2000 British Grand Prix

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2000 British Grand Prix
Race 4 of 17 in the 2000 Formula One World Championship
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Track layout of the Silverstone Circuit
Track layout of the Silverstone Circuit
Race details[1][2]
Date 23 April 2000
Official name LIII Foster's British Grand Prix
Location Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.140 km (3.194 miles)
Distance 60 laps, 308.400 km (191.640 miles)
Weather Sunny, mild, dry, Air Temp: 10 °C (50 °F)
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:25.703
Fastest lap
Driver Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:26.217 on lap 56
Podium
First
McLaren-Mercedes
Second
McLaren-Mercedes
Third
Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 2000 British Grand Prix (formally the LIII Foster's British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 23 April 2000 at the Silverstone Circuit, England, United Kingdom before between 60,000 and 140,000 spectators. It was the fourth round of the 2000 Formula One World Championship and the 51st time that the British Grand Prix had been included as a round of the world championship since 1950. McLaren's David Coulthard won the 60 lap race after starting from fourth position. His teammate Mika Häkkinen finished second and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was third.

Going into the event, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship while Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship. His teammate Rubens Barrichello claimed pole position after setting the fastest lap time in the one hour qualifying session. Barrichello maintained the lead for the opening 30 laps before he missed a gear upshift and was overtaken by Coulthard on lap 31. When Coulthard made his only pit stop of the race two laps later, Barrichello retook the lead until he spun on lap 35 and retired with a hydraulic issue. Michael Schumacher and later Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen led the following five laps before Coulthard retook the lead that he held for the rest of the race despite gearbox problems to win the British Grand Prix for the second time and claim the seventh victory of his career by 1.4 seconds ahead of his teammate Häkkinen.

As a consequence of the final results, Michael Schumacher continued to lead the World Drivers' Championship with 34 points while Coulthard's victory moved him from eighth to second in the standings. Häkkinen finishing second moved him from fourth to third place. In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari continued to lead but their lead over McLaren was reduced to 16 points with 13 races of the season remaining.

Background[edit]

The Silverstone Circuit (pictured in 2008), where the race was held.

The 2000 British Grand Prix was the race's 51st running in the Formula One World Championship since its first in 1950 and the fourth of seventeen races in the 2000 Formula One World Championship. It was held on 23 April 2000 at the 5.140 km (3.194 mi) clockwise Silverstone Circuit in England, United Kingdom.[1][3] The Grand Prix featured eleven teams of two drivers (each representing a different constructor), with no changes to the season entry list.[4] Tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the soft and medium dry compound tyres and the soft and hard wet-weather compounds.[5]

Going into the race Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 30 points, ahead of his teammate Rubens Barrichello on 9 points and Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella on 8. McLaren's Mika Häkkinen in fourth and Williams' Ralf Schumacher in fifth were tied on 6 points.[6] In the World Constructors' Championship Ferrari were leading with 39 points, McLaren and Benetton were second and third with 10 and 8 points, respectively, whilst Jordan and Williams were tied in fourth place with 7 points each.[6]

Following the San Marino Grand Prix on 9 April the teams tested at the Silverstone Circuit from 11 to 14 April to prepare for the upcoming race there. The sessions were marked with intermittent rain making the track slippery.[7] Barrichello was fastest on the first day, ahead of Jordan driver Jarno Trulli.[8] Ralf Schumacher was quickest on the second day. British American Racing (BAR) driver Jacques Villeneuve hit a fox at the back of the circuit, limiting his testing time.[9] Michael Schumacher was fastest on the third day.[10] Villeneuve's teammate Ricardo Zonta's car developed a front-right suspension failure and crashed into a spectator enclosure at the Stowe corner suffering a cut to his right middle finger.[11][12] BAR withdrew from testing because of Zonta's accident.[12] Michael Schumacher was fastest on the final day.[13] Luca Badoer, Ferrari's test driver, conducted a two-day car development programme for the F1-2000 at the Fiorano Circuit in Italy,[14][15] before completing a two-day test of new aerodynamic components for the car at the Vairano Circuit.[16][17]

Michael Schumacher began the season by winning the first three races while Häkkinen had scored only six points in that time because his McLaren was unreliable.[18][19][20] Despite his strong start to the season, Michael Schumacher said he would not ease off until he had secured the championship and would not underestimate Häkkinen, "We have the momentum, but we know how quick and lively Formula One can be. Even though Mika is behind by 24 points, it is still very early in the championship."[19] Häkkinen admitted he was frustrated to not score points in the first two races for a better championship standing but said that securing the title does not mean winning at Silverstone, adding, "But there is still a long way to go in the championship and I am not stressed about it. I believe in my team and I know my car is excellent."[21] McLaren's David Coulthard said winning the race would mean more to him than the year before and would focus on attempting to be as fast as he could, "To get my first win of the season, and to get it at Silverstone, would be just the business."[22]

In a controversial move the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's governing body) moved the event to April from its traditional mid-July date, with the race taking place on Easter Sunday,[23] a season when average temperatures in Britain are lower.[24] This arose following calendar congestion around July because Easter was later than usual in 2000 since that dictates the date of the Monaco Grand Prix held on the nearest Sunday to Ascension Day, which was later than normal,[25] and the Spanish Grand Prix could not be moved because that race's organisers had trouble finding marshals on a date close to the Rally Catalunya.[26][27] The Belgian Grand Prix's reinstatement—initially excluded from the calendar due to problems concerning the country's tobacco advertising laws—the return of the United States Grand Prix were suggested as other reasons.[23] A general consensus was a dispute with Silverstone's owners, the British Racing Drivers' Club, and FIA vice-president Bernie Ecclestone over which track would hold the race was the reason for the move.[25] Ecclestone said he had scheduled the French Grand Prix for April with the British Grand Prix in July though "internal politics" in France prevented the change.[28]

Much of the discussion heading into the event was a revision to allow teams to use modified pit lane speed limiters. The FIA allowed them to be used provided they were "hard-coded" below a limit of 50 mph (80 km/h), thus preventing teams from modifying them. It was in response to preventing driver aids like traction control and launch control from being secretly implemented but the limiters were allowed to run the rear light and fuel flap filler.[29] Most of the drivers agreed that the change would reduce the risk of drivers entering and exiting the pit lane. However, they expressed concern that they would not drive safely at a slow speed and the possibility that mechanics or other cars could be hit would be increased.[30]

As a result of an intervention by Michael Schumacher following Zonta's crash, the Silverstone authorities were convinced to extend the tyre wall at Stowe corner by one tyre in height and two tyres in depth.[31][32] Schumacher and FIA chief safety delegate Charlie Whiting ordered that the gravel trap around the area be made smoother to try and stop cars from going airborne.[32][33] Some teams modified their cars for the Grand Prix.[34] BAR replaced the carbon elements of the suspension of its 002 car with new steel elements in the wake of Zonta's accident. McLaren introduced a new front wing specification along with new screens fitted behind the MP4/15's front wheels.[34] Mercedes-Benz provided a lighter, more powerful and reliable version of its V10 engine to McLaren,[35] while Prost used the latest version of its Peugeot Evo 3 engine for qualifying and the race.[36]

Practice[edit]

There were four practice sessions held before the Sunday race, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday.[37] The Friday morning and afternoon practice sessions were held in cool weather conditions on a dry track early in the first practice session but it began raining heavily after half an hour of the day's running.[38][36][39] Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen led the first session with a time of 1:27.683, almost half a second quicker than Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine. Coulthard, Häkkinen, Trulli, Villeneuve. Barrichello, Benetton's Alexander Wurz, Fisichella and Minardi's Marc Gené (who had a loss of engine air valve pressure that resulted in an engine change) rounded out the session's top ten fastest drivers. An electrical failure on Ralf Schumacher's car prevented him from setting a lap time and he stopped at the pit lane exit. Jaguar's Johnny Herbert was limited to three laps with a loss of pneumatic valve pressure.[36][39][40]

In the second practice session, Frentzen remained fastest with his lap from the first session; the circuit was too wet for him and others to improve their lap times.[41] Clouds of spray lifted from the circuit by cars impaired drivers' visibility, and participants aquaplaned on the standing water on the track that ranged from almost flooded to wet during the session as they attempted to optimise their cars for a possible wet-weather qualifying session the following day, although no car damage was reported.[41][42][43] Almost halfway through the session,[38] Coulthard's McLaren pulled out to the edge of the tarmac surface on the Hangar Straight at the exit of Chapel corner with an hydraulic problem –[42][44] this required a 14-minute red flag session,[41] and the Land Rover recovery vehicle got stuck in mud close to Coulthard's car, meaning a tractor had to pull it out—and Villeneuve nearly struck a marshal assisting Coulthard.[36][44] The stewards decided to not have the session run for an hour but rather end it early because of the stoppage.[45]

The Friday practice sessions being run in wet-weather conditions was subject to criticism by sporting figures.[44] Michael Schumacher said it was "almost impossible to drive and it is also dangerous" and was unable to observe events happening ahead of him or being able to judge the distance between himself and other cars.[46] Coulthard said he believed aquaplaning would become a serious issue and suggested that altering the wooden plank underneath the car could help alleviate the issue, "It's not comfortable for any of us, we all do it because we all want to win races but really to be going along the straight not knowing whether the car is going to stay in a straight line or not is very difficult."[47] Three-time world champion Jackie Stewart blamed the FIA for damaging Formula One's image by holding the event in April and McLaren team owner Ron Dennis did not criticise Silverstone for the inclement weather.[48][49]

Jenson Button (pictured in 2004) spun into the gravel trap and was then hit by Eddie Irvine's Jaguar.

The weather remained wet for the Saturday morning practice sessions,[50] with a lot of water being lifted into the air from the circuit.[51] Coulthard lapped fastest in the third session at 1:33.614; Häkkinen, Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, the Jordan duo of Frentzen and Trulli, Sauber's duo of Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz and Arrows' Jos Verstappen followed in the top ten.[52] Several drivers went off the wet track during the session.[53] Diniz spun off the circuit entering Club corner damaging his car's front suspension triangle and nose cone in a crash against the tyre barrier. Before the end of the session, Williams driver Jenson Button spun into the gravel trap at turn 14 after going off at Priory turn and his stationary car and stopped close to the barrier. Button was subsequently hit by Irvine's Jaguar while he was attempting to extricate himself from the gravel. The Williams car sustained a broken front and rear suspension whilst the Jaguar's monocoque was punctured. Both drivers were unhurt.[53][54][55] Fisichella set no lap times because of an engine oil leak caused by his team changing his engine.[50][53] His team changed engines between the third session and the final session.[56]

In the final practice session, which took place on a gradually drying track after the rain had stopped falling,[56][57] Häkkinen set the fastest lap time of 1:33.132 with one minute remaining.[57][58] Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Fisichella, Frentzen, Verstappen, Trulli and Salo were in positions two to ten.[54] Neither Button nor Irvine took part in the session following their accident because their cars needed repairing.[57][58] Some drivers lost control of their cars on the track.[56] Villeneuve went off the track at Club corner but narrowly avoided a collision with a tyre barrier and returned to the circuit.[56][57] Jean Alesi's engine failed halfway around the track with flames emerging from the Prost car's rear on the way to the pit lane after 25 minutes.[56][57]

Qualifying[edit]

Rubens Barrichello (pictured in 1999) took the third pole position of his career in the qualifying session.

The stewards allowed qualifying to run as scheduled regardless of the weather conditions.[55] Each driver was limited to twelve laps during Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, with the starting order determined by their fastest laps. The 107% rule was in force during this session, which required each driver to set a time within 107% of the fastest lap to qualify for the race.[37] The session was held in cloudy weather conditions but on a drying race track,[50] with plenty of standing water.[59] Drivers went onto the circuit on scrubbed wet-weather tyres early in the session as they attempted to set fast laps if rain began falling,[60][61] which never materialised.[62] As the circuit gradually dried through exposure to the wind and sunlight, lap times got faster and 15 drivers held provisional pole position.[61][63] Barrichello clinched the third pole position of his career and his first for Ferrari with a time of 1:25.703.[64] He was joined on the grid's front row by Frentzen recording a lap 0.003 seconds slower,[44] despite losing control of his car on the grass at Stowe corner.[60][65] It was also his best qualifying performance of the season.[64] Häkkinen, in his first qualifying session of the season in which he did not secure pole position after three previous poles,[63][65] qualified third on his final quick lap,[60] having been required to slow down after making a driver error during the lap and an understeer on his race car was fixed by correcting a setup error.[64][66] He lost a lap slowing to let Barrichello past on what was the latter's pole lap,[62] Coulthard was the highest-placed British driver in fourth,[25] having encountered traffic on his final qualifying runs and therefore could not set a clean lap.[64][67] Michael Schumacher—who made a change to his car, only to see him make more mistakes—qualified fifth and missed starting his final lap by 0.1 seconds because of the waving of a yellow flag caused by Trulli,[50][61][64] having two of his remaining allocated laps untaken.[44] Button and Ralf Schumacher were sixth and seventh, respectively,[67] although both drivers had mixed feelings over their performances.[50] Ralf Schumacher gave up his opening two runs so that he would not be impeded but he made a driver error.[68]

Verstappen initially held the pole position in the session's closing seconds but spun off the track and was demoted to eighth,[64] achieving Arrows' best qualifying result since Salo qualified sixth for the 1998 Austrian Grand Prix.[69] Irvine took ninth after Jaguar put three laps worth of fuel in his car, losing him two-tenths of a second.[64][66] Villeneuve, on the soft compound tyre,[70] after regaining control of his car in a broadside slide through Abbey turn took tenth.[59][60][64] Trulli qualified in eleventh position but was prevented from setting a quicker time as he was held up by one of the Williams and spun off the track.[64] He was ahead of Fisichella in the faster of the two Benettons, dealing with car balance issues and driver errors at turn ten and slower cars.[50][66] Diniz qualified in 13th position, eight tenths of a second ahead of teammate Salo in 18th;[64] both drivers disadvantaged by the timing of their runs.[50] The two were separated by Herbert who encountered yellow flags during the session and had to end his final quick lap, having had his line at Becketts corner made tighter by Häkkinen slowing and dealing with engine problems.[66][70] He was followed up by Alesi and Nick Heidfeld in the Prost cars, who sandwiched Zonta. Behind Heidfeld, who took the spare Prost car because his car was not ready and whose engine failed on his fastest run,[50][66][70] Pedro de la Rosa in the slower Arrows took 19th, making a mistake during his final qualifying run that cost him pace and almost saw him lose control of his car towards the end of the lap.[64][66] Wurz ran his team's spare car due to an unidentifiable problem on his race car and was 20th.[71] The Minardi team sent their drivers out late in the session after working on the setup of their cars and Gené and Gastón Mazzacane (who lost six-tenths of a second encountering other cars on his final run) completed the final row of the grid in 21st and 22nd places.[64][66]

Qualifying classification[edit]

Pos No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 4 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:25.703
2 5 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:25.706 +0.003
3 1 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 1:25.741 +0.038
4 2 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:26.088 +0.385
5 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:26.161 +0.458
6 10 United Kingdom Jenson Button Williams-BMW 1:26.733 +1.030
7 9 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1:26.786 +1.083
8 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Arrows-Supertec 1:26.793 +1.090
9 7 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth 1:26.818 +1.115
10 22 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 1:27.025 +1.322
11 6 Italy Jarno Trulli Jordan-Mugen-Honda 1:27.164 +1.461
12 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 1:27.253 +1.550
13 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz Sauber-Petronas 1:27.301 +1.598
14 8 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Jaguar-Cosworth 1:27.461 +1.758
15 14 France Jean Alesi Prost-Peugeot 1:27.559 +1.856
16 23 Brazil Ricardo Zonta BAR-Honda 1:27.772 +2.069
17 15 Germany Nick Heidfeld Prost-Peugeot 1:27.806 +2.103
18 17 Finland Mika Salo Sauber-Petronas 1:28.110 +2.407
19 18 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Arrows-Supertec 1:28.135 +2.432
20 12 Austria Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 1:28.205 +2.502
21 20 Spain Marc Gené Minardi-Fondmetal 1:28.253 +2.550
22 21 Argentina Gastón Mazzacane Minardi-Fondmetal 1:29.174 +3.471
107% time: 1:31.702
Sources:[72][73]

Warm-up[edit]

The rain had stopped by Sunday morning,[70] and a half-hour warm-up session was due to start at 08:30 BST (UTC+1) but the session was delayed by 100 minutes by Whiting after he drove onto the track in the safety car to inspect the conditions due to persistent heavy fog which prevented the medical helicopter from arriving at the track or from flying to nearby hospitals. The Drivers' Parade was cancelled because of the delays.[74][75][76] The McLaren drivers were running quicker than their pace in qualifying; Coulthard had the fastest time of 1:26.800. Häkkinen was fourth in the other McLaren, two tenths of a second behind Coulthard. de la Rosa and Ralf Schumacher split them for the second- and third-quickest times, respectively.[77] Following one slow lap,[78] Häkkinen's race car was afflicted with a pneumatic engine valve sensor failure which saw him use his team's spare monocoque whilst the problem was fixed.[44][74] Heidfeld's engine cover detached from his car and landed in centre of the track, causing the waving of yellow flags to clear the carbon fibre debris.[78][79] His team installed a new cover without any problems.[74]

Race[edit]

Michael Schumacher (pictured in 2005) finished the Grand Prix in third position.

The race, which began at 13:00 local time,[25] drew between 60,000 and 140,000 spectators.[a][80][82][83] The weather had improved from the warm-up session,[84] and it was dry and sunny before the race;[81] conditions were expected to remain consistent throughout the race,[85] with a 40% chance of rain.[86] When the five red lights went out to begin the event,[70] Barrichello maintained the lead into the first corner, while Frentzen maintained second.[87] Michael Schumacher was blocked by the slow starting Häkkinen ahead of him on the outside and Button to his right. He took the option of turning left and his left-hand tyres went into the wet grass, losing him traction and made side-by side contact with Häkkinen. This meant Michael Schumacher had to slow and he fell behind Button and Villeneuve.[70][86][88] Coulthard overtook both his teammate Häkkine and Michael Schumacher as they duelled.[89] Button went into the apex for Maggots corner and forced Villeneuve and Michael Schumacher to slow. Frentzen attempted to overtake Barrichello for the lead into Stowe corner at the end of the Hangar Straight but was not close enough to do so.[86] Michael Schumacher overtook Villeneuve at Stowe corner and battled his brother Ralf Schumacher for sixth until the entry to Bridge corner, when the former slowed on the inside to avoid an crash with the latter.[70][82][86] Villeneuve had made the best start in the field moving from tenth to sixth by the end of the first lap.[90]

At the completion of the first lap Barrichello led Frentzen's heavier and less powerful car by 0.4 seconds and they were followed Coulthard, Häkkinen, Button and Villeneuve.[90] Barrichello began to maintain a one-second gap between himself and Frentzen.[90][91] Villeneuve was affected by an oversteer through the Maggots, Becketts and Chapel sequence of corners and Ralf Schumacher slipstreamed past him on the inside into Stowe corner on the Hangar Straight for sixth position by braking later than him on lap two.[86] Further back Alesi lost 13th after being overtaken by Salo whilst Diniz lost three places as he was involved in an incident.[87] The leading drivers began to gradually build a gap from Trulli by lap three,[87] whilst Michael Schumacher was behind Villeneuve because of the BAR's being faster on the straights despite being a second slower than the six drivers ahead of him and Schumacher was coming under pressure from Verstappen.[70][89] Two laps later Wurz made up a further position when he passed Zonta for 15th.[87] Häkkinen ran wide on lap eight when he outbraked himself into Brooklands corner and came under pressure from Button.[85][89]

By the 14th lap, Barrichello had a lead of six-tenths of a seconds over Frentzen, who in turn was nine-tenths of a second in front of Coulthard. Häkkinen was a further nine-tenths of a second behind his teammate and continued to battle Button for fourth position, who was continuing to run 1.1 seconds ahead of Ralf Schumacher.[90] Wurz, who was pressuring Alesi in 14th, became the first driver to make a pit stop to ensure he would get a clear track.[87] Salo and Fisichella made pit stops over the next three laps.[87] On lap 20, Verstappen in ninth slowed with electrical issues in his car's engine that developed six or seven laps earlier and was pushed into the garage to retire from the Grand Prix after Arrows were unable to fix the problem.[85][89][92] Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher became the next two drivers to make pit stops on lap 24 and both returned to the track in seventh and eighth despite an issue for the latter in his team fitting his right-rear wheel to his car due to a loose wheel nut.[70][87][89] Button made his pit stop one lap later and joined behind teammate Ralf Schumacher.[87] De La Rosa drove to the side of the circuit at the pit lane to retire from the race with a hydraulic clutch problem on lap 28.[87][89][92]

David Coulthard (pictured in 1999) won the British Grand Prix for the second successive year and took his seventh career victory despite a gearbox fault late in the race.

Coulthard began gaining on Barrichello,[82] who began having clutch and electrical throttle pedal issues around lap 29.[44][82][86] Two laps later, Barrichello was slow out of Chapel corner because he missed an upshift going on the Hangar Straight. This allowed Coulthard to slipstream the rear of Barrichello's car down the straight and drew alongside him into Stowe corner on the outside.[70][86] He repelled Barrichello's block that he engineered by faking going to the right to become the new race leader under braking.[80][82][93] Coulthard immediately began to pull away from Barrichello.[90] Häkkinen was the first one-stopping driver to make his only pit stop of the race from third at the end of the same lap and changed a flat-spotted tyre. He rejoined in eighth.[85][90][88] Coulthard and Villeneuve both made pit stops on lap 33;[90] Coulthard rejoined the track in fourth, behind Frentzen.[86][89] Barrichello lost control of the rear of his Ferrari in the middle of the entry to Luffield corner leading to the pit lane entrance because of an unstable engine.[70][86][94] He chose to enter the pit lane on lap 35,[86] with his mechanics not expecting him.[89] Barrichello was pushed into his garage to retire with a high pressure hydraulic fault that left his clutch inoperable, preventing him from leaving his pit stall.[70][86][94]

No longer hindered by Villeneuve,[82] Michael Schumacher took the race lead following his teammate's retirement and set a new fastest lap of the race on lap 36, a 1:26.797 as he pulled out a gap before his pit stop by lapping a second faster than the rest of the field.[85][87][95] Zonta retired on the next lap when he spun off into the gravel trap at the exit of Stowe corner after a driver error put him wide.[70][86][89] Michael Schumacher made his pit stop on lap 38 which lasted 8.8 seconds, allowing Frentzen to take over the lead.[88] He returned to the track in sixth,[82][95] ahead of Villeneuve.[86] The Jordan driver made a pit stop on lap 42 handing the lead back to Coulthard.[87] The Williams pair both made pit stops over the next two laps, promoting Häkkinen and Michael Schumacher into second and third positions.[87] Michael Schumacher was unable to catch Häkkinen as he was held up by slower drivers.[85] Herbert became the final driver to make a scheduled pit stop on lap 48 so that his team could re-pressurise his car's hydraulic pressure system.[85][89] When lap 49 ended with the scheduled pit stops completed the top six drivers were Coulthard, Häkkinen, Michael Schumacher, Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher and Button.[90] Häkkinen started to gain on Coulthard on lap 51 who had a minor gearbox issue caused by a technical fault.[70][87][96] Coulthard felt the problem but was not informed of its severity by his race engineer Pat Fry over the radio.[93] On the same lap, Frentzen began to slow because of a gear selection issue that saw him drive in sixth gear, dropping behind Ralf Schumacher and Button.[89]

Mika Häkkinen (pictured in 2006) finished in second, 1.4 seconds behind his teammate Coulthard.

The following lap saw Heidfeld retire from the event when he spun into the gravel at Becketts corner,[85][89] with an oil pressure fault and engine failure.[86] Frentzen drove slowly to the pit lane on lap 54 to retire.[87] On lap 56, Häkkinen set a new fastest lap of the race, a 1:26.217 as he continued close on Coulthard,[85] despite McLaren showing him an "Easy" pit board to slow.[84] Villeneuve was passed by Trulli for sixth into Priory corner on lap 57,[89][91] before becoming the event's final retirement with gearbox selection issue caused by the hydraulic system on that lap.[86][88] Coulthard slowed in the final laps to preserve his car and he held off Häkkinen in the final laps to achieve his second consecutive British Grand Prix victory and the seventh of his career in a time of 1'28:50.108.[81][70][86] Häkkinen finished second 1.4 seconds behind, ahead of Michael Schumacher in third.[80] Ralf Schumacher took fourth, having distanced his teammate Button in fifth as the latter's exhaust broke, causing him to have difficulty hearing his team over the radio. Trulli completed the points scorers in sixth.[70][84] Fisichella finished seventh, ahead of Salo in eighth who had understeer in the final laps. Wurz, Alesi and Diniz followed in the next three positions. The Jaguar duo of Herbert and Irvine finished 12th and 13th with clutch problems. Gené and Mazzacane finished in the following two positions with a lack of power.[70][86] Villeneuve and Frentzen were the final classified finishers despite not finishing because of their retirements.[2] 17 of the 22 starters finished the Grand Prix.[81]

Post-race[edit]

The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and in the subsequent press conference.[37] Coulthard said that overtaking Barrichello gave him the advantage during the first pit stops. Coulthard additionally revealed that was inspired by 1992 World Drivers' Champion Nigel Mansell's overtake on Nelson Piquet at the 1987 British Grand Prix to execute the similar passing manoeuvre.[97] He also believed that his victory made him confident about posing a challenge for the Drivers' Championship saying "my best years are still ahead of me."[98] Häkkinen said his start to the race was the type that mostly affected the race result and added that his car was unbalanced, "To find a good balance in the car you must first get a good run in the morning. I was lacking that, so I was unable to get the best balance in the car."[97] Michael Schumacher said he was satisfied to finish third, adding, "For most of the race I was running in 8th position, and I was wondering how the race would develop and how many points I was going to lose. At that stage I was quite happy to see Rubens in first place, taking points away from the guys like Mika and David."[97]

Button was ecstatic to score two championship points for finishing fifth at Silverstone, saying, "To think that a year ago I was camped out in a motorhome in the middle of the circuit and only went down to Stowe to watch the last couple of laps – it is pretty amazing. I remember thinking that I might be testing in the week leading up to the race, but that was it."[99] Barrichello expressed his disappointment at losing the chance to claim his maiden Grand Prix victory because of him having to retire and added that the clutch and throttle issues he experienced allowed Coulthard to overtake him.[20] Frentzen said his Jordan team should have been able to finish in the first four positions as their two-stop strategy was helping them to allow him to be close with McLaren and Ferrari, "We were competitive all weekend, so it is frustrating to come away without points."[20] Villeneuve was surprised over how easy it was to stay in front of Michael Schumacher but was unhappy that unreliability prevented him from scoring a point that may have proven valuable at the season's conclusion.[100]

FIA president Max Mosley said Formula One's governing body would move the event back to July if they could and refuted the suggestion that disagreements between Silverstone and Ecclestone caused the race to be held in April, "We have not gone looking for problems. Everyone thinks that we want to upset Silverstone but we don't."[27] The race result meant Michael Schumacher continued to lead the World Drivers' Championship with 34 points. Coulthard's victory moved him from eighth to second with 14 points. Häkkinen's second place finish gave him a total of 12 points and elevated him from fourth to third. Barrichello's retirements demoted him from second to fourth while Ralf Schumacher remained in fifth.[6] In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari continued to lead with 43 points and McLaren drew to within 17 points of the team. Williams moved from fifth to third while Benetton and Jordan fell to fourth and fifth, respectively, with 13 races of the season remaining.[6]

Race classification[edit]

Pos No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 60 1:28:50.108 4 10
2 1 Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes 60 +1.477 3 6
3 3 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 60 +19.917 5 4
4 9 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 60 +41.312 7 3
5 10 United Kingdom Jenson Button Williams-BMW 60 +57.759 6 2
6 6 Italy Jarno Trulli Jordan-Mugen-Honda 60 +1:19.273 11 1
7 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Benetton-Playlife 59 +1 Lap 12  
8 17 Finland Mika Salo Sauber-Petronas 59 +1 Lap 18  
9 12 Austria Alexander Wurz Benetton-Playlife 59 +1 Lap 20  
10 14 France Jean Alesi Prost-Peugeot 59 +1 Lap 15  
11 16 Brazil Pedro Diniz Sauber-Petronas 59 +1 Lap 13  
12 8 United Kingdom Johnny Herbert Jaguar-Cosworth 59 +1 Lap 14  
13 7 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth 59 +1 Lap 9  
14 20 Spain Marc Gené Minardi-Fondmetal 59 +1 Lap 21  
15 21 Argentina Gastón Mazzacane Minardi-Fondmetal 59 +1 Lap 22  
16 22 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 56 Gearbox 10  
17 5 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Jordan-Mugen-Honda 54 Gearbox 2  
Ret 15 Germany Nick Heidfeld Prost-Peugeot 51 Engine 17  
Ret 23 Brazil Ricardo Zonta BAR-Honda 36 Spun off 16  
Ret 4 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 35 Hydraulics 1  
Ret 18 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Arrows-Supertec 26 Electrical 19  
Ret 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Arrows-Supertec 20 Electrical 8  
Sources:[2][101]

Championship standings after the race[edit]

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Source differ as to whether the exact attendance was 60,000,[80] 100,000,[81] 135,000,[82] or 140,000.[83]

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