2000 Spanish Grand Prix

The 2000 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the XLII Gran Premio Marlboro de España ) was a Formula One motor race held on 7 May 2000 at the Circuit de Catalunya , in Montmeló , Catalonia, Spain with approximately 79,000 spectators. It was the fifth round of the 2000 Formula One World Championship and the 42nd Spanish Grand Prix . Mika Häkkinen of McLaren won the 65-lap race after starting second. His teammate David Coulthard finished second, with Ferrari 's Rubens Barrichello third.

Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship from Häkkinen, and Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship from McLaren entering the race. He set the fastest qualifying lap to start on pole position and held off Häkkinen on the first lap. Schumacher led until his first pit stop on lap 24, when Ferrari chief mechanic Nigel Stepney was injured by Schumacher's right-rear tyre after Schumacher was incorrectly instructed to leave his box before the stop was completed. This moved Häkki...

The victory moved Häkkinen into second place in the World Drivers' Championship, 14 championship points behind Michael Schumacher. Coulthard dropped to third after finishing second, and Barrichello's third place put him one championship point ahead of Ralf Schumacher . McLaren's one-two finish in the World Constructors' Championship brought them within seven championship points of leaders Ferrari. With 12 races remaining in the season, Williams remained third with 15 championship points.

Following the British Grand Prix on 23 April, all teams conducted in-season testing at the circuit from 25 to 28 April in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] Despite spinning into the gravel early in the session, Jos Verstappen was the fastest for Arrows on the first day of testing, ahead of McLaren test driver Olivier Panis . [ 11 ] Michael Schumacher was the quickest on the second and third days. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] The third day was hampered by several drivers stopping on the...

Coulthard was leasing his friend and Rangers F.C . chairman David Murray 's Learjet the week before the race when a ball bearing failure shut down the left engine en route to Côte d'Azur International Airport in Nice and crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Lyon-Satolas Airport in France. Coulthard, his then-girlfriend American model Heidi Wichlinski and personal trainer/bodyguard Andy Matthews survived; Murray's personal pilot David Saunders and co-pilot Dan Worley died. [ 15 ] Coul...

British American Racing (BAR) driver Jacques Villeneuve was passed fit prior to the event. At the Brazilian Grand Prix , Villeneuve sustained a back injury after his seat became loose during the race, and the worsening effects caused him to withdraw from testing in Barcelona. [ 17 ] He also had to go through physiotherapy. Darren Manning , BAR's official test driver, was on standby to replace Villeneuve if necessary. [ 18 ]

Some teams modified their cars for the event. Most teams continued to refine their vehicles' aerodynamic profiles, but no significant technical innovations were introduced at the Grand Prix. [ 19 ] Minardi debuted Formula One's first titanium-constructed gearbox. [ 20 ] It was 5 kg (11 lb) lighter than magnesium gearboxes, provided greater rigidity, and was cost-effective. [ 19 ] Prost modified their cars' oil systems to improve engine reliability, and made minor aerodynamic changes to the front...

De La Rosa and Irvine were ninth and tenth. [ 38 ] Later that day, the FIA in a mobile laboratory analysed a fuel sample from De La Rosa's car and declared it illegal because it did not match an earlier sample. Arrows announced it would appeal the decision, allowing de la Rosa to keep his starting spot. [ 4 ] [ 40 ] Button. eleventh, reported crosswinds made his car unstable. [ 41 ] He was faster than Verstappen in the slower Arrows car, Salo in the faster Sauber after losing time in the first t...

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The drivers took to the track at 09:30 Central European Summer Time ( UTC +2) for a 30-minute warm-up [ 3 ] in cool and dry weather. Despite going into the gravel after braking too deeply, Michael Schumacher set a lap of 1:22.855 to lead a session for the fifth time that weekend, and also drove the spare Ferrari. Häkkinen was second-fastest; Barrichello was third, followed by Coulthard in fourth. [ 46 ] [ 47 ] De La Rosa ran into the gravel trap at Elf corner after his engine cut out; [ 46 ] [ 4...

Häkkinen made a better start than Michael Schumacher, who steered right across the circuit to block Häkkinen's path on the outside when the race began. Consequence, Häkkinen was unable to make a strong challenge to Michael Schumacher while braking for Elf corner. [ 51 ] [ 55 ] Ralf Schumacher got away quickly, passing Coulthard and the slow-starting Barrichello for third. [ 56 ] Ralf Schumacher collided with the rear of Häkkinen's car on a large amount of dust as it exited the first right-hand t...

Michael Schumacher began to pull away from Häkkinen. [ 56 ] On lap two, De La Rosa collided with Alesi's rear at Wurth corner, forcing Alesi to retire. De La Rosa's front wing broke and retired after beaching in the gravel trap at Campsa corner. [ 53 ] [ 56 ] Simultaneously, Irvine overtook Verstappen for twelfth position. [ 56 ] For the next 16 laps, the gap between Michael Schumacher and the heavily-fuelled Häkkinen fluctuated from 1.6 seconds to 3.4 seconds due to driving through slower traff...

On lap 24, Michael Schumacher made his pit stop. [ 38 ] Mechanic Federico Ugozzoni raised the signboard a second before the fuel hose was removed from the Ferrari and Schumacher accelerated from his pit box. [ 4 ] [ 38 ] Two mechanics attempted to remove the clogged fuel hose from the car's receptacle. [ 57 ] Schumacher's right rear wheel struck Ferrari's chief mechanic, Nigel Stepney , who was assisting the refueller. [ 51 ] [ 54 ] Stepney was dragged before being knocked over; [ 40 ] [ 56 ] he...

All the leaders had made their stops by the start of lap 28. The top six in the running order were Michael Schumacher, Häkkinen, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Coulthard and Button. [ 59 ] Häkkinen set the race's fastest lap on the same lap, a 1:24.470 as he started to gain on Michael Schumacher. Ralf Schumacher again was pressured by Coulthard in fourth. [ 56 ] [ 59 ] Häkkinen did not attempt to overtake the race leader, [ 57 ] as Michael Schumacher was on the harder compound tyres. [ 38 ] Twelv...

Coulthard closed up to Michael Schumacher (who was slowed by around 1.5 to 2 seconds per lap with air leaking from his left rear tyre) by lap 46. [ 51 ] Coulthard attempted to overtake Michael Schumacher on the inside of the pit lane straight into the first corner of the following lap, intending to slow Schumacher at the right-hand turn. As a blocking manoeuvre, Schumacher steered right into Coulthard's path at the last possible moment. [ 51 ] [ 57 ] The two drivers narrowly avoided a collision ...

The top three drivers appeared on the podium to receive their trophies and later spoke at a press conference. [ 3 ] Häkkinen said that he was "pleased" to win the race, and admitted to waiting until the pit stop phase to have any chance of overtaking Michael Schumacher. He said that McLaren had more work to do on his car and was looking forward to the next race. [ 67 ] Coulthard believed he made the right decision to race despite his injuries, and that the result was "the best thing that could h...

Ron Dennis , the McLaren team owner, called it "very good outcome" and was pleased with his team's strategy, saying: "It's a great day, particularly satisfying not only when you think of the pressure that's unique to catching up, but also the circumstances of the week, with David's accident." [ 71 ] Ferrari team principal Jean Todt admitted that his team were disappointed with their final result, but added: "However, we have always known that even a big advantage can easily be reduced. It was a ...

The final results moved Häkkinen from third to second in the World Drivers' Championship, reducing Michael Schumacher's lead from 20 to 14 championship points. Coulthard's second-place finish dropped him to third, two points behind Häkkinen. Ralf Schumacher fell to fifth with 12 championship points, while Barrichello moved to fourth with 13 championship points. [ 7 ] Ferrari maintained their World Constructors' Championship lead, but McLaren's one-two finish brought them within seven championshi...

Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold .

41°34′12″N 2°15′40″E  /  41.57000°N 2.26111°E  / 41.57000; 2.26111