McLaren
MP14-4
156 points
Car released on the 8/2/99, one of the last to unveil their new model.
Very similar look to both the '97 and '98 cars, although team boss Ron
Dennis claims 90% of the car is new.
Most teams have 'borrowed' a lot from this machines design. Also the first fully
Adrian Newey designed McLaren
Ferrari
F399
133 points
Another evolution from a '98 spec car, there's very little to distinguish this from it's predecessor.
Williams
FW-21
38 points
One of the first cars to be unveiled and also one of the most radically changed from it's '98 counterpart.
Williams suffered their worst season in 10 years, failing to win a single race. Only Villeneuve's gutsy performances saved the team from the disappointment of slipping even further down the constructors table.
Jordan
199
34 points
Piped to the post by Williams, Jordan enjoyed it's best season so far, and it's highest constructors placement. A dreadful first half to the season was miraculously turned around, culminating in a one-two finish in Spa.
Benetton
B199
33 points
Squeezed in to it's worst position for many years Benetton, despite having one of the fastest driver line ups in the field have been gradually slipping down the order since it's glory days with M. Shumacher.
The '99 Benetton features a radical front differential to help braking. Hopefully this won't be as controversial as the McLaren braking device from '98.
Sauber
C18
10 points
After a good start to the season Sauber stagnated. In F1 to stay still is to go backwards, and whilst rivals made progress Sauber floundered and suffered.
The situation was probably not helped by the petty behavior of Alesi and the team, which must have contributed to Johnny Herbert's decision to leave this year.
New Car unveild February 17th, no pics available.
Arrows
A20
6 points
The oldest team in F1 to never scored a win. Arrows have hardly ever, except Damon Hills close call in '97, done anything exceptional.
A good looking car in '98 suffered from a weak engine and terrible reliability. This years car is an evolution of the '98 machine. Hardly poised to set the world alight, hopefully the new injection of cash from an African investor can move Arrows nearer the top over the coming seasons.
Stewart
SF3
5 points
As good as '97 was for Stewart, '98 could not have been worse.
Terrible reliability dogged the SF2, but '99 promises to be better. The cloud of doubt has been lifted as to whether Ford would pull out; and have apparently come up with one of the smallest and lightest engines in F1. It remains to be seen if the chassis and reliability can be improved to meet Fords new investment.
Rumor has it that Stewart could well be bought by Ford, and re-badged as Jaguar.
Prost
AP02
1 point
Alain Prosts team have rarely enjoyed the success seen under the Ligier name tag of '97. Motivating their top driver after a horrendous accident, shifting the entire operation to France, and awful reliability all contributed to a dire season.
Hopefully the Peugeot engine, which served Jordan so well a couple of seasons ago will be up to scratch, and the new alliance with John Barnard will help out this floundering team.
Minardi
M01
Another failure of a season for Minardi. The team were again mobile chicanes.
So far they have been over two seconds off the slowest car in testing, and it looks like it might be deja vu (again) for Minardi.
An injection of $7,000,000 from a Spanish telecommunications company may help but Minardi seem destined to live at the back of the pack.
New Livery
Old Livery
BAR
01
The BAR car has yet to turn a wheel in anger but already the team has been branded the 'bad boys' of F1.
Wild claims and plenty of money has made many teams resent the new boys to the formula. The situation has been made worse due to the impressive testing times posted by '97 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve.
Unfortunately BAR have had to revise their livery as the sports governing body decided to change the rules after hearing rumors that BAR wanted to run in two differing colour schemes.