the Red Bull Ring as part of its stock content, with the same layout as the A1 Ring as it was known then - but that had a lot more gravel instead of the tarmac run-off of the modern version. The same applies to Catalunya's Moto layout, which is already in the game as well.
Anyway, this does not take away from the enjoyable experience of driving the F399 too much. Mastering the car on any track is a challenge - but a highly rewarding one. And who knows - maybe the Grand Prix 3 and Grand Prix 4 era of tracks will get some more love from modders again.
What are your favorite moments from the 1999 F1 season? Have you tried the F399 yet? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter @OverTake_gg or in the comments below!
