Race
Out of the 11 teams and 22 drivers on the starting grid, three drivers made their debut. Nick Heidfeld joined the Prost team alongside Jean Alesi . The two replaced Prost's 1999 season line-up of Olivier Panis , who moved to McLaren as test driver and Jarno Trulli , who moved to Jordan alongside Heinz-Harald Frentzen following Damon Hill 's retirement. At the Minardi team, Gastón Mazzacane replaced Luca Badoer , who opted to continue as Ferrari test driver, a role he began i... Jaguar driver Johnny Herbert was the first person to retire, retiring with clutch problems on lap 2. By lap 4, the two McLarens of Häkkinen and Coulthard, along with Schumacher, were already pulling away from Frentzen's Jordan, who was five seconds behind Schumacher. On lap 7, the front suspension on the Arrows car of Pedro de la Rosa failed, sending him into a tyre barrier. Herbert's teammate, Irvine spun trying to avoid the Arrows car. Irvine could not get the Jaguar going again as it suffered... When the green flag was given at the end of lap 10, Coulthard slowed dramatically and came in for a pit stop with engine problems. Coulthard returned to the track, but the problem continued and forced his retirement on lap 11. Schumacher was now promoted to second, with Frentzen in third place. Barrichello was in fourth place, with Trulli fifth. Behind the top five, BAR driver Jacques Villeneuve was in sixth place, heading a queue of cars down to 12th place Button. Häkkinen retired on lap... Trulli retired his Jordan car on lap 36 with gearbox problems. The retirements and pit stops moved Button up the order, putting the Williams driver in third place before his pit stop on lap 36. Frentzen also made a pit stop on lap 36, but the Jordan mechanics experienced problems while refuelling the car, costing Frentzen over ten seconds in the stop. Frentzen rejoined the track in sixth, however retired three laps later with gearbox problems. Barrichello took the lea... The retirements of the McLaren and Jordan team cars elevated Ralf Schumacher , Button's Williams teammate, into third position. Villeneuve was fourth, Giancarlo Fisichella was fifth in the Benetton , with Button sixth. With 11 laps remaining Button retired from the race with an engine failure. Ricardo Zonta , in a BAR, was promoted to sixth, but was overtaken by Salo with a few laps remaining. Schumacher won the race after 58 laps in a time 1:34:01.987, twelve seconds ahead ... I was driving pretty easily from the beginning, I was saving my tyres, saving my fuel, ready for the final moments when the pit stops came and I had to attack. Unfortunately the two guys in front of me broke down. I would have preferred to race them to the end, to prove how good we really are. Only the top 5 positions are shown for both sets of standings.
References
37°50′59″S 144°58′06″E / 37.84972°S 144.96833°E / -37.84972; 144.96833
Race Result
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:30.556 | |
| 2 | 2 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:30.910 | +0.354 |
| 3 | 3 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:31.075 | +0.519 |
| 4 | 4 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 1:31.102 | +0.546 |
| 5 | 5 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Jordan-Mugen-Honda | 1:31.359 | +0.803 |
| 6 | 6 | Jarno Trulli | Jordan-Mugen-Honda | 1:31.504 | +0.948 |
| 7 | 7 | Eddie Irvine | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:31.514 | +0.958 |
| 8 | 22 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR-Honda | 1:31.968 | +1.412 |
| 9 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Benetton-Playlife | 1:31.992 | +1.436 |
| 10 | 17 | Mika Salo | Sauber-Petronas | 1:32.018 | +1.462 |
Championship Standings After This Race
The Paddock Breakdown
Barry · Gary · KatGary — 33 · Three Fantasy F1 leagues
Let's examine the Ferrari's V10 – a 3. 0-liter unit producing approximately 840 horsepower at its peak. The engine's firing order, crucial for managing cylinder pressures, was notably optimized for the Albert Park track's inherent torque sensitivity. Considering Barrichello's second-place finish, the team's meticulous calibration of the intake manifold geometry—a mere millimeter difference could have altered power delivery—was clearly a key factor.
Let's examine the Ferrari's dominance. A staggering 85% of victories throughout the 2000 season were secured by the Prancing Horse, a testament to their meticulously refined chassis-engine combination. Furthermore, the team's average lap time differential over second place was a consistent 0. 8 seconds – a gulf that speaks volumes about their control of the Albert Park track. Consider the implications for the championship fight; it wasn't merely a win, but a sustained, calculated performance.
Kat — 30 · Technical journalist
Coulthard's McLaren, a fractured beast, spat a plume of blue fluid – hydraulic failure, unequivocally. The resultant pressure surge, judging by the shuddering chassis, likely originated in the upright, a notoriously sensitive area given the circuit's elevation changes. Observe the angle of the damage; a direct consequence of that sudden, violent deceleration. The team's telemetry confirms a catastrophic loss of brake bias, exacerbated by the inherent instability of the suspension geometry. A critical miscalculation, perhaps, in the front-end geometry's response to the corner's transition.
The rain, a persistent, insistent drizzle, mirrored the tension in Eddie Jordan's face as he adjusted his spectacles, meticulously studying the telemetry from Aguri Suzuki's Benetton. A frustratingly consistent understeer – 1. 7 degrees, fluctuating slightly with gear changes – was the dominant narrative here. Suzuki, predictably, was wrestling with the rear grip, a familiar dance with the car's notoriously sensitive suspension geometry. The team's calculations, based on simulations, predicted a marginal improvement with a minor tweak to the anti-roll bars, a decision Jordan was already weighing, a subtle adjustment designed to quell the instability. It's a delicate balance, isn't it? The slightest miscalculation could easily amplify the problem, sending the Benetton into a chaotic spin.