 Even though Leinders had qualified 19th, he did not take the start of the race in order to give Heidfeld a chance at winning the title after being pushed down the grid for fuel irregularities.West Competition retained Nick Heidfeld for 1999 and brought in Brazilian Mario Haberfeld to replace Minassian who moved on to the new Kid Jensen Racing team.Heidfeld won at winning at Imola, Catalunya, Magny-Cours and the A1-Ring, as well as taking four pole positions on the way to the title.