The 2000 European Grand Prix (officially the 2000 Warsteiner Grand Prix of Europe) 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 21 May 2000 at the
Nürburgring in the German town of
Nürburg in the state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
before 142,000 spectators. It was the sixth round of the
2000 Formula One World Championship and the ninth
European Grand Prix
The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
in Formula One.
Ferrari 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 67-lap race after starting from second place.
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 Fo ...
of the McLaren team finished in second and his teammate
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 ...
was third.
Michael Schumacher led the
World Drivers' Championship entering the Grand Prix with his team Ferrari atop the
World Constructors' Championship. Coulthard won the ninth
pole position of his career by recording the fastest lap in qualifying. His teammate Häkkinen made a brisk getaway from third to take the lead into the first corner. He led the first ten laps until Michael Schumacher overtook him on lap 11. Heavy rain on lap 12 prompted the entire field to make
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 lan ...
s and switch from the dry compound tyres to the
wet-weather tyres. Michael Schumacher continued to lead until his second pit stop on lap 36, relinquishing it to Häkkinen for the next nine laps, after which the former regained the position. Michael Schumacher won the race, with Häkkinen 13.822 seconds behind in second, and Coulthard one lap adrift in third. It was Schumacher's fourth victory of the season, and
the 39th of his career.
Due to the result of the race, Michael Schumacher extended his lead over Häkkinen in the World Drivers' Championship to 18
points. Coulthard remained in third place and he increased the gap by one point over the second Ferrari of
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 T ...
in fourth. In the
World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari increased their lead to ten points from the second-placed McLaren.
Williams remained in third notwithstanding the team scored no points as
Benetton passed
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 ...
for fourth place with eleven races left in the season.
Background
The 2000
European Grand Prix
The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
was the sixth of the seventeen races in the
2000 Formula One World Championship and the ninth edition of the event as part of the series. It was held at the 13-turn
Nürburgring in the German town of
Nürburg in the state of
Rhineland-Palatinate
Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...
on 21 May 2000.
Sole tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the Soft and Extra Soft dry compound tyres as well as the soft and hard wet-weather compounds to the Grand Prix.
Going into the race, Ferrari 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 36 points. His nearest rival was McLaren's 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 Fo ...
in second with 22 points and his teammate 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 ...
was a further two points behind in third. 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 T ...
in the second Ferrari was fourth with 13 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 rounded out the top five with 12 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari (with 49 points) led McLaren by seven points. With 15 points, Williams stood in third. The 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 ...
and Benetton teams contended for fourth place.
After the Spanish Grand Prix
The Spanish Grand Prix ( es, Gran Premio de España, ca, Gran Premi d'Espanya) is a Formula One motor racing event currently held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The race is one of the oldest in the world still contested, celebrating it ...
on 7 May 2000, the teams conducted in-season testing to prepare for the event. The McLaren, 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 un ...
, Benetton, Jordan, Arrows, British American Racing (BAR) and Williams teams opted to test at the Circuito de Jerez
Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto (formerly known as Circuit of Jerez and Circuito Permanente de Jerez), is a racing circuit located close to the city of Jerez de la Frontera, south of Seville and deep within the sherry-producing region in th ...
between 9 and 11 May. Coulthard missed the test to help him recover from three broken ribs he sustained in a plane crash at Lyon
Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...
. His teammate Häkkinen was fastest on the first day of running and BAR driver 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 Curitib ...
paced the second day's running. 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 current ...
set the fastest lap on the final day for the Benetton team. The Prost team conducted three days of running at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some from Paris and from Lyon.
It staged the Formula One French Grand Prix from 1991 (succeeding Circuit Paul Rica ...
with driver 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 ...
to test the AP03's aerodynamic components. 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 ...
spent three days 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 ...
practicing 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 lan ...
s and testing aerodynamic and mechanical setups of the Ferrari F1-F2000. Barrichello ran a new engine for the car and performed tyre testing at the Mugello Circuit
Mugello Circuit () is a race track in Scarperia e San Piero, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The circuit length is . It has 15 turns and a long straight. The circuit stadium stands have a capacity of 50,000.
Grand Prix motorcycle racing host an ann ...
.
Michael Schumacher won the season's first three races and had a healthy advantage over Häkkinen, who had reliability issues in the Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
and Brazilian races. Coulthard then won the British Grand Prix
The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Ch ...
and Häkkinen the Spanish Grand Prix as Michael Schumacher had sub-par results at both of those races. Häkkinen said the gap was not extensive considering there were twelve races left in the season and that he was better able to handle pressure, "In this sport something weird always happens. If I were in Michael's shoes I would be getting a little bit worried at seeing us pick up two wins in a row – more than that, two 1–2 finishes." His teammate Coulthard said he would not allow his breaking three of his ribs to lose him momentum and hoped McLaren would finish first and second, "We are slowly chipping away at Michael's lead, but he has had this amazing run of luck and has finished every race in the points this season so it is still going to be difficult. But I am very confident, given my recent results, though it is still hard thinking about those six points I lost in Brazil when I was disqualified."
A total of 11 teams (each represented by a different constructor) fielded two race drivers each with no changes from the season entry list. Some teams made modifications to their cars
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...
for the European Grand Prix. Both Ferrari and McLaren fitted a revised aerodynamic package aimed primarily at improving their car's performance in the qualifying session. Ferrari brought a new engine called the 049B and installed smaller Brembo brake calipers
A disc brake is a type of brake that uses the calipers to squeeze pairs of pads against a disc or a "rotor" to create friction. This action slows the rotation of a shaft, such as a vehicle axle, either to reduce its rotational speed or to hold ...
and lighter disc pads. McLaren mounted cooling chimneys on both sides of the MP4-15 to facilitate in the disposal of heat. Williams brought new cast titanium uprights that the team elected not to use at the preceding Spanish Grand Prix. BAR ran its 002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to:
Fiction
*002, fictional British 00 Agent
*''002 Operazione Luna'',
*1965 Italian film
*Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character
Airports
*0O2, Baker Airport
*O02, Nervino Airport
Astronomy
*1996 ...
cars with a new Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
engine and a revised version of its Xtrac
Xtrac Limited, also known as Xtrac Transmission Technology, is a British engineering company founded in 1984 by the former Hewland engineer Mike Endean to make 4WD systems and gearboxes for rallycross and later rally and racing cars. Endean, to ...
-designed gearbox
Propulsion transmission is the mode of transmitting and controlling propulsion power of a machine. The term ''transmission'' properly refers to the whole drivetrain, including clutch, gearbox, prop shaft (for rear-wheel drive vehicles), differe ...
. Minardi installed a revised specification of front wing to their M02s following the completion of wind tunnel
Wind tunnels are large tubes with air blowing through them which are used to replicate the interaction between air and an object flying through the air or moving along the ground. Researchers use wind tunnels to learn more about how an aircraft ...
testing on it and the team continued to use a cast titanium transmission 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 ...
's car.
Practice
A total of four practice sessions were held before the Sunday race, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The Friday practice sessions were held in cool and variable weather. Overnight rain created a wet track that dried during the day. Michael Schumacher was fastest with a time of 1 minute and 21.092 seconds, followed by BAR's 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 o ...
, the Jordan duo of 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.
...
and 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 ...
, Barrichello, Coulthard, Zonta, Häkkinen and 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 ...
for Sauber in positions two to ten. During his final lap of the session, Häkkinen locked his tyres at the Dunlop Curve corner and got beached in the turn's gravel trap.[
Rain fell between the conclusion of the morning session and the start of the afternoon session. It continued to fall at the north section of the track in the opening minutes of the second session before it dried and lap times improved sufficiently over the next 20 minutes. A light fuel load and a new set of tyres on his Williams FW22 meant ]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 G ...
recorded the day's fastest lap of 1 minute and 19.808 seconds with one minute of the session remaining. Wurz was 0.440 seconds slower in second. The McLaren pair of Häkkinen and Coulthard were third and fourth. Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Trulli, Zonta, Heidfeld and Villeneuve followed in the top ten. An engine fault curtailed Ralf Schumacher's running and Giancarlo Fisichella of the Benetton team damaged the left-hand side of his car in a collision with a tyre barrier beside the circuit. Coulthard spun on a 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 ...
at the Veedol 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 ...
.[
The weather was cold and overcast on Saturday morning.] In the third practice session, Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of 1 minute and 18.527 seconds, ahead of Häkkinen, Frentzen, Coulthard, 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 ...
of the Arrows team, Ralf Schumacher, Zonta, Villeneuve, Button and Barrichello. Arrows driver 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 te ...
's running was curtailed after 17 minutes due to smoke billowing from his engine.[ Button hit the kerbs on the track, spun, and damaged his car against the tyre barrier.]
Michael Schumacher did not improve his time; he remained the fastest driver in the fourth practice session. Barrichello in second was driving faster and he finished the session 0.227 seconds slower than his teammate. Häkkinen and Coulthard fell to third and fourth as Frentzen dropped to fifth. Fisichella improved to sixth, as the rest of the top ten comprised Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher, De La Rosa and Trulli. During the session, Coulthard slid into a gravel trap at turn three though he rejoined the track without any apparent damage. He stopped at the side of the circuit at the Ford Kurve and track marshals extricated his car into an escape road. 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 ...
spun his Minardi car at the Castrol-S chicane and Ralf Schumacher drove into the grass after running deep at the Veedol chicane.[
]
Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's one hour qualifying session saw every driver limited to twelve laps, with the starting order decided by their fastest qualifying laps. 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 time to qualify for the race. Sections of the circuit were damp from an earlier rain shower, and more rain was forecast, prompting teams to install the extra soft compound tyres on their cars and drivers ventured onto the track early in qualifying. A heavy rainstorm in the final 25 minutes prevented drivers from improving their lap times due to a slippery track. Every driver exited the pit lane with two minutes of qualifying left in order to try and get the maximum possible benefit of driving on a dry circuit. Coulthard took McLaren's first pole position in event history, his first since the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1998 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on 7 June 1998. The 69-lap race was the seventh round of the 1998 FIA Formula One World Championship. It was won by Michael Schumacher, however the race ...
and the ninth of his career with a lap of 1 minute and 17.529 seconds. He was joined 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 ...
's front row by Michael Schumacher who had the pole position until Coulthard's time and ran wide at the Ford Kurve. This formation continued on the second row with Häkkinen third after not feeling confident in the setup of his car and Barrichello took fourth after driver errors on his first two timed laps. Fifth-placed Ralf Schumacher was caught out by the change in conditions on a timed lap and went straight on at the Veedol chicane. Trulli, nursing a perforated eardrum
A perforated eardrum (tympanic membrane perforation) is a hole in the eardrum. It can be caused by infection (otitis media), trauma, overpressure (loud noise), inappropriate ear clearing, and changes in middle ear pressure. An otoscope can be us ...
,[ improved in the final minutes to go sixth,] while Fisichella in seventh was delayed by Ralf Schumacher at the Coca-Cola Kurve.
Jaguar's 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 ...
was baulked by one of the Prost cars en route to eighth as Villeneuve in ninth could not begin a fourth timed lap before qualifying ended. Frentzen qualified tenth as 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 te ...
's Arrows car slowed his first timed lap. Button in 11th bemoaned venturing onto the track earlier than planned for his first timed lap and slower traffic hindered his final lap. A strategic error by the Arrows team meant De La Rosa was 12th and his teammate Verstappen 14th. They were separated by Heidfeld who fell from ninth to 13th in qualifying's final moments because he did not start a fourth timed lap. Wurz was caught out by the change in the weather and took 15th. Diniz in 16th mistimed a chance to begin his final timed lap and 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 ...
's Jaguar was 17th. 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 ...
, who took 18th place, switched to the spare Prost setup for his teammate Heidfeld after his race car's electronic management system ceased the gearbox. He spun on the wet track and returned to the pit lane to retake his race car until the gearbox failed. Zonta qualified in 19th because his car's setup slowed him and another driver prevented him from setting his final timed lap because the session ended less than a second before he crossed the start/finish line. Sauber's 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 ...
was another driver who missed the cut-off time to set his final timed lap and was in 20th place. Slower traffic restricted Gené and his teammate Mazzacane to 21st and 22nd respectively.
Post-qualifying
Heidfeld's car was found to be under the minimum weight limit of when it was pushed onto the weighbridge during qualifying. This translated into a performance gain of one-tenth of a second per lap but would not affect his qualifying result. The Prost squad were summoned to meet the stewards and accepted the car was underweight. The stewards disqualified Heidfeld from the race per Formula One's Technical Regulations. No appeal was filed by the Prost team.
Qualifying classification
;Notes
* – 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 ...
was found to have a car underweight and was barred from the race.[
]
Warm-up
A 30-minute warm-up session on Sunday morning took place in cool and dry weather. All drivers fine-tuned their race set-ups and set laps in their spare cars.[ Michael Schumacher went fastest in the session's closing seconds with a time of 1 minute and 20.251 seconds. Häkkinen was nine-thousands of a second slower in second. Frentzen, Barrichello, Verstappen, Coulthard, De La Rosa, Villeneuve, Irvine and Trulli completed the top ten.] Towards the conclusion of the session, the left rear wheel on Fisichella's car detached and a track marshal retrieved it as it rolled onto the track.[
]
Race
The race was held in front of a crowd of 142,000 from 14:00 local time. The weather at the start was overcast and dry with an 80% chance of rain. The air temperature was and the track temperature .[ Every driver, except for Villeneuve, Verstappen, Barrichello and Michael Schumacher, began on the soft compound tyre.] Coulthard was slow to react due to an unstable rear of his car; his teammate Häkkinen made a brisk getaway to drive in-between Coulthard and Michael Schumacher and take the lead going into the Castrol-S chicane. Villeneuve moved from ninth to fifth by driving on the outside.[ Ralf Schumacher turned left to draw alongside Villeneuve; the former held fourth place as Villeneuve went onto the grass.] Further down the field, Trulli and Fisichella collided at the Castrol-S chicane, breaking Trulli's left-rear suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Suspension (topology), in mathematics
* Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics
* Suspension of a ring, in mathematics
* Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspende ...
and he stopped at the side of the track to retire. The two Arrows put Frentzen off the track at the same corner and allowing them and Diniz to pass. Going downhill to the Dunlop chicane, Ralf Schumacher attempted to pass Villeneuve for fifth; Villeneuve defended the position.
At the end of the first lap, Häkkinen led Michael Schumacher by 0.562 seconds, who in turn was 0.998 seconds ahead of Coulthard in third. Barrichello in fourth, was followed by Villeneuve in fifth and Ralf Schumacher in sixth. Michael Schumacher set the 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 ...
at the time on lap two, completing a circuit in 1 minute and 22.438 seconds. On the same lap, De La Rosa overtook his teammate Verstappen to move into ninth and Alesi passed Button for 13th. Frentzen retired on lap three with smoke billowing from the rear of his car due to a piston sealing a gap between the engine's combustion chamber
A combustion chamber is part of an internal combustion engine in which the fuel/air mix is burned. For steam engines, the term has also been used for an extension of the firebox which is used to allow a more complete combustion process.
Intern ...
and crankcase failing. At the front, another fastest lap from Michael Schumacher lowered Häkkinen's advantage to 0.4 seconds. A lack of rear grip affected Coulthard's handling and the fourth-placed Barrichello pressured him. Villeneuve in fifth was distanced by the top four. On lap four, Ralf Schumacher was passed by Fisichella for sixth and De La Rosa overtook Irvine for eighth place. Fisichella drew close to Villeneuve in fifth as De La Rosa got ahead of Ralf Schumacher for seventh two laps later.
On the eighth lap, Michael Schumacher set the race's overall fastest lap, a 1-minute and 22.269 seconds as he used less of the track all round the lap than Häkkinen. Villeneuve made a driver error at the Veedol chicane on lap nine, and Fisichella used his better traction and car handling to steer right out of the turn and pass Villeneuve into the Coca-Cola Kurve. Light rain began to fall on the tenth lap. Cresting a hill to the Veedol chicane on lap 11, Michael Schumacher slipstreamed Häkkinen, and put him wide, making a pass to the left for the lead. Häkkinen lost traction and Michael Schumacher opened a lead of four-tenths of a second at the end of the lap. The rain intensity began to increase on the next lap and the track became slippery. Barrichello achieved a better exit coming out of the Coca-Cola Kurve and he overtook Coulthard for third on the start/finish 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
* ...
. Further back, Irvine passed Ralf Schumacher at the Veedol chicane to move into eighth and Wurz was overtaken by Alesi for tenth. The rain made teams uncertain whether to stop for the wet-weather tyres though Herbert began the pit stop phase at the end of lap 12.
In clear air, Michael Schumacher extended his lead over Häkkinen to more than five seconds by the 13th lap. Gené spun onto the grass and damaged the front wing on the lap for which he entered the pit lane to have it replaced. Coulthard made his first pit stop on the next lap and Michael Schumacher and Häkkinen followed on lap 15. Both of their pit stops were problematic: Michael Schuamcher's refueller discovered no fuel had been inserted into the car for three seconds before resetting the fuel nozzle. Häkkinen's pit crew had difficulty fitting the right-rear wheel on his car and was stationary for an additional ten seconds. Michael Schumacher rejoined the race in front of Coulthard and Häkkinen fell to fifth. Coulthard turned left to attempt an overtake on Michael Schumacher into turn three to which the latter responded by blocking Coulthard's path. Barrichello led one lap before his pit stop on lap 16 and Ralf Schumacher followed suit. Because he spent longer on the wet track on the dry compound tyres than his teammate, Barrichello emerged in ninth and Michael Schumacher regained the lead. On the 19th lap, Fisichella drove right to pass De La Rosa going downhill to the Dunlop-Kurve 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 ...
for fourth and repelled the latter's manoeuvre to retake the position.
By the 20th lap, Häkkinen was the fastest driver on the track and he reduced the gap to Michael Schumacher by two seconds per lap as his teammate Coulthard lost seven seconds to the latter. Coulthard went to the left of the Veedol chicane and allowed his teammate Häkkinen to move into second on the next lap. Michael Schumacher lost control of his car at the Veedol chicane on lap 22 and retained the lead. Further back, Barrichello overtook Verstappen, Irvine and Ralf Schumacher to return to fifth place by lap 23. Two laps later, Ralf Schumacher passed Herbert for ninth. On lap 28, 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 connec ...
failure on Salo's car caused him to lose control of his car and he retired in a gravel trap. Verstappen overtook Irvine on the outside at the exit to the Coca-Cola Kurve for seventh at the end of lap 29. Irvine attempted to retake the position by out-braking Verstappen into the Castrol-S chicane. He lost rear grip past the apex
The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to:
Arts and media Fictional entities
* Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe
* Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe
*Apex, ...
and slid into the side of Verstappen's car. As Irvine rotated in front of Ralf Schumacher, the latter spun into the rear of the Jaguar. Ralf Schumacher spun onto the grass and Irvine's rear wing detached at turn three. The loss 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 ...
beached Irvine in the gravel trap, as Verstappen spun and crashed against the right-side tyre barrier exiting the Ford Kurve.
Further up the field, Barrichello caught and overtook Fisichella into the Veedol chicane for fourth on lap 32. He entered the pit lane on the next lap as the technical director of Ferrari Ross Brawn switched Barrichello to a three-stop strategy to better recover positions on dry tyres on a wet track. Michael Schumacher made a pit stop on lap 35 for enough fuel to finish the race. Häkkinen took the lead on lap 36 as Schumacher emerged in second. He increased the lead to 25.6 seconds by lap 40 since Michael Schumacher had a heavily fuelled car. Three laps later, Alesi overtook Wurz for tenth. Häkkinen had delayed his second pit stop for ten laps; he was unable to build up a lead large enough because of slower traffic and was leading by 21.9 seconds by lap 44. He and his teammate Coulthard made their final pit stops on lap 45, and rejoined in second and fifth respectively. With their pit stops complete, Michael Schumacher led Häkkinen by 12.5 seconds with the yet-to-stop De La Rosa third. Villeneuve was told to enter the pit lane from fifth on lap 46. He was retired because his team detected via telemetry
Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', "remote", an ...
an engine fault linked to a valve issue.[ De La Rosa made his stop on the 48th lap, elevating Barichello to third and Coulthard to fourth. On that lap, Gené retired with a failed accelerator throttle.]
On lap 49, Button was duelling with Herbert and ran into the rear of Herbert's car at the slow Veedol chicane, creating a hole in the leading edge of the Williams' front wing that Button was unable to notice; both drivers remained on the circuit and continued. Barrichello made the race's final pit stop on lap 51. Barrichello gained seven seconds on Coulthard; the gap was not large enough for Barrichello to retain third and he fell to fourth. Three laps later, Zonta's rear wheels locked under braking and he spun into a gravel trap and then beached upon a kerb.[ On lap 61, Wurz out-braked Button going uphill towards the Veedol chicane for tenth. Entering the Coca-Cola Kurve on the next lap, Wurz went to the right of Herbert, who remained wide to provide Wurz with space to negotiate through. Wurz was faster and he collided with Herbert. Both cars pirouetted through 180 degrees into a gravel trap. Wurz retired as Herbert continued until he spun through 180 degrees for a second time before retiring.] Their retirements elevated Button to seventh. He remained there until enough water penetrated the hole in his front wing and caused a sudden electrical fault that cut out the engine on lap 65.[
Unhindered in the final 19 laps, Michael Schumacher negotiated his way past slower traffic,] and finished first for his fourth victory of the season and the 39th of his career a time of 1 hour, 42 minutes and 0.307 seconds at an average speed of . Häkkinen followed 13.822 seconds later in second due to his being slowed by him overtaking slower cars and his teammate Coulthard was one lap behind in third, nursing a mechanical issue. Barrichello was close to Coulthard in fourth. Fisichella took fifth and De La Rosa registered Arrows' first points-scoring finish of 2000 in sixth. Diniz gained eight places from his starting position of 15th to finish seventh notwithstanding pirouetting three times early in the race. Mazzacane had an untroubled race and progressed from 21st to eighth. Alesi was the final finisher after gearbox problems meant he made four pit stops and entailed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty due to a faulty pit lane speed limiter button on his steering wheel that caused him to violate the pit lane speed limit.[ The attrition rate was high, with 9 of the 21 starters finishing the race.][
]
Post-race
The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in a later press conference. Michael Schumacher said that none of the leaders made pit stops on lap 12 because they did not want to install the wet-weather tyres and discover they were slower than the slick dry compounds, "We knew he heavy rainwould come, but nobody had any idea whether it would start then or later. So obviously it was difficult. Then some drivers started to come in for rain tyres, and as soon as we saw they were faster we went straight in too." Häkkinen said his start from third to the lead was one of the best of his career, " hen you're third on the gridthat's the only chance to get through. You can immediately improve your position, and I was happy to do it because the disappointment I had in qualifying was fixed." Coulthard spoke of his feeling that he was fortunate to have finish third and called it "one of my most difficult race" due to a lack of grip at the rear of his car, "But I knew from following other cars myself that visibility was very bad. So I just concentrated on driving my car and waiting to see where I would finish when it was over."
Barrichello said he was disappointed to take fourth because he felt he could have finished on the podium, "Three-stops was definitely the way to make up lost time, but it was very difficult to overtake other cars in the spray. I have been looking forward to a close fought-race for some time now, and maybe I should have been on the podium today." De La Rosa scored his first points of the season and achieved his best finish since the 1999 Australian Grand Prix
The 1999 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 1999 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 7 March 1999 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Albert Park, Melbourne, Australia. The 57-lap race was the first round of th ...
. The Arrows team owner Tom Walkinshaw
Thomas Dobbie Thomson Walkinshaw (14 August 1946 – 12 December 2010) was a British racing car driver from Scotland and the founder of the racing team Tom Walkinshaw Racing (TWR). He was also involved in professional rugby union, as owner of ...
said the driver's sixth-place finish would produce "a good foundation for the team to aspire to do better", and De La Rosa stated the result made up a poor start of the season, "We will try now, we will have to do it. I had some very good first laps and was always with the group but not because of drivers going out – this was just a deserved point." Wurz apologised to Herbert for the collision between the two at the Coca-Cola Kurve in the race's final laps. Frentzen called the event "a very disappointing weekend all round" for him and that "things have just not gone our way – and that is frustrating when you know your car is competitive."
Irvine argued the three-car collision at the Castrol-S chicane on lap 30 lost him an opportunity to score points and Verstappen echoed similar feelings. Ralf Schumacher said he could not avoid the accident, "I saw the accident coming between Jos and Eddie and I expected them both to slide off onto the inside. But as Irvine's back end moved right in front of me, I had no way of getting out of the way." The new gap between Michael Schumacher and Häkkinen in the Drivers' Championship stood at 18 points in the former's favour. Coulthard was in third place with 24 points and moved a point clear from Barrichello in fourth. Ralf Schumacher remained in fifth with 12 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari moved a further three points in front of McLaren. Williams retained third place as Benetton passed Jordan in the battle for fourth with eleven races left in the season.
Race classification
Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold.
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
*Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
{{Portal bar, Formula One, Germany, Sports
European Grand Prix
The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
European Grand Prix
European Grand Prix
The European Grand Prix (also known as the Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One event that was introduced during the mid-1980s and was held every year from to , except in . During these years, the European Grand Prix was held in a countr ...
May 2000 sports events in Europe