2000 Canadian Grand Prix
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| 2000 Canadian Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 8 of 17 in the 2000 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details[1][2] | |||||
| Date | 18 June 2000 | ||||
| Official name | Grand Prix Air Canada 2000 | ||||
| Location | Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||||
| Course | Street circuit | ||||
| Course length | 4.421 km (2.747 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 69 laps, 305.049 km (189.549 miles) | ||||
| Weather |
Cloudy and raining; Air 17 °C (63 °F), Track 21 °C (70 °F) | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:18.439 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |
 Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:19.049 on lap 37 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third | Benetton-Playlife | ||||
|
Lap leaders | |||||
The 2000 Canadian Grand Prix (formally the Grand Prix Air Canada 2000)[4] was a Formula One motor race held on 18 June 2000 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada before 100,000 people. It was the eighth round of the 2000 Formula One World Championship and the 38th Canadian Grand Prix. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher won the 69-lap race from pole position. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second with Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella third.
Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship going into the race, while Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship. He started alongside McLaren driver David Coulthard after qualifying on pole position. Barrichello began from third, alongside Coulthard's teammate Mika Häkkinen. Michael Schumacher and Coulthard battled for first place until Coulthard served a ten-second stop-go penalty on lap 14 because mechanics worked on his car 15 seconds before the race began. Michael Schumacher took an early pit stop just before half-distance, allowing Barrichello to lead the race until his own pit stop on lap 43. Rain had begun to fall by this point, and drivers had switched to wet-weather tyres. Michael Schumacher maintained his lead for the rest of the race and won by one-tenth of a second over Barrichello.
Michael Schumacher won his fifth race of 2000 and 40th of his career. It increased his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 22 championship points over Coulthard, with Häkkinen another two championship points behind. Ferrari extended their World Constructors' Championship lead to 18 championship points over McLaren. Benetton demoted the Williams squad to fourth place as a consequence of Fisichella's third-place finish with nine races remaining in the season.
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The 2000 Canadian Grand Prix was the eighth of seventeen events in the 2000 Formula One World Championship and took place at the 4.421 km (2.747 mi) clockwise temporary road course Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 18 June 2000.[1][2] Sole tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the soft and medium dry compound tyres to the event.[5]
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the pre-race World Drivers' Championship with 46 championship points, followed by McLaren's David Coulthard on 34 championship points and his teammate Mika Häkkinen on 29 championship points. Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was fourth with 22 championship points, while Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella was fifth with 14 championship points.[6] Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 68 championship points, ahead of McLaren on 63. Williams were third with 15 championship points, Benetton fourth with 14 championship points and Jordan fifth on nine championship points.[6]
The Société de Transport de la Communauté Urbaine de Montréal (STCUM) declared in the weeks preceding up to the event that it would hold strikes over pension fund contributions throughout the Grand Prix weekend.[7] STCUM chose those dates as because public transport was designated as an essential service over the high-profile weekend.[7] The road leading to the circuit would also be closed to spectators.[8] STCUM went before the Essential Services Council on 9 June to discuss developing a contingency plan to ensure spectators could attend the race with full services running.[9] On June 13, a deal was agreed upon, with 60% of transport workers voting in favour of increased pay and pensions, letting the race to continue unaffected.[10]
Following the Monaco Grand Prix on 4 June, the teams tested their low-downforce configurations at the Monza Circuit between 6 and 8 June to prepare for the Canadian Grand Prix.[11][12] Barrichello set the first day's fastest times, ahead of McLaren test driver Olivier Panis. Testing was halted when Prost's Nick Heidfeld and Luciano Burti both experienced engine and electronic failures respectively.[13] Häkkinen was fastest on the second day. British American Racing (BAR) driver Ricardo Zonta lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers at the Parabolica corner, limiting his testing time as repairs were made to his car.[14] Williams' Jenson Button was quickest on the third day.[15] Ferrari also tested at their private facility, the Fiorano Circuit, with test driver Luca Badoer, who practised pit stops and starts, used different car set-ups, tested new car components and ran on an artificially wet track.[16][17]
The event included eleven teams (each representing a different constructor) of two drivers each.[18] Ralf Schumacher was passed fit in the days preceding the race. He had a major crash at the Sainte Devote ciorner in the last race, resulting in a 3 in (76 mm) gash on his left calf that required stitches.[19] The Williams team had its test driver Bruno Junqueira ready to participate if Ralf Schumacher was unable to compete.[19] Ralf Schumacher said that he would decide whether to compete after the first free practice sessions.[20] Two days before the race, he confirmed his participation.[21]
Teams approached the Grand Prix by concentrating on their brake cooling systems, installing larger air intakes to adapt to the circuit's braking demands.[22] McLaren installed power steering in their two race cars following six months of testing and research into a low-weight solution. BAR fitted power steering to Jacques Villeneuve's vehicle only for Friday's free practice sessions because the team wanted to introduce it at future events. Arrows, Minardi, Prost, and Sauber were the only teams without power steering. Jaguar did not fit a high load aerodynamic downforce bonnet introduced at the Monaco Grand Prix. Benetton used new front and rear ailerons, while Sauber installed a Ferrari qualifying engine from the 1999 Japanese Grand Prix.[22]
Practice
Before the race on Sunday, there were two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday.[3] The Friday morning and afternoon practice sessions were held in hot, dry weather.[23] Teams made changes to their car setups while drivers tested the updates, reporting on their effectiveness and any concerns.[23] The majority of incidents during Friday practice occurred between turns seven and eight.[24]
Michael Schumacher set the first practice session's fastest lap, a 1:21.304, almost a tenth of a second faster than teammate Rubens Barrichello. Coulthard was third, ahead of Häkkinen. Jaguar's Eddie Irvine was fifth fastest, ahead of his teammate Johnny Herbert. Arrows' Jos Verstappen, Fisichella, Villeneuve and Minardi's Marc Gené were seventh through tenth.[25] Heidfeld damaged his car's left front suspension in a crash early in the session,[26] and Zonta twice lost control of his vehicle by pushing hard.[25] Coulthard set the day's fastest time in the second practice session, lapping at 1:20.602 with 20 minutes remaining.[27] Michael Schumacher and Barrichello were second and third, with Herbert lapping quicker in fourth.[23] Häkkinen, fifth, reported inclement handling and excess understeer entering turns.[28] Jordan's Jarno Trulli, Mika Salo of Sauber, Irvine, Fisichella and Villeneuve followed in the top ten.[23]
During Saturday morning practice, the weather became more breezy, cooler and cloudy.[29][30] Most teams fine-tuned their vehicles' aerodynamics and used new and worn tyres at both the front and rear. Due to oil pressure issues, Ralf Schumacher had a new engine installed in his car, and extra downforce was added to his car, which had been considerably modified.[31] Häkkinen led the third practice session with a lap of 1:19.115. Barrichello was second, 0.089 seconds slower than Häkkinen. Michael Schumacher was third fastest, ahead of Ralf Schumacher, Villeneuve, Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Fisichella, Verstappen and Herbert in places four to ten.[32] Coulthard did not set a lap time during practice because his engine was changed owing to a malfunctioning electrical system.[29][31]
Most participants lapped faster in the last practice session.[33] Coulthard enjoyed a trouble-free practice and was fastest just under halfway through with a time of 1:18.654,[34] which was less than half a second slower than the circuit record lap set during qualifying for the 1998 race.[30] Michael Schumacher and Barrichello maintained their pace from Friday, going second and third. Häkkinen was fourth and could not go faster when he passed an area with waved yellow flags.[29] Trulli was fifth, ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who drove faster following set-up alterations. Villeneuve, Frentzen, Salo and Fisichella were seventh to tenth.[35] Some drivers lost control of their cars during the session.[33] Heidfeld's engine failed halfway through practice and dropped oil on the circuit, catching out Benetton's Alexander Wurz. His Prost teammate Jean Alesi stopped on the grass when his car ran out of fuel.[29][34] Pedro Diniz's mounted a kerb and damaged his Sauber car's chassis and undertray; he qualified in the spare C19 car.[29][31]
Qualifying
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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.[3] The session was held in dry, sunny and warm weather;[11][29][36] winds were observed and there was a diminishing chance of rain.[37] No driver appeared to venture onto the circuit, which was dustier and slicker than in practice, particularly at turns eight and nine, as well as the second chicane.[38] Michael Schumacher took his third pole position of the season, and the 26th of his career,[29] with a time of 1:18.439 set on his final lap.[37][38] Coulthard qualified second, 0.098 seconds slower than Michael Schumacher's lap, having battled the latter for grid position throughout qualifying.[29] Barrichello qualified third after encountering traffic and a stoppage to qualifying.[39] Häkkinen, fourth, encountered traffic during his qualifying runs and ran a defective front wing.[40][41] Frentzen, fifth, struggled to find his braking point at the L'Epingle hairpin due to heavy winds.[41] Villeneuve was sixth after locking his front tyres at the first chicane during his first quick lap. His teammate Zonta was eighth.[42] Trulli in seventh lacked grip in his tyres. Arrows' Pedro de la Rosa and Fisichella (driving with excess understeer and lack of traction) were ninth and tenth.[29]
Herbert missed qualifying for the top ten by two hundredths of a second, even though he was happy with his car.[41] Despite lacking mechanical grip, Ralf Schumacher set the 12th quickest lap.[29] He was ahead of Verstappen who damaged his front suspension at turn four,[31] (a corner without a run-off area), resulting in a five-minute delay to qualifying after 40 minutes.[29][37] Drivers entered the pit lane and remained there until marshals cleaned the circuit and put Verstappen's car onto a flatbed truck.[37][42] The resultant damage meant Verstappen drove his team's spare car.[43] Wurz, 14th in the second Benetton, lost time when he caught the aftermath of Verstappen's collision.[29] Salo, 15th, had his rear wheel lock on downshifts. Irvine's slower Jaguar was behind him.[41] Alesi qualified his Prost car 17th despite an engine failure.[29] He was ahead of Button in 18th after Button's engine cut out at maximum revolutions per minute due to fuel-pick up fault on his final two (his third and fourth) runs.[28][44] Diniz was 19th.[29] The circuit's slow corners compounded the Williams FW22's poor performance, as it performed better on tracks with faster turns and both Ralf Schumacher and Button experienced car setup issues.[45] Gené took 20th in the faster Minardi and his teammate Gastón Mazzacane completed the starting order in 22nd after facing the possibility of transgressing the 107 per cent rule for most of qualifying.[37][38] Mazzacane went through the gravel and crashed at the first chicane; he drove the spare Minardi entry and then Gené's race car to qualify.[29][42] Heidfeld separated the two Minardi drivers in 21st.[37]
Qualifying classification
Warm-up
The drivers took to the track in cloudy, windy weather below 15 °C (59 °F) at 09:30 Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4) for a 30-minute warm-up session,[3][47] reporting car issues to their teams.[48] Michael Schumacher set the fastest overall lap in his Ferrari at 1:18.932. His teammate Barrichello was second-quickest.[49] The McLaren pair rounded out the top four fastest drivers;[28] Häkkinen in third in front of Coulthard in fourth.[49] Amongst the slower runners, the engine cover was shed from Heidfeld's car on the main straight.[48] Zonta recorded no lap times due to an engine failure on his first lap out of the pit lane and Irvine was observed driving on wet-weather tyres on a dry circuit.[31]
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