| 2000 Monaco Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 7 of 17 in the2000 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details[1][2] | |||||
| Date | 4 June 2000 | ||||
| Official name | Grand Prix de Monaco 2000 | ||||
| Location | Circuit de Monaco,La Condamine andMonte Carlo,Monaco | ||||
| Course | Street circuit | ||||
| Course length | 3.370 km (2.094 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 78 laps, 262.860 km (163.334 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Sunny | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:19.475 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:21.571 on lap 57 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third | Benetton-Playlife | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2000 Monaco Grand Prix (formally theGrand Prix de Monaco 2000)[4] was aFormula One motor race held on 4 June 2000 at theCircuit de Monaco inMonaco. It was the seventh round of the2000 Formula One World Championship and the 58thMonaco Grand Prix.McLaren driverDavid Coulthard won the 78-lap race starting from third position.Rubens Barrichello finished second for theFerrari team withBenetton'sGiancarlo Fisichella third.
World Drivers' Championship leaderMichael Schumacher driving forWorld Constructors' Championship leaders Ferrari started frompole position alongsideJordan driverJarno Trulli after recording the quickest lap time in the previous day's one-hour qualifying session. The race was stopped due to race directorCharlie Whiting accidentally hitting the red flag button instead of the pit exit open button and a subsequent collision betweenJenson Button andPedro de la Rosa that created a traffic jam. Michael Schumacher led into the first corner of the second start. After the second round ofpit stops, Michael Schumacher's exhaust pipe failed, resulting in a left rearsuspension failure and his retirement from the race. On lap 56, Coulthard, who was running in second place, took the lead. Coulthard led the remainder of the race to achieve his second win of the season and ninth in Formula One, with Barrichello a further 15.8 seconds back.
Coulthard's victory cut Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 12championship points. Häkkinen maintained third place, with Barrichello trailing by seven championship points. In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari's lead over McLaren was reduced to five championship points. Fisichella's third-place result reduced the gap to third-placedWilliams to a single championship point, with ten races of the season remaining.
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The 2000Monaco Grand Prix was the seventh of seventeen rounds in the2000 Formula One World Championship, taking place on 4 June 2000, at the 3.370 km (2.094 mi) (2.094 mi) clockwiseCircuit de Monaco inMonaco.[1][2] It was the 58th edition of the Monaco Grand Prix since the race was first held in1929,[5] and included eleven teams (each representing a differentconstructor), each with two racing drivers.[6] Controltyre supplierBridgestone brought the soft and extra soft dry tyre compounds to the race.[7]
Ferrari'sMichael Schumacher led theWorld Drivers' Championship with 46championship points entering the race, followed byMcLaren'sMika Häkkinen on 28 championship points and his teammateDavid Coulthard on 24 championship points. Ferrari'sRubens Barrichello was fourth with 16 championship points, andWilliams'Ralf Schumacher was fifth with 12 championship points.[8] Ferrari led theWorld Constructors' Championship with 62 championship points, ten ahead of McLaren. Williams were third with 15 championship points,Benetton fourth with 10 championship points andJordan fifth with 9 championship points.[8]
Following theEuropean Grand Prix on 21 May all teams tested across European circuits between 23 and 27 May to prepare for the Grand Prix.[9][10] Jordan,Sauber, Benetton,Jaguar andArrows tested at theCircuit Ricardo Tormo circuit which made its Formula One testing début, garnering mixed reviews from the drivers.[11] Jordan'sHeinz-Harald Frentzen led the first day of testing, from Sauber test driverEnrique Bernoldi.[9] Arrows'Jos Verstappen set the second day's quickest times.[9] Late in the session, Fisichella collided with Jordan driverJarno Trulli's right-rear tyre, flipping his Benetton and temporarily stopping testing.[12] Fisichella experienced mild thumb bruising, and Benetton withdrew second driverAlexander Wurz from testing.[13] Sauber'sMika Salo led the final day's running.[9] Williams andBritish American Racing (BAR) travelled to theCircuit Paul Armagnac circuit to conduct shakedown runs and testcar setups.[10] BAR tested a new control system named "Athena 2000," which managed the software of the engine and several chassis parts.[10] Ferrari spent five days testing at their private test facility, theFiorano Circuit, where test driverLuca Badoer and Michael Schumacher concentrated on aerodynamic and tyre testing, as well as testing different set-ups and driving on an artificially wet circuit.[14]
Because of the Circuit de Monaco's configuration, with its low average speed and quantity of low-speed corners, combined with the low-grip nature of the public road surface, the teams all set theircars up to produce the maximum amount ofdownforce and mechanical grip possible.[15] Benetton modified thesuspensions on theB200 car to work better on the circuit's low-speed corners.[16] TheMinardi vehicles were outfitted with a new titanium cast gearbox and rear springs.[10] McLaren sent an additionalspare car to the event, giving Häkkinen and Coulthard a total of four.[10] The team also shipped in six extramonocoques for the race.[17] Jordan debuted an improved version of itsMugen-Honda V10 engine in the Grand Prix, while Jaguar added a reworked engine hood and a new front wing to its two cars. The Williams team installed an extra fin on the engine hood, two minor fins on the sides, and new front and back wings to their car.[15]
Before the race on Sunday, there were two one-hour sessions on Thursday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday.[3] The practice sessions on Thursday morning and afternoon were held in hot, dry weather.[18] Michael Schumacher set the first session's fastest time, 1:23.039, faster than Häkkinen by three-tenths of a second. Coulthard was third, behind Fisichella and Frentzen. Despite gearbox troubles that prompted him to pull up on the track, Alesi was sixth. Jaguar'sEddie Irvine, Williams'Jenson Button, Barrichello and Salo made up positions seven to ten.[19] Ralf Schumacher collided with the barrier near the tunnel's entrance, necessitatingpit lane repairs. Minardi'sGastón Mazzacane spun and lost his front right wheel in an accident at La Rascasse turn.[18]
Häkkinen recorded the day's fastest lap in the second practice session, a 1:21.387; Coulthard finished third. Michael Schumacher separated the McLaren drivers. Eddie Irvine lapped faster and was fourth, ahead of Frentzen and Ralf Schumacher. Alesi, seventh, continued to struggle. Arrows'Pedro de la Rosa, Trulli and Barrichello completed the top ten.[18] Wurz's car collided at the Swimming Pool complex, breaking his front wing and removing one of his wheels.[18][20]Nick Heidfeld lost control of hisProst car and damaged its right-hand side against the barrier at La Rascasse corner.[20]Pedro Diniz's Sauber car collided with the barrier at the same turn, dropping a considerable amount of oil thatmarshals attempted to clean up.[18][20]
After taking Friday off – a race-exclusive feature –[nb 1] for leisure time, sponsor functions and for teams to prepare their cars for the second day of practice,[17][22] the weather remained hot and dry for the Saturday morning practice sessions.[23] Track evolution was observed during the third session.[24] Michael Schumacher set the third session's quickest lap, 1:20.762; Barrichello was third. Häkkinen was second fastest, one-tenth of a second slower than Michael Schumacher. Alesi kept improving and was fourth, faster than Coulthard, Frentzen, Irvine, Trulli, Fisichella and Sauber'sJohnny Herbert.[25] Frentzen and Wurz went off the circuit during the session but avoided damaging their vehicles.[26]
On Saturday morning before practice,Alex Ribeiro crashed into the railings of the medical car at Tabac. He was unhurt, but FIA medical representativeSid Watkins suffered three broken ribs.[27] Coulthard led the final practice session with a lap of 1:20.405, 0.142 seconds quicker than teammate Häkkinen's1999 pole lap;[28] he stalled the engine after running down theescape road at Ste Devote to avoid a collision with the guardrail barrier.[23] Slower cars prevented Coulthard from lapping faster.[28] Michael Schumacher was nearly a tenth slower in second. Fisichella chose a softerdamper and was third fastest. Trulli, Häkkinen, Barrichello, Alesi, Wurz, Frentzen, and Ralf Schumacher filled positions four through 10. Irvine crashed at the swimming pool complex, ending his session early.[23]
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During Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, each driver was allowed twelve laps, with thegrid order determined by the quickest laps. The107% rule was in force during this session, which required each driver to lap within 107% of the fastest lap to qualify for the race.[3] The session took place in hot, dry weather.[29] Michael Schumacher took his secondpole position of the season and the 25th of his career with a time of 1:19.475 with seven minutes left;[30] he struck the metal guardrail at Portier corner entering the tunnel with his rear-left wheel but continued.[17][22][31] Trulli, who was 0.271 seconds slower and had his best qualifying performance of the season on soft tyres and made car adjustments for betterhandling, joined him on the grid's front row.[32][33] Coulthard qualified third and said he could have lapped quicker as he saw ayellow flag out on the track. Trulli's teammate Frentzen qualified fourth but criticised Irvine for an apparent blocking manoeuvre.[23] Häkkinen took fifth in his worst qualifying result of 2000, withundersteer on his second qualifying run and slower traffic on all four.[22][23][33] Barrichello took sixth despite driving a nervous car.[32] Alesi, seventh, had alternator problems in his race car early in qualifying and switched to the spare Prost car.[23] Fisichella qualified eighth and noticed a severe deterioration in his handling.[23]
Ralf Schumacher and Irvine rounded out the top ten;[33] Ralf Schumacher reported excessive understeer and that his best lap was affected by Irvine, who suffered apower steering failure on his fastest lap. Herbert qualified eleventh, five hundredths slower than his teammate, and reported excessive oversteer.[23] He was ahead of Wurz in the slower Benetton car in 12th.[32] Despite a misunderstanding with hisrace engineer over a yellow flag, Salo qualified 13th. Similarly, Button, who took 14th in the other Williams, was caught out by the waved yellow flags.[23] Understeer, traction, and brake issues slowed Button.[34] The two Arrows drivers were Verstappen (15th) and De La Rosa (16th); the latter crashed at the Rascassechicane.[23] BAR'sJacques Villeneuve started from 17th after an engine failure into Lowes corner led him to stop at the furthest place from the pit lane and lay oil on the circuit. Villeneuve had to drive the spare BAR car for the rest of qualifying.[31] Heidfeld (18th) experienced a lack of grip and understeer. He qualified ahead of Diniz and BAR'sRicardo Zonta, who were 19th and 20th, respectively.Marc Gené and Mazzacane of Minardi qualified 21st and 22nd, respectively, but both crashed at Rascasse turn.[23]
The drivers took part in a 30-minute warm-up session in dry, warm weather at 09:30Central European Summer Time (UTC+2).[3][36] Barrichello set the fastest time of 1:22.251, with Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher second. Ralf Schumacher was third fastest with Coulthard fourth.[36] The session was disrupted when De La Rosa lost traction in his car and struck the barriers leaving Tabac turn just before the session concluded –[37] warm-up was ended early as marshals needed to clear the track –[38] reducing Arrows' available race vehicles to two.[22] After spinning on oil on the track, Herbert clipped thetyre barrier at Piscine turn in the Swimming Pool complex, forcing him to drive the spare Jaguar in the race.[22][38][39]
The race commenced at 14:30 local time,[22][40] running for 78 laps over a distance of 262.860 km (163.334 mi).[1] The weather was warm and cloudless for the race;[33] the air temperature was 24 °C (75 °F) and the track temperature was 42 °C (108 °F).[29] Michael Schumacher, Barrichello, Häkkinen, Coulthard, Button and Mazzacane began on the soft tyre compound. Bridgestone advised drivers using the soft compound tyre to begin on new sets and those on the supersoft compound to use scrubbed tyres.[41] The course at Sainte Devote corner had become slick owing to a two-car accident during the morningRenault Clio Cupundercard round, which saw fluids from the smashed vehicles flow onto the track, necessitating marshals to apply cement mortar in an unsuccessful attempt to dry the oil puddles. This meant a driver braking wide would lose traction on the asphalt.[17]
Diniz was unable to launch at the start of theparade lap, forcing him to start at the back of the grid. Wurz's engine failed during the starting procedure, and race officials aborted the start to allow his car to be removed.[42][43] The mechanics returned to the grid with their equipment.[22] After Wurz's engine failure, Diniz was allowed to start from his qualifying position as Wurz drove Fisichella's spare car.[33][44] The race began eight minutes late;[17] Michael Schumacher maintained the lead into the first corner.[42] Behind him, Trulli remained in second position. The race was suspended due to race directorCharlie Whiting accidentally hitting the red flag button instead of the pit exit open button.[45] However marshals did not wavered flags to signal a race stoppage across the circuit, except at the start/finish line.[22][46] De La Rosa attempted to overtake Button on the outside at the Loewshairpin, but Button's front-right wheel collided with one of De La Rosa's rear wheels, sending De La Rosa into a spin.[17] This caused a traffic jam for six cars behind the two drivers.[22][44] No one was hurt.[47] All the cars that stopped on the circuit were abandoned.[48] Realising they could drive their spare cars under the sporting regulations for race stoppages if fewer than two laps had been completed,[42] Button, Zonta, Heidfeld, Diniz, and Gené restarted in their team's spare cars and had to start from the pit lane. De La Rosa, conversely, did not have a spare car available and was unable to restart.[46]
Michael Schumacher and Trulli maintained their positions during the restart at 14:31 local time, while Ralf Schumacher made the best start, moving from ninth to sixth by the end of the first lap while Barrichello lost two places.[44][48] The order at the conclusion of the first lap was Michael Schumacher, Trulli, Coulthard, Frentzen, Häkkinen and Ralf Schumacher.[49] Michael Schumacher began to pull away from Trulli immediately, setting consecutive fastest laps.[49] Häkkinen began to challenge Frentzen for fourth on lap two.[50] Michael Schumacher led Trulli by more than 11 seconds by the 11th lap, while Wurz overtook Mazzacane for 17th.[46][49] Button entered the pit lane after telemetry indicated that his engine was losingoil pressure and he retired on lap 17.[34][43]
By lap 19, Michael Schumacher had extended his lead over Trulli to 19.5 seconds. Trulli was 0.7 seconds ahead of Coulthard. Frentzen was 2.1 seconds behind than Coulthard and was battling for sixth with the latter's teammate Häkkinen.[49] On the same lap Irvine overtook his teammate Herbert for tenth.[46] Wurz lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers at Sainte Devote corner, causing his retirement from the race.[44][51] On lap 22, Gené retired on an escape road at Casino Square corner due to gearbox failure.[51][52] His teammate Mazzacane collided with the barriers at Sainte Devote turn on the following lap and retired from the event with a damaged wheel.[46][48][53] Herbert was the first driver to make a pit stop on lap 27, but his pit team was unprepared, and he was stationary for 30 seconds before exiting in 17th.[44][49] Diniz crashed into the tyre barriers at Sainte Devote corner on the 31st lap, retiring with left rear wheel damage.[46][53] Diniz's car was relocated behind the barriers by marshals, avoiding the use of the safety car.[54]
Häkkinen slowed on lap 36 owing to a brake pedal blockage caused by a loose sensor and made an unscheduled pit stop. His mechanics unlocked his car's inspection hatch and rearranged radio cables.[44] They cleared the blockage by removing a loose data transmitter and Häkkinen rejoined in ninth.[17][33][49] Trulli retired in the garage on the next lap due to gearbox failure.[22][55] Ralf Schumacher, fourth, took evasive action, went off theracing line and struck the right-hand Sainte Devote tyre wall on the 38th lap,[33][53] as the suspension arm penetrated the monocoque.[55] He suffered a deep cut to his leg and was taken to hospital.[46] Michael Schumacher held a 36-second lead over Coulthard by lap 38; Coulthard lapped frequently in the low 1:22 range to close up.[49] Verstappen made the first scheduled pit stop on lap 41,[46] five laps in front of Zonta and Heidfeld.[49] Michael Schumacher made a pit stop at the end of lap 49 for a set of scrubbed tyres and 29 laps worth of fuel.[41] He retained the lead with an 11.1 second advantage over Coulthard.[56] Fisichella made a pit stop earlier than expected on lap 51 due to a slowpuncture.[46] Frentzen, Barrichello, Salo, and Villeneuve made pit stops over the following three laps.[49]
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Because Villeneuve slowed Coulthard, the gap between Michael Schumacher and Coulthard did not close significantly until laps 53 and 54.[41] Michael Schumacher's car suffered a cracked exhaust pipe that leaked gases under the fairing, breaking a lower left-rear suspension mounting arm since the carbon fiber suspension overheated while Schumacher was driving on the track's centre after exiting Anthony Noughes corner on the 55th lap.[17][57][58] This lifted Schumacher's car front-right off the asphalt,[54] causing him to slow to a near stop.[48] As he was past the pit lane entry, he had to complete a full slow lap of the circuit.[51] Ferrari technical directorRoss Brawn retired Michael Schumacher in the pit lane after mechanics failed to replace the broken arm.[57] Coulthard became the new race leader and made his final pit stop on lap 56.[41] At the completion of lap 57, with the scheduled pit stops completed, the order was Coulthard, Frentzen, Barrichello, Fisichella, Irvine, and Salo.[49]
On the same lap, Häkkinen set the race's fastest lap, a 1:21.571, closing up to Salo in seventh.[49] Verstappen, holding off Heidfeld for ninth, spun 360 degrees into a concrete barrier at the Swimming Pool complex on lap 62 and retired.[46][59] Verstappen was unhurt.[59] On the 71st lap, Frentzen, who lost concentration looking at the leader board,[33] became the race's final retirement when his rear suspension broke in an accident with the wall at the Sainte Devote turn.[22][46][55] The accident promoted Barrichello to second and Fisichella to third.[55] Häkkinen started to slow on lap 74. ending his battle with Salo but remained ahead of Villeneuve in seventh.[46][49] Coulthard slightly slowed after Frentzen's retirement,[41] winning his second race of the season and eighth of his career in a time of 1:49:28.213, at an average speed of 144.072 km/h (89.522 mph).[60][61] Coulthard was the first British Monaco Grand Prix winner sinceJackie Stewart in1973.[62] Barrichello followed 15.8 seconds later in second, ahead of Fisichella in third,[2] who was gaining on Barrichello in the final laps.[53] Irvine finished fourth and earned Jaguar's first Formula One points.[22][33] Salo finished fifth, with Häkkinen rounding out the top six points scorers after being held off by Salo.[53] Following Villeneuve, Heidfeld, and Herbert, Frentzen was the final classified finisher despite his accident.[2] Just ten of the 22 qualifiers were classified finishers;[56] nine of them had completed the race.[58] Of the other retirements, Alesi suffered transmission trouble in the tunnel after completing 29 laps and Zonta crashed into the Sainte Devote tyre barrier on lap 48 after entering the corner too quickly.[44][53]
The top three drivers appeared inPrince Rainier III of Monaco's Royal box to collect their trophies and at thepress conference that followed.[3] Coulthard, who had administered painkillers to relieve the pain in his ribs suffered in a plane crash a month earlier,[53][56] was overjoyed to win the race, which he regarded one of his career goals due to the challenges the drivers face on the circuit.[63] He also stated that he wanted to avoid needless repairs to his car by waiting until the pit stops to pass Michael Schumacher and Trulli.[64] Barrichello revealed that he was conserving tyres and fuel and that Brawn had advised him to slow due to an issue.[64] Fisichella said that he was pleased to finish third.[64] He also revealed that he wanted to remain at Benetton for the2001 season following this result.[65]
Irvine described the Grand Prix as one of the most difficult of his Formula One career, owing to a malfunctioning drink bottle and a blistering foot.[66] He also said that the team's issues were not fully rectified and it would take "six months or so to solve... hopefully we can do it quicker."[67] Salo said that his hands were bruised during the race because his car lackedpower steering.[68] Nevertheless, he was happy to finish fifth, saying, "I knew that he would find it very tough to overtake here but I made extra sure I didn't leave the slightest gap or make any mistakes. An enjoyable race for me and for the team, who really deserved this result."[69] Michael Schumacher admitted to feeling disappointed after the race, having led most of it until his lap 56 retirement, saying: "The exhaust was too hot and that was why the rest went wrong. It basically cooked the suspension. I felt a few laps before that something was wrong but there was nothing I could do about it."[70]
Ralf Schumacher suffered a 3 in (76 mm) gash on his left calf. He was taken toPrincess Grace Hospital for a routine check-up and his cut was stitched.[71] Ralf Schumacher was later cleared to race in the next Grand Prix, two weeks later.[72] He said he had no prior knowledge of the source of his injuries.[70] Williams had their test driverBruno Junqueira to fill in for Ralf Schumacher should the need arise.[71] Frentzen admitted fault for the accident that cost him second place,[73] and apologised to team ownerEddie Jordan.[33] His teammate Trulli expressed disappointment over the gearbox failure, since he had thought he would have won the Grand Prix following Michael Schumacher's retirement.[73]
As a result of the race, Michael Schumacher retained the World Drivers' Championship lead, albeit by ten championship points to twelve. Coulthard's victory put him in second place with 34 championship points, ahead of teammate Häkkinen, who had 29 championship points. With 22 and 14 championship points, respectively, Barrichello and Fisichella remained fourth and fifth.[8] McLaren reduced Ferrari's lead in the World Constructors' Championship to five championship points. Benetton, in fourth place, narrowed the points gap to Williams, who was third, to one championship point. Jordan remained fifth on nine championship points with ten races remaining in the season.[8]
Drivers who scoredchampionship points are denoted inbold.
Notes:
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| Previous race: 2000 European Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2000 season | Next race: 2000 Canadian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1999 Monaco Grand Prix | Monaco Grand Prix | Next race: 2001 Monaco Grand Prix |
43°44′4.74″N7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E /43.7346500; 7.421333
