his teammate, which knocked him down to last. Neither car was damaged, and Coulthard took the lead. Coulthard led for most of the race, but Irvine jumped him in the second round of stops to take the win ahead of the Scotsman. Häkkinen drove a superb race, charging from the back to finish third. The German GP did not receive as much anticipation as one would expect as home hero Schumacher was missing, but it did not deter Häkkinen from taking his 8th pole of the season, with Frentzen splitting the McLarens. Häkkinen raced away, and Coulthard passed Frentzen but Salo, starting in fourth got in front of both of them. Coulthard put Salo under pressure, and tried to pass, but hit the Ferrari's tyre and damaged his front wing, which forced him to pit for repairs. Häkkinen was cruising, but his refuelling equipment malfunctioned during the stops, and his long stop pushed him down to fourth. He passed Frentzen, and set off after the Ferraris only to suffer a puncture which punted him into the wall. Irvine was let through by Salo, and took his second consecutive win, with Salo making it a Ferrari 1–2, and Frentzen finished third. Round 11 was in Hungary, and Häkkinen took pole as usual, with Irvine alongside him and Coulthard third. Häkkinen and Irvine quickly raced away, while Coulthard got passed by Giancarlo Fisichella and Frentzen. Coulthard jumped both drivers in the stops, and then chased after Irvine, and the Ulsterman cracked under the pressure with 8 laps left, by running wide, giving second to Coulthard. Häkkinen cruised to victory, and Coulthard completed McLaren's 1–2, and Irvine settled for third. The field went to Belgium next, and Häkkinen took his tenth pole of the season, with Coulthard in second, and Frentzen third. At the start, Häkkinen got away slowly, and so Coulthard was alongside. Coulthard did not lift, and the two McLarens touched, but Coulthard was in front. Coulthard was never headed and eased to victory, with Häkkinen running around in and finishing second, and Frenzen third. Irvine was fourth. With three-quarters of the season complete, Häkkinen led the championship with 60 points, but now Irvine with 59 was only 1 point behind him. Coulthard was third with 46, and in with an outside chance. Frentzen was fourth with 40, Michael Schumacher who was still out with a broken leg was fifth with