Irvine to lead title chase into Japan

Irvine and Michael Schumacher had finished first and second after dominating the race and working together to take points off McLaren's Mika Hakkinen. Their flawless tactical performance made the Irishman favourite for the world championship and also gave the team the advantage in the Constructors' standings.

However, four hours after the race, FIA Technical Delegate Jo Bauer excluded both cars on the grounds that the new barge boards on the Ferrari's were too narrow at one point.

Ferrari claimed that the missing part of the device was a manufacturing problem and not a deliberate attempt at cheating.

The team was expected to protest that the decision was too harsh. It was generally agreed that the 'illegal' component offered no performance advantage, and that this would be the main element of Ferraris' appeal.

Instead, the team brought their own equipment to the hearing to prove that the turning vanes on the barge boards operated within the 5mm tolerance level allowed, making the cars legal when out on the circuit.

Suspicions had been aroused by Ferrari's insistence on covering up the barge boards, introduced prior to the Nurburgring race, whenever the cars were in the garages. It has been suggested that McLaren tipped off the officials.

Team boss Ron Dennis had originally threatened to protest the Ferrari's for running tyres with worn-out grooves in the race, but this was rendered unnecessary by the barge board issue. McLaren have yet to respond to the outcome of the appeal.

Ferrari's exclusion had given the race win and the 1999 title to Hakkinen. For the past six days, the Finn has been one of the few men to become champion in two consecutive seasons, but he may now lose that honour if he cannot beat Irvine at Suzuka.