The 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix (officially the XXIX Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil) was a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor race held on 26 March 2000 at the
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
The Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos, is a motorsport circuit located in the city of São Paulo, in the neighborhood of Interlagos. It was inaugurated on 12 May 1940, by the federal intervener Adhemar de Barros. The t ...
in
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
, Brazil. 72,000 people attended the race, which was the second round of the
2000 Formula One World Championship and the 29th overall edition of the
event
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of eve ...
.
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
driver
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
won the 71-lap race starting from third position.
Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official ''Nazionale Piloti'' association football team (composed of the racing drivers). He has d ...
of the
Benetton team finished in second and
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
's
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He competed in multiple disciplines including Sportscars, Formula One and DTM. He had his most success in Formula One, entering over 150 Grands Prix and winning three.
...
was third.
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three For ...
of the
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
team took
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
by recording the fastest lap in qualifying. He led on the first lap of the race before
World Drivers Championship
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...
leader Michael Schumacher passed him at the beginning of lap two. Thereafter, Michael Schumacher opened up a 17.6-second lead before his first of two
pit stop
In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...
s for fuel and tyres on lap 20. He retook the lead after Häkkinen retired with a loss of engine oil pressure ten laps later.
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
in the other McLaren gained on Michael Schumacher in the final 12 laps as the latter slowed to manage an
oil pressure {{unreferenced, date=May 2016
Oil pressure is an important factor in the longevity of most internal combustion engines. With a forced lubrication system (invented by Frederick Lanchester), oil is picked up by a positive displacement oil pump and ...
problem. He was not close enough to make a pass for the win and Michael Schumacher took his second consecutive victory of the season and
the 37th of his career.
After the race, Coulthard was disqualified from the second place due to an illegal front wing endplate. McLaren filed an appeal to the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
's International Court of Appeal, which was rejected. The disqualification advanced every driver behind Coulthard by a single position. The result extended Michael Schumacher's lead atop the World Drivers' Championship to 12
points. Fisichella moved from fifth to second as
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 Toy ...
in the second Ferrari fell to third after not finishing the race. Ferrari further increased their lead in the
World Constructors' Championship to 18 points as Benetton advanced from fourth to second with fifteen races remaining in the season.
Background
The 2000
Brazilian Grand Prix
The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
was the second of the 17 motor races in the
2000 Formula One World Championship and the 29th overall edition of the event. It took place at the 15-turn
Autódromo José Carlos Pace
The Autódromo José Carlos Pace, better known as Interlagos, is a motorsport circuit located in the city of São Paulo, in the neighborhood of Interlagos. It was inaugurated on 12 May 1940, by the federal intervener Adhemar de Barros. The t ...
in the Brazilian city of
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...
on 26 March.
[ It was the second of six to be held outside of Europe.] The high-altitude, anti-clockwise track had significant elevation changes, placing a heavy load of g-force
The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...
on the left-hand side of drivers' necks. Teams altered their cars to run at medium to high levels of downforce
Downforce is a downwards lift force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. If the vehicle is a car, the purpose of downforce is to allow the car to travel faster by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip. ...
and the dampers, springs and suspensions
In chemistry, a suspension is a heterogeneous mixture of a fluid that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles may be visible to the naked eye, usually must be larger than one micrometer, and will eventually ...
were optimised to adapt to the bumpy track surface. Formula One's control tyre supplier Bridgestone
is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...
brought the soft and the medium dry compound tyres to the race.
After winning the preceding —the first of the 17 World Championship races—Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
driver Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
led the Drivers' Championship with ten points; his teammate Rubens Barrichello
Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 Toy ...
was in second with six points, and Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races.
Schumacher began kart ...
of the Williams team had four points. British American Racing
British American Racing (BAR) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership with Honda which l ...
's (BAR) Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...
was fourth with three points and Benetton driver Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official ''Nazionale Piloti'' association football team (composed of the racing drivers). He has d ...
was fifth with two points. In the Constructors' Championship Ferrari led with a maximum number of 16 points. Williams and BAR tied in third with four points each and Benetton was fourth on four points.[
Prior to the event the majority of the 11 teams conducted sessions at various locations across Europe to test their cars and new components. ]McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
, Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, Williams, Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
and Prost elected to test at the Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 ...
in the United Kingdom from 14 to 16 March. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer
Luca Badoer (born 25 January 1971) is an Italian former racing driver. Badoer has raced for the Scuderia Italia, Minardi, Forti and most recently, Ferrari teams. In addition to his racing duties, Badoer was one of the active test and reserve driv ...
performed shakedown runs at the Fiorano Circuit
The Fiorano Circuit () is a private racetrack owned by Ferrari for development and testing purposes. It is located in Fiorano Modenese, near the Italian town of Maranello. The circuit has FIA Grade 1 license.
Work begun in 1971 and officially ...
in northern Italy. Olivier Panis
Olivier Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver. Panis raced in Formula One for ten seasons, earning his first and only win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team.
He is the father of racing driver Aurél ...
of the McLaren test team led on the first two days of testing; on day three, Williams' Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
was the fastest driver.[ The BAR, Arrows, ]Sauber
Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it u ...
and Minardi
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...
teams did not test before the Grand Prix.[
]
The press and bookmakers considered Michael Schumacher the favourite to win the race. In response to a statement by McLaren team principal Ron Dennis
Ronald Dennis Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 1 June 1947) is a British people, British businessman and Official British Business Ambassador for the United Kingdom. He is best known for his former role as owner, CEO, chairman and founder ...
—who claimed Ferrari was not as competitive as McLaren—Schumacher said he was optimistic over a continuing challenge to McLaren for the rest of the season. McLaren driver David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
stated he foresaw the team starting on the grid
Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to:
Common usage
* Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road
* Grid reference, used to define a location on a map
Arts, entertainment, and media
* News g ...
's front row and winning, after faulty seals on their pneumatic valve systems forced him and two-time world champion Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three For ...
to retire from the preceding Australian Grand Prix: "We weren't beaten fair and square in the race because we dropped out. You have to give Ferrari credit because they won when we dropped out and that's our mistake. But it means we come here believing we are competitive and still have a chance."
Over the month of February, the Autódromo José Carlos Pace was resurfaced in an attempt to reduce its bumpiness. The pit lane exit was moved from the entry of the Senna S chicane
A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...
to the Repa Opposta straight
Straight may refer to:
Slang
* Straight, slang for heterosexual
** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype
* Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture
Sport and games
* Str ...
. A larger run-off area was installed to the outside of Laranjinha turn and its concrete barrier was padded with tyres, after Ricardo Zonta
Ricardo Luiz Zonta (born March 23, 1976) is a Brazilian professional racing driver. He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 10 Toyota Corolla E210 for RCM Motorsport.
Early career
Born in Curitiba, ...
had crashed and been injured during the 1999 race. Charlie Whiting
Charles Whiting (12 August 1952 – 14 March 2019) was a British motorsports director. He served as the FIA Formula One Race Director, Safety Delegate, Permanent Starter and head of the F1 Technical Department, in which capacities he generally ma ...
, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA; Formula One's governing body) technical delegate, inspected the circuit and ordered the pit lane barriers to be moved for better driver access. The drivers had mixed feelings over the resurfacing work. Eddie Irvine
Edmund Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He competed in Formula One between 1993 and 2002, and finished runner-up in the 1999 World Drivers' Championship, driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
He b ...
of the Jaguar team criticised the track's condition. His teammate Johnny Herbert
John Paul "Johnny" Herbert (born 25 June 1964) is a British former racing driver and current television announcer for Sky Sports F1. He raced in Formula One from 1989 to 2000, for seven different teams, winning three races and placing 4th in t ...
described the bumps approaching the start/finish straight as "horrendous" and raised concerns over a repeat of an accident sustained by Stéphane Sarrazin
Stéphane Jean-Marc Sarrazin (born 2 November 1975) is a French professional racing driver. He has won races across a number of single-seater, sportscar and rallying disciplines and competitions, was French Formula Renault champion in 1994, and ...
in 1999. Barrichello and his teammate Michael Schumacher, on the other hand, said the track was better for them.
There were 11 teams (each representing a different constructor) entering two drivers each for the Grand Prix with no changes from the season entry list. Several teams altered their cars, either to refine their aerodynamic appendages or to solve reliability problems that emerged during the Australian Grand Prix. McLaren identified an air filter
A particulate air filter is a device composed of fibrous, or porous materials which removes solid particulates such as dust, pollen, mold, and bacteria from the air. Filters containing an adsorbent or catalyst such as charcoal (carbon) may als ...
failure that had the pneumatic valve system problem in the previous race, and modified its design to prevent a recurrence. Ford-Cosworth
Cosworth is a British automotive engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines, powertrain, and electronics for automobile racing (motorsport) and mainstream automotive industrie ...
modified its engine lubrication system and the Arrows team altered the design of the steering linkage. The FIA granted Arrows permission to enter the race after changing the design of the headrests to protect the driver in its A21 car.
Practice
There were four practice sessions preceding Sunday's race, two one-hour sessions on Friday, and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The weather was hot and clear for the Friday sessions.[ Barrichello made minor changes to the aerodynamic setup of his car before the morning session,][ and was fastest with a 1-minute, 17.631 seconds lap. Häkkinen, Coulthard, Michael Schumacher, Villeneuve, Prost's ]Jean Alesi
Jean Alesi (born Giovanni Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French professional racing driver of Italian origin. After successes in minor categories, notably winning the 1989 Formula 3000 Championship, his Formula One career included spells at Tyrrell, ...
, Fisichella, Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He competed in multiple disciplines including Sportscars, Formula One and DTM. He had his most success in Formula One, entering over 150 Grands Prix and winning three.
...
of the Jordan team, Sauber driver Mika Salo
Mika Juhani Salo (born 30 November 1966) is a Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One between and . His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumacher ...
and Arrows' Jos Verstappen
Johannes Franciscus Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a former (Formula One) racing driver. Verstappen was the German Formula Three champion and Masters of Formula Three winner in 1993.
In Formula 1, Verstappen raced for seven different t ...
rounded out the session's top ten drivers. During the session, Alesi spun three times and removed the front wing on the third occurrence.[ Michael Schumacher's session ended early after eight laps due to a ]driveshaft
A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to connect ...
joint leak and Zonta was restricted to four timed laps after debris accumulation overheated his engine.[ Practice was interrupted when a stray dog ran onto the circuit and was knocked over by marshals in a car.]
With three minutes remaining in the afternoon session, Häkkinen bettered his 1999 pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
lap by six-tenths of a second and set the day's fastest lap of 1 minute, 15.896 seconds.[ Michael Schumacher was second-fastest. Coulthard, Barrichello, ]Pedro de la Rosa
Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...
's Arrows, Alesi, Verstappen, Jordan's Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian racing driver. He regularly competed in Formula One from 1997 to 2011, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus Racing and Team Lotus. His best result in the World Drivers' Cham ...
, Villeneuve and Fisichella took third through tenth. A brake and balance problem twice put Ralf Schumacher off the track. Alexander Wurz
Alexander Georg Wurz (born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.
He is curren ...
spun and beached his Benetton in a gravel trap at Mergulho corner.[ Coulthard spent part of the session in the pit lane as McLaren replaced his front wing after he went into the grass midway through. Verstappen tried a tyre compound that affected his car's setup and put him into a gravel trap at the end of practice.][
It continued to be hot and dry for Saturday morning's two practice sessions.] Teams tested different ride height
Ride height or ground clearance is the amount of space between the base of an automobile tire and the lowest point of the automobile (typically the axle); or, more properly, to the shortest distance between a flat, level surface, and the lowest p ...
setups on their cars, creating a noticeable difference in performance. They also selected the tyre compounds to use for the rest of the weekend. Coulthard led the third practice session with a lap of 1 minute, 15.035 seconds, followed by his teammate Häkkinen, the Ferrari pair of Michael Schumacher and Barrichello, Frentzen, Fisichella, Trulli, Irvine, Minardi's Marc Gené
Marc Gené i Guerrero (born 29 March 1974) is a Spanish professional racing driver. He is best known as a tester for Williams and Ferrari in Formula One, Minardi Formula One driver and factory driver for Peugeot's Le Mans team, with which he w ...
and Alesi. During the session, an engine problem for Michael Schumacher prompted his team to spend an hour and ten minutes changing it.[ An oil leak in ]Gastón Mazzacane
Gastón Hugo Mazzacane (born 8 May 1975) is an Argentine racing driver. He participated in 21 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 12 March 2000. He scored no championship points. His father, Hugo Mazzacane named him after Argentine touring car r ...
's Minardi restricted him to five timed laps, and prevented his participation in the final practice session later that day.
Hakkinen led the fourth session with a 1-minute, 14.159 seconds time on his final lap on a new set of tyres, with his teammate Coulthard third. They were separated by Barrichello. His teammate Michael Schumacher was fourth. Trulli was fifth and Fisichella duplicated his third practice result in sixth. Villeneuve, Verstappen, Ralf Schumacher, and Frentzen completed the top ten.[ Barrichello spun twice as he tested a new ]rear wing
A spoiler is an automotive aerodynamic device whose intended design function is to 'spoil' unfavorable air movement across a body of a vehicle in motion, usually described as turbulence or drag. Spoilers on the front of a vehicle are often ca ...
, one of which was caused by a broken footrest. Frentzen and his teammate Trulli ran into a gravel trap and both sustained minor bodywork damage to their cars.[ Zonta lost track time due to a gearbox actuator fault and ran into a gravel trap.][ Button's engine failed, laying oil on the ]racing line
In motorsport, the racing line is the optimal path around a race course. In most cases, the line makes use of the entire width of the track to lengthen the radius of a turn: entering at the outside edge, touching the "apex"—a point on the inside ...
between the Laranjinha and Bico do Pato corners. Salo's rear wing failed on the start/finish straight; he spun as he braked before the Senna S chicane and crashed into the wall,[ but was unhurt.][
]
Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's one-hour qualifying session saw drivers circulate the track simultaneously. Each driver was limited to twelve laps; their fastest laps would determine the starting order for the race. During this session the 107% rule
The 107% rule is a sporting regulation affecting Formula One racing qualifying sessions. During the first phase of qualifying, if the circuit is dry, any driver who is eliminated in the first qualifying session and fails to set a lap within 107 p ...
was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107 per cent of the fastest lap to qualify for the race. Heavy rain fell in the session's final hour and the resulting slippery track prevented drivers from improving their best laps. The session was stopped three times because a heavy wind caused a gantry-mounted cardboard advertising hoarding
Hoarding is a behavior where people or animals accumulate food or other items.
Animal behavior
''Hoarding'' and ''caching'' are common in many bird species as well as in rodents. Most animal caches are of food. However, some birds will a ...
, joined by nylon ties above the start/finish straight, to detach and fall onto the track. Häkkinen went fastest with 15 minutes to go before the rain fell with a 1-minute, 14.111 seconds lap, earning his second consecutive pole position, and the 23rd of his career. Häkkinen's teammate Coulthard was second and the Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Barrichello took third and fourth; Schumacher understeered into the grass on his second timed lap, damaging his car's undertray on the corrugations of a high-mounted kerb
A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway.
History
Although curbs have ...
. He drove the spare Ferrari for the rest of qualifying. Barrichello had to abort a fast lap due to the stoppage.[ Fisichella, fifth, praised his car's handling. Irvine in sixth was happy with his Jaguar's grip and balance.][
Frentzen qualified seventh after ]Pedro Diniz
Pedro Paulo Falleiros dos Santos Diniz (born 22 May 1970) is a Brazilian businessman and former racing driver. Diniz began karting at the age of eighteen and achieved minor success, before progressing to car racing in the Brazilian Formula Ford ...
slowed him. Zonta, eighth, focused on aerodynamic setup to improve his car's handling. Button switched his engine between the final practice session and qualifying and worked to change the setup of his car with his race engineer Tim Preston. He was fourth early on before falling to ninth. Villeneuve qualified in tenth as traffic slowed two of his timed laps and he ran onto the grass. Ralf Schumacher was the fastest driver not to qualify in the top ten after different spring rates failed to improve the setup of his chassis.[ Trulli spun into a gravel trap at the Bico de Peto ]hairpin
A hairpin or hair pin is a long device used to hold a person's hair in place. It may be used simply to secure long hair out of the way for convenience or as part of an elaborate hairstyle or coiffure. The earliest evidence for dressing the hai ...
on his first timed lap.[ He returned to the pit lane to drive the spare Jordan car; an ]electronic control unit
An electronic control unit (ECU), also known as an electronic control module (ECM), is an embedded system in automotive electronics that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a car or other motor vehicle.
Modern vehic ...
fault affected its gear selection and left him 12th. Traffic slowed all of Wurz's laps and left him in 13th. Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
issues left Verstappen in 14th. Alesi, 15th, swerved at more than to avoid the falling advertising hoarding; it damaged his car's front wing.[ Alesi was unhurt.] De La Rosa in 16th was slowed by the rain. Car setup issues put Herbert 17th.[ Gené in 18th ventured onto the track early in the session. ]Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld (born 10 May 1977) is a German professional racing driver.
Despite scoring regular podium finishes in with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams, and in and with BMW in Formula One, BMW Sauber, Heidfeld never won a rac ...
used the spare Prost car to secure 19th due to a clutch failure in his race car. Diniz in 20th had a similar rear wing failure to his teammate Salo in 22nd. Fuel pressure problems led Mazzacane to drive the spare Minardi car; he separated the Sauber duo in 21st.
Post-qualifying
During the second stoppage, Sauber announced its withdrawal from the race, citing a lack of time in Brazil to analyse and rectify the structural integrity of the rear wings on both their cars.[ The team returned to their ]Hinwil
Hinwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Hinwil (district), Hinwil in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland.
History
The village Hinwil from which the later municipality ...
headquarters and found the track's bumpy surface resulted in both of their cars having higher than anticipated impact loads; Salo had a failure of the lower plane on his rear wing and Diniz's failed on the upper plane.
Qualifying classification
Notes:
* Sauber withdrew Pedro Diniz
Pedro Paulo Falleiros dos Santos Diniz (born 22 May 1970) is a Brazilian businessman and former racing driver. Diniz began karting at the age of eighteen and achieved minor success, before progressing to car racing in the Brazilian Formula Ford ...
and Mika Salo
Mika Juhani Salo (born 30 November 1966) is a Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One between and . His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumacher ...
on the grounds of safety due to separate rear wing
A spoiler is an automotive aerodynamic device whose intended design function is to 'spoil' unfavorable air movement across a body of a vehicle in motion, usually described as turbulence or drag. Spoilers on the front of a vehicle are often ca ...
failures on their cars.[
]
Warm-up
A 30-minute warm-up session was held on Sunday morning in hot and overcast weather. All drivers fine-tuned their race set-ups and drove their spare cars.[ Häkkinen set the session's fastest lap at 1 minute, 16.343 seconds, ahead of Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, Verstappen, Ralf Schumacher, Gené, Fisichella and Zonta in positions two to ten. Ten minutes in,] Wurz stalled his car at the exit of the pit lane, and the session was stopped. He required the spare Benetton B200
The Benetton B200 was the car with which the Benetton Formula One team competed in the 2000 Formula One season. It was driven by Giancarlo Fisichella and Alexander Wurz, both in their third season with the team. Hidetoshi Mitsusada was appointe ...
car for the rest of the session.[ Alesi's engine failed and he switched to the spare Prost AP03, which had a rear wing failure on the bumpy start/finish straight, and caused a second stoppage.][
After the warm-up session, and before the race, Prost examined Alesi's rear wing and found that its failure was due to older bodywork parts fitted to his car and readied its spare chassis if required. The team stated they were unconcerned over the safety of their drivers and confirmed their participation in the event.
]
Race
The race began at 14:00 local time. The weather at the start was hot and dry with the ambient temperature , the track temperature , and the humidity at 76 per cent. Approximately 72,000 spectators attended the race, most of whom were supporting Ferrari. Computer simulations suggested that drivers who made one pit stop would record the fastest overall race times. On the formation lap, Wurz stalled his engine, and his stationary car delayed Alesi and Herbert; both drivers took up their starting positions.[ Wurz began the event from the pit lane.] Häkkinen made a brisk start from the grid to lead the field going into the Senna S chicane. Coulthard, in second, had wheelspin
A wheelspin occurs when the force delivered to the tire tread exceeds that of available tread-to-surface friction and one or more tires lose traction.This leads the wheels to "spin" and causes the driver to lose control over the tires that no lo ...
and was passed by Michael Schumacher, who unsuccessfully challenged Häkkinen for the lead. Coulthard retained third as Barrichello made a slow start. Behind them, Irvine overtook Fisichella for fifth. Verstappen moved from 14th to 11th by the conclusion of the first lap; Button fell from 9th to 14th over the same distance. Trulli passed Ralf Schumacher and Villeneuve to progress into tenth on the left of the circuit.
As the first two drivers reached the start/finish line, Michael Schumacher, who was close behind Häkkinen throughout lap one, steered off the racing line to pass the latter for the lead heading into the Senna S chicane. Barrichello slipstreamed Coulthard on the start/finish straight and overtook him for third. He then ran wide and Coulthard retook third. Barrichello retook the position by the end of lap two as Coulthard lost the use of the first three gears due to a gearbox fault and was slower in the slow-speed corners. Coulthard was unable to inform McLaren of the issue due to a malfunctioning radio. At the front, Michael Schumacher extended his lead over Häkkinen to four seconds by lap four and to 15 seconds by lap 15 with a series of fastest lap
In motorsport, the fastest lap is the quickest lap run during a race. Some racing series, like Formula One, Formula 2 and Formula E award championship points for a driver or team that set the fastest lap.
In Grand Prix motorcycle racing no point i ...
s. In the meantime, Trulli passed Zonta for eighth, Button overtook Alesi for 13th and Heidfeld lost 16th to de la Rosa. Verstappen progressed from 11th to seventh bypassing Villeneuve, Zonta, Frentzen, and Fisichella as Alesi overtook Ralf Schumacher, Villeneuve, Zonta, and Frentzen to advance to ninth. Three drivers retired from the race during this period: Wurz and Heidfeld had separate engine failures on lap seven and nine and Alesi stopped with an electrical failure at the Bico de Pato hairpin on lap 11.
At the end of lap 14, Barrichello drew close to Häkkinen after the latter ran wide. He slipstreamed Häkkinen and turned left to pass him for second as he braked before the Senna S chicane to start the 15th lap. De la Rosa passed Herbert for 14th on that lap and Trulli overtook Irvine for fifth on lap 16. That lap, Villeneuve retired with a race-long gearbox problem. The Ferrari and McLaren teams employed different pit stop strategies – the Ferrari team planned for two stops in the anticipation they would build up a large enough lead over McLaren on the circuit. The McLaren squad, however, scheduled a single pit stop because they theorised that the long length of the pit lane would cost them time. Michael Schumacher led by 17.6 seconds over the rest of the field when he commenced the first round of pit stops for fuel and tyres four laps later. He rejoined the track in third and Barrichello led the next two laps until his stop. On lap 21, Irvine lost control of the rear of his car entering the Bico de Pato hairpin and crashed into a tyre barrier. Six laps later, Barrichello entered the pit lane with a hydraulic motor
A hydraulic motor is a mechanical actuator that converts hydraulics, hydraulic pressure and flow into torque and angular displacement (rotation). The hydraulic motor is the rotary counterpart of the hydraulic cylinder as a linear actuator. Mo ...
problem that spread from the steering wheel
A steering wheel (also called a driving wheel (UK), a hand wheel, or simply wheel) is a type of steering control in vehicles.
Steering wheels are used in most modern land vehicles, including all mass-production automobiles, buses, light and ...
to the throttle linkage.[ As Barrichello exited the car to retire a small fire was extinguished by his mechanics.]
Trulli made the first of two stops from fourth at the end of the 28th lap and he emerged in seventh. At the front of the field, Häkkinen pulled away to lead Michael Schumacher by 12 seconds until he slowed with a loss of oil engine pressure on the 30th lap. He slowed and retired in his garage. Michael Schumacher retook the lead, with the yet-to-stop Coulthard second, Verstappen third, and Fisichella fourth. Coulthard lapped to within a tenth of a second of Michael Schumacher as the latter slowed slightly due to an imbalance in all four of his tyres as Ralf Schumacher challenged Fisichella for fourth. On lap 32, Gené retired from eleventh with an engine failure. Verstappen and his teammate de la Rosa made their first pit stops on laps 35 and 37. Four laps later, Frentzen was the first driver on a one-stop strategy to enter the pit lane. Coulthard made his only stop on lap 43 and remained in second position. Michael Schumacher led by 48 seconds when he made his second pit stop on the 51st lap and retained the lead. On the same lap, Fisichella made his only stop and kept third place.
On lap 51, Herbert retired in the pit lane with a gearbox failure. De la Rosa lost concentration and went into a gravel trap four laps later. He rejoined without losing position. Button battled Verstappen for several laps and overtook him for seventh on the 56th lap, as Trulli made a pit stop from fourth and rejoined the track in fifth. From the 59th lap, Coulthard began to gain on Michael Schumacher, who slowed due to an oil pressure {{unreferenced, date=May 2016
Oil pressure is an important factor in the longevity of most internal combustion engines. With a forced lubrication system (invented by Frederick Lanchester), oil is picked up by a positive displacement oil pump and ...
problem. He could not draw close enough to pass, and Schumacher took his second victory of the season and the 37th of his career in a time of 1 hour, 31 minutes, 35.271 seconds, averaging over a distance of and 71 laps. Coulthard followed 4.302 seconds later and Fisichella took third. Frentzen drove consistently to finish fourth, Trulli's two-stop strategy enabled him to finish fifth and Ralf Schumacher was the last of the points-scorers in sixth. Button, Verstappen, de la Rosa, Zonta and Mazzacane (in his first F1 race finish) were the final finishers. The attrition rate was high; only 11 of the 20 starters finished the race.
Post-race
The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media at a later press conference. Michael Schumacher, who received the winners' trophy from Brazilian footballer Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA, ...
, stated that pit stop strategy helped him to win the race: "In the past, as you may remember, we could not overtake the McLaren entries, regardless of their strategy. Now we are looking a lot more competitive – which is where we wanted to be – and the season could hardly have started better than it has." Coulthard said his second-place finish provided him the start to his championship campaign after his gearbox problems: "It must have been entertaining for those who had places to watch at the first corner. Given the circumstances, I am very happy with my six points."[ Fisichella revealed that his car had understeer and oversteer for the first 15 laps until its grip and balance improved. Nonetheless, he said he was pleased to finish third, "This is a great result and will help us to be even more competitive in the future. I am confident about the next race when we will have some new aerodynamic parts."][
]
Approximately one hour after the race finish when the cars were subject to post-race checks at the FIA scrutineering bay by officials, all of the top six finishers, except for Fisichella, were found to have excess wear on the wooden planks attached to the floors underneath their cars, in violation of a regulation concerning illegal plank wear. The Ferrari, McLaren, Jordan and Williams teams filed a successful appeal as the bumpy racing surface caused the wear due to cars bottoming out. All four teams were reinstated after a second inspection caused a hour delay. During the inspection, Jo Bauer, the FIA technical delegate, found that the front wing endplates on Coulthard's car were above the ground ( too low) and not as stated in the regulations''.''[ Bauer deemed this to have provided Coulthard with a competitive aerodynamic advantage and the stewards disqualified the driver six hours after the race. The technical director of McLaren ]Adrian Newey
Adrian Martin Newey, (born 26 December 1958) is a British Formula One engineer. He is currently the chief technical officer of the Red Bull Racing F1 team.
Newey has worked in both Formula One and American Championship car racing, IndyCar raci ...
rejected an offer from the stewards to transport Coulthard's car to Paris for a fair hearing and agreed to a set of four measurements in São Paulo. McLaren filed an appeal, saying the car's undertray and chassis was damaged and shifted by vibrations from the bumps on the racing surface. On 4 April, the appeal was heard by a five-man panel at a meeting of the FIA International Court of Appeal in Paris. They rejected McLaren's appeal in the 90-minute hearing and declared the race result final.
This promoted every driver behind Coulthard one position; Button was reclassified sixth and became the youngest driver to score a Formula One World Championship point at the age of 20 years, 2 months, 7 days old, breaking Ricardo Rodríguez's record from the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1962 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 17 June 1962. It was race 3 of 9 in both the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. This race was nota ...
. On 6 April, the organisers of the Brazilian Grand Prix were summoned to a meeting of the FIA General Assembly. They were fined $100,000 for the track's safety issues and for the three times qualifying was stopped for falling advertising hoardings. The governing body ruled it as "exceptional circumstances" and allowed the track to remain in Formula One. The president of the FIA Max Mosley
Max Rufus Mosley (13 April 1940 – 23 May 2021) was a British racing driver, lawyer, and president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), a non-profit association which represents the interests of motoring organisations and ...
said an increased fine or cancelling the race was not imposed because its organisers had submitted evidence to prevent either action from occurring, "Bearing in mind that we allowed the Brazilian promoters to place the signs there – and they probably didn't know what potential there was for the failures which occurred – it seemed only fair to impose the comparatively modest penalty."
Häkkinen limited his interviews with the media and left the circuit before the race concluded; he spoke of his disappointment over retiring from the lead of the race, "Nothing can describe how I feel, We have been quick all weekend, right the way through, so I am not happy to be leaving Brazil without any points. We have some work to do before the start of the European season."[ Button was quoted in the press as saying he preferred to score points in the race and not in a court of appeal, "I heard the news about David as I was making my way to the airport to fly back from Brazil – and I can't say it gave me any great feeling of joy. You want to earn any success through your driving skills, not someone else's misfortune." ]Eddie Jordan
Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championshi ...
, the owner of the Jordan team, said that both his cars finishing the event demonstrated they could last a full race distance after retiring from the Australian Grand Prix with mechanical issues. Frentzen stated it was as if the team's season had commenced in Brazil and required maintenance to improve their performance, "But we are a very strong team with a good atmosphere, I get along well with Jarno and everything is fine so far."
The gap in the Drivers' Championship after the race stood at 12 points in favour of Michael Schumacher with Fisichella moving from fifth to second as a result of his second-place finish. Barrichello dropped to third and Ralf Schumacher fell to fourth. Frentzen rounded out the top five. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari moved further ahead with 26 points and the Benetton team progressed from fourth to second. Jordan's first points of the season put them third while Williams and BAR were fourth and fifth with fifteen races left in the season.
Race classification
Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold.
Championship standings after the race
Note, only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
Notes and references
Notes
References
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Brazilian Grand Prix
The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
Brazilian Grand Prix
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
Brazilian Grand Prix
The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...