A1-Ring, 16th July
With a further development of the new aerodynamic package the car worked quite well in Austria, Ricardo spent the Friday sessions fine-tuning the handling of the car. With just 2 minutes to go Ricardo went fastest with a time of 1:14.143. He managed to better it to 1:14.046 but lost positions to Barrichello and Trulli. Ricardo held fastest speed in sectors 2 and 3 with 198 km/h and 268 km/h. During second practice Ricardo featured among top 6 throughout the session to finish 5th.
"It has been a good, productive day. We did not have any problems so I was able to do a lot of running. That allowed us time to get a good line on chassis set-up. The circuit here in Austria seems to suit our car well and we also seem to have taken a big step forward with the latest aero package. The full kit wasn't available in Magny Cours, but we have it here and today we found a good direction to make the car faster."
Friday 1st practice: 3rd, 1:14.046
Friday combined practice: 5th, 1:13.052, 49 laps
The team had for once time to experiment and even if Ricardo didn't make any really fast time he held the top speed at sector 3 after first practice with 272 km/h. During second session he had a spin in the corner before the grid but continued to make 30 laps altogether and finishing 14th. Fearing rain most cars were out on the track as soon as qualifying started. Ricardo did a 1:13.266 to top the list for a minute. Several cars decided to stay on track running back to back fast laps and at 12 minutes Ricardo decided to follow that tactics making a lap of 1:11.807 (4) followed by 1:11.647 (3). With 7 laps used up Ricardo had only one attempt left and with a bit over halfway through the session he went out to do his last 5 laps. But on his fastest lap he spun out in the gravel trap. Ricardo finished in 6th position, the best in his Formula One career and beating his team mate. Without the error he should have gained yet another position.
"The weekend has been really good for me so far. We have had time to try a number of things and improve the set-up of the car. Qualifying was good and I had a nice, clean lap on my second run. I'm very pleased with my place on the grid, and in fact sixth and seventh positions for the team today. I think is a very good performance."
Saturday practice: 14th, 1:12.434, 30 laps
Qualifying: 6th, 1:11.647, 12 laps
The team had decided on heavy cars and an one-stop strategy. Ricardo did a good start and raced towards the first corner side by side with Trulli. In front of them both Ferraris were slow off the line but running side by side they blocked the track. Coming into the first corner Barrichello braked early to let Schumacher by but both Ricardo and Trulli (Jordan) were taken by surprise and Trulli touched Barrichello while Ricardo touched Schumacher causing the Ferrari to spin. In the following chaos Trulli, Schumacher and Fisichella retired while Ricardo with a damaged front wing had to take avoiding action on the outside over the grass dropping to 17th behind Villeneuve and Irvine in the train behind the safety car. As the safety car pulled in on lap 3 Ricardo stated his way up through the field. Verstappen pitted, Mazzacane fell back, Frentzen retired and Ricardo passed Irvine which gained him 4 positions by lap 5. But on lap 17 Ricardo had to come in for a stop and go penalty that definitely destroyed his chances. Notably he was following his team mate who finished 4th, at that time. Rejoining in 15th position a lap behind the leaders Ricardo slowly climbed as other pitted until finally making his own scheduled stop at lap 45 in 9th position. Falling back to 11th he continued until lap 59 when the engine failed due to debris in the radiators.
"I got a really good start but I was caught between the two Ferraris. Michael was on a really tight inside line and almost came to a stop as he was turning. I braked as hard as I could, but touched the back of his car and, as it turned out, damaged the front wing of my car. Actually, the balance was okay after that and I just pressed on as hard as I could until my pit stop on lap 45, when the mechanics also fitted a new nose. It all ended on lap 60 (sic), though, when the engine failed."
Warmup: 6th, 1:13.608, 20 laps
Race: DNF 58 laps engine
FL: 1:12.855 on lap 44 (+1.072, 6th) - Two pit stops (lap 17: 32.4, lap 45: 37.6)
Winner: Mika Häkkinen (McLaren-Mercedes)