Jaguar with Webber and Alonso with Renault took advantage of Da Matta’s misfortune to start from pit lane with full fuel tanks. After the 3rd installation lap was begun the Sauber of Frentzen failed to start and he was classified as a DNS. When the race finally was able to begin on the 3rd attempt the Ferrari held the lead and to the credit of all drivers a clean 1st lap was completed. Sadly this would be the only lap that the Minardi of Jos Verstappen would complete as the car stopped at the end of the main straightaway forcing the safety car to be dispatched.

The safety car situation allowed another fuel strategy change to be made, this time by the Toyota of Panis and the Minardi of Wilson. Unfortunately the Jaguar of Webber incurred a violation of the parc ferme and was penalized with a 10 second pit stop which effectively ended his chances of a podium finish. Panis luck ran out on lap 7 when his Toyota rolled to a stop nullifying any advantage he made with the pit stop early.

7 laps went into the books and then rain began to fall on parts of the track. This resulted in the field slowing to keep their cars on track as the dry tires were put to the limit of adhesion. The running order at this point was M Schumacher, Montoya, Raikkonen and Barrichello with the quick Columbian cutting into the 13 odd second lead that Michael had pulled out.

Montoya pitted on lap 20 and stayed on dry tires as the rain did not continue. Barrichello pitted soon after and the fueling rig caused an agonizing 20 second stop. Michael pitted on the next lap and had an even more serious encounter with the fueling rig. A small amount of gasoline spilled as the fueler struggled to disconnect which ignited into a fire around the tank opening, the fuel hose unit and spillage on the ground. Fortunately the crew was on the fire immediately and Schumacher returned to the track after 23 seconds.

The lead when to Montoya with Raikkonen 2nd and Michael in 3rd. Montoya’s luck soon ran out when the BMW engine expired a few laps later. The Columbian did not do his fellow drivers any favors as he did not get off of the racing line as quickly as he could have. It’s a disappointment to this writer when a driver of this caliber does not respect the safety of his peers and think about the consequences of his actions.

Schumacher passed Raikkonen and proceeded to turn fast laps, but his flawed pit stop did not get him a full load of fuel. He returned to top off the tanks but had yet another fueling problem taking 12 seconds to complete.

Alonso retires on lap 45 ending a dismal weekend for Renault and the popular Spanish driver. Raikkonen pits and so does Barrichello which hands the lead back to Michael who held it for the remainder of the event which was shortened by 2 laps due to the problems at the start.

Teammates Villeneuve and Button with BAR were fighting a good battle until Jacques pitted for his 2nd stop, stalled the car a couple of times and resumed the race in 12th spot. Jenson on the other hand ran to the finish in a strong 4th place! Ralf Schumacher ran in the points again as he has all season managing a 6th place finish behind Coulthard in the McLaren.

Webber took 7th despite his penalty with Trulli following to the finish in 8th. The points paying positions are as follows: M Schumacher, Raikkonen, Barrichello, Button, Coulthard, R Schumacher, Webber and Trulli.

Ferrari takes the constructors’ points lead by 1 point and Michael Schumacher is now only 2 points behind Raikkonen for the drivers’ points lead.

Next race is Monaco with the impossibly difficult passing circuit in 2 week’s time.

Article by: Tony Moffett