McLaren on pole position.

Published on 06 March 1999 by Charles Webster

Mika Häkkinen start tomorrow from pole position for the Grand Prix of Australia. Teammate David Coulthard will start besides him on the first row for the season opener. In the final phase of the qualifying session, it became a battle between the two McLaren drivers. It seemed that Coulthard should take pole but in the very last minute, Häkkinen was able to outqualify his teammate. Michael Schumacher who was not on the pace during the free practises managed to take the 3rd place. The biggest surprise was Rubens Barrichello who drove his Stewart to the 4th position and will start alongside Schumacher on the second row. Marc Gene is the first victim of the 107% rule this season. With more than six and a half seconds behind the pole sitter, he was unable to qualify himself for his debut Grand Prix.
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