1999 British Formula Three Rd. 15

Round Fifteen of the British F3 1999 was held at Silverstone on 10 October 1999.

The race winner was Jenson Button.

It is notorious for the disqualification of Luciano Burti, which robbed him of a potential title victory and helped Marc Hynes seal the title in a controversial fashion.

Report
Aspiring Somerset teenager Jenson Button had a fastest lap and victory, only his third of the year. In Class B, young Japanese, Takuma Sato won his class for the second race in a row. Matthew Davies from Fortec Motorsport recorded his fourth podium of 1999 whilst Marc Hynes was third, cementing his points lead.

The only driver to retire from the race was S.S. Sport stalwart, Tim Spouge, after he had an accident on lap 20. His ex-team-mate, Doug Bell, was unable to attend as he was ill with the flu. But he was not alone, with the South African, Toby Scheckter, suffering from the same illness, which prevented him from starting.

This event was embroiled in controversy regarding pole position starter and Hynes' title rival, Luciano Burti. The Brazilian had originally finished third in this race, allowing him to be level on points with Hynes, Hynes leading on account of race wins. However, Burti ended up disqualified for his reckless driving, which meant that he lost 12 points, and allowing Hynes to lead him by 14 points going into the last race at Thruxton. Predictably, Burti tried to defend his actions though to most observers they were completely indefensible.

The decision to disqualify Burti effectively cost him the 1999 British Formula Three Championship title by just 4 points from Hynes as Hynes' fourth place in the following race was enough for him to clinch the title, despite Burti winning the season finale.

Likewise in 1997 (where Kane had won the title at the expense of Minassian who had lost crucial and potentially title-winning points at Thruxton), a British driver had won the title by consequence of a foreign rival's disqualification.

Top three drivers prior to Burti's DQ
Burti 201, Hynes 201, Button 168

Top three drivers after Burti's DQ
Hynes 203, Burti 189, Button 168

Results

 * (* Burti originally finished in third place, but was disqualified for reckless driving.)
 * (** Both Scheckter and Bell were ill with the flu, so did not take part)
 * (*** Hall also did not attend, presumably still recovering from the events of Spa which may have hurt his budget rather badly)