2000 European Grand Prix
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| 2000 European Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 6 of 17 in the 2000 Formula One World Championship
| |||||
 The Nürburgring (last modified in 1995) | |||||
| Race details[1][2] | |||||
| Date | 21 May 2000 | ||||
| Official name | 2000 Warsteiner Grand Prix of Europe | ||||
| Location | Nürburgring, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.556 km (2.831 mi) | ||||
| Distance | 67 laps, 305.252 km (189.675 mi) | ||||
| Weather | Dry at first, rain later on, Air: 11 °C (52 °F), Track: 12 °C (54 °F) | ||||
| Attendance | 142,000 | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Time | 1:17.529 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |
 Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:22.269 on lap 8 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
|
Lap leaders | |||||
The 2000 European Grand Prix (officially the 2000 Warsteiner Grand Prix of Europe)[4] was a Formula One motor race held on 21 May 2000, at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, in front of 142,000 spectators. It was the sixth round of the 2000 Formula One World Championship, as well as the ninth Formula One European Grand Prix. Michael Schumacher of Ferrari won the 67-lap race after starting second. McLaren's Mika Häkkinen finished second and teammate David Coulthard finished third.
Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship heading into the race, while Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship. Coulthard earned his ninth career pole position by setting the fastest qualifying lap. His teammate Häkkinen made a brisk getaway from third to take the lead into the first corner. He led for the first ten laps until Michael Schumacher overtook him on lap 11. On lap 12, heavy rain forced the entire field to make pit stops to switch from dry compound to wet-weather tyres. Michael Schumacher led until his second pit stop on lap 36, when he handed over the lead to Häkkinen for the next nine laps before regaining it. Michael Schumacher won the race, with Häkkinen finishing second 13.822 seconds later and Coulthard finishing third one lap later. It was Schumacher's fourth win of the season and his 39th of his career.
The race result extended Michael Schumacher's lead over Häkkinen in the World Drivers' Championship to 18 championship points. Coulthard remained third and increased his lead over the second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello in fourth. Ferrari extended their lead over second-placed McLaren in the World Constructors' Championship to ten championship points. Despite not scoring any championship points, Williams remained in third, while Benetton passed Jordan for fourth place with eleven races of the season left.
The 2000 European Grand Prix was the sixth of seventeen races in the 2000 Formula One World Championship and the ninth event in the series' history. It was held at the 13-turn 4.556 mi (7.332 km) Nürburgring in the German town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate on 21 May 2000,[1][5] having been moved to May from September due to the inclusion of the United States Grand Prix to the calendar.[6] It was the fifth European Grand Prix to happen at the Nürburgring.[7] Sole tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the Soft and Extra Soft dry compound tyres as well as the soft and hard wet-weather compounds to the event.[8]
Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 36 championship points entering the race. Mika Häkkinen of McLaren was second with 22 championship points, and his teammate David Coulthard was third, another two championship points behind. Rubens Barrichello in the second Ferrari was fourth with 13 championship points and Williams' Ralf Schumacher was fifth with 12 championship points.[9] Ferrari (49 championship points) led McLaren by seven championship points in the World Constructors' Championship. Williams was third with 15 championship points. Jordan and Benetton competed for fourth place.[9]
After the Spanish Grand Prix on 7 May 2000, the teams conducted in-season testing to prepare for the event. The McLaren, Sauber, Benetton, Jordan, Arrows, British American Racing (BAR) and Williams teams tested at the Circuito de Jerez between 9 and 11 May. Coulthard missed the test to rest after suffering three broken ribs in a plane crash in Lyon. His teammate Häkkinen led the first day of testing and BAR driver Ricardo Zonta led the second. Alexander Wurz set the fastest lap for the Benetton team on the final day.[7][10][11] The Prost team tested the AP03's aerodynamic components over three days at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours with driver Nick Heidfeld. Luca Badoer spent three days at the Fiorano Circuit practising pit stops and testing the F1-2000's aerodynamic and mechanical setups.[10] At the Mugello Circuit, Barrichello tested a new engine and tyres for the car.[10][12]
Michael Schumacher won the season's first three races, putting him well ahead of Häkkinen, who had reliability issues in Australia and Brazil. Coulthard then won the British Grand Prix, while Häkkinen won the Spanish Grand Prix, after Michael Schumacher's poor performance in both races.[13] Häkkinen said the gap was not significant given the season's remaining twelve races and that he was better able to handle pressure, "In this sport something weird always happens. If I were in Michael's shoes I would be getting a little bit worried at seeing us pick up two wins in a row – more than that, two 1–2 finishes."[14] Coulthard said he would not let three broken ribs slow him down and hoped McLaren would finish first and second, "We are slowly chipping away at Michael's lead, but he has had this amazing run of luck and has finished every race in the points this season so it is still going to be difficult. But I am very confident, given my recent results, though it is still hard thinking about those six points I lost in Brazil when I was disqualified."[15]
There were no changes from the season entry list for the 11 teams (each represented by a different constructor).[16] Some teams modified their cars for the race. Both Ferrari and McLaren installed a revised aerodynamic package, primarily to improve their cars' qualifying performance. Ferrari introduced the 049B engine, as well as smaller Brembo brake callipers and lighter disc pads. McLaren installed cooling chimneys on both sides of the MP4/15 to aid in heat dissipation.[17] Williams brought new cast titanium uprights, which they did not use in the previous Spanish Grand Prix. BAR used a new Honda engine and a revised version of its Xtrac-designed gearbox in its 002 cars. Minardi installed a revised front wing specification to their M02s following wind tunnel testing, and the team continued to use a cast titanium gearbox in Gastón Mazzacane's car.[17]
Practice
Before the race on Sunday, four practice sessions were held: two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday.[3] The Friday practice sessions took place in cool, variable weather.[18] Overnight rain created a wet track that dried during the day. Michael Schumacher set the fastest time of 1:21.092, followed by BAR's Jacques Villeneuve, the Jordan duo of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli, Barrichello, Coulthard, Zonta, Häkkinen and Pedro Diniz for Sauber in positions two through ten.[19] Häkkinen's tyres locked at the Dunlop Curve corner during his final lap of the session, leaving him beached in the turn's gravel trap.[19][20]
Rain fell between the conclusion of the morning session and the start of the afternoon session.[21] It continued to fall at the north section of the track in the early minutes of the second session before drying and lap times improved sufficiently over the next 20 minutes.[22] Jenson Button set the day's fastest lap of 1:19.808 with one minute remaining in the session thanks to a light fuel load and a new set of tyres on his Williams FW22. Wurz was 0.440 seconds slower in second. Häkkinen and Coulthard were third and fourth for McLaren. Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Trulli, Zonta, Heidfeld, and Villeneuve completed the top ten. An engine fault curtailed Ralf Schumacher's running and Giancarlo Fisichella damaged his Benetton car's left-hand side against a trackside tyre barrier. Coulthard spun on a kerb at the Veedol chicane.[18]
The weather was cold and overcast on Saturday morning.[23] In the third practice session, Michael Schumacher lapped fastest at 1:18.527, ahead of Häkkinen, Frentzen, Coulthard, Pedro de la Rosa of the Arrows team, Ralf Schumacher, Zonta, Villeneuve, Button and Barrichello.[24] Arrows driver Jos Verstappen's running was curtailed after 17 minutes due to smoke billowing from his engine.[24] Button struck the track's kerbs, spun, and crashed into the tyre barrier.[25]
Michael Schumacher's time did not improve; he remained the fastest driver in the fourth practice session. In second, Barrichello was driving faster, but finished the session 0.227 seconds slower than his teammate. Häkkinen and Coulthard dropped to third and fourth, respectively, while Frentzen fell to fifth. Fisichella improved to sixth, with Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher, De la Rosa and Trulli completing the top ten.[26] During the session, Coulthard slid into a gravel trap at turn three though he rejoined the track without any apparent damage. He stopped at the side of the circuit at the Ford Kurve and track marshals extricated his car into an escape road.[26][27] Marc Gené spun his Minardi car at the Castrol-S chicane and Ralf Schumacher drove into the grass after running deep at the Veedol chicane.[27]
Qualifying
During Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, each driver was limited to twelve laps, with the starting order determined by their fastest qualifying laps. The 107% rule was in effect during this session, requiring each driver to stay within 107% of the fastest lap time in order to qualify for the race.[3] The circuit was damp from an earlier rain shower,[28] and more rain was forecast, prompting teams to install the extra soft compound tyres on their cars, and drivers ventured onto the track early in qualifying.[29] A heavy rainstorm made the track slippery in the final 25 minutes, preventing drivers from lapping faster and determining the starting grid.[7][30] Every driver exited the pit lane with two minutes of qualifying remaining in order to maximise the benefit of driving on a dry circuit.[23] Coulthard took McLaren's first pole position in event history, his first since the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix and the ninth of his career with a lap of 1 minute and 17.529 seconds set 26 minutes in.[31][32] Michael Schumacher, who had the pole position until Coulthard's time and ran wide at the Ford Kurve, joined him on the front row.[28][33] This formation continued on the second row, with Häkkinen third after not feeling confident in his car's setup and Barrichello fourth after driver errors on his first two timed laps.[32][34] Fifth-placed Ralf Schumacher was caught out by the change in conditions on a timed lap and went straight on at the Veedol chicane.[28] Trulli, nursing a perforated eardrum,[29] improved in the final minutes to go sixth,[28] while Fisichella in seventh was delayed by Ralf Schumacher at the Coca-Cola Kurve.[33][34]
Jaguar's Eddie Irvine was baulked by one of the Prost cars en route to eighth. Villeneuve in ninth failed to begin a fourth timed lap before qualifying ended.[34][35] Frentzen qualified tenth as Verstappen slowed his first timed lap.[25] Button, 11th, bemoaned entering the track earlier than planned for his first timed lap, and slower traffic hampered his final lap. A strategic error by the Arrows team left De la Rosa 12th and his teammate Verstappen 14th.[25] They were separated by Heidfeld who fell from ninth to 13th in qualifying's final moments because he did not start a fourth timed lap.[28] Wurz was caught out by the weather change and took 15th. Diniz in 16th missed an opportunity to begin his final timed lap and Johnny Herbert's Jaguar was 17th.[33][34] After his race car's electronic management system shut down the gearbox, Jean Alesi in 18th switched to the spare Prost setup for teammate Heidfeld.[35] He spun on the wet track and returned to the pit lane to retake his race car until the gearbox failed.[25] Zonta qualified 19th because his car's setup slowed him and another driver prevented him from setting his final timed lap because the session ended less than a second before he crossed the start/finish line. Sauber's Mika Salo was another driver who missed the cut-off time for his final timed lap and took 20th. Because of slower traffic, Gené and his teammate Mazzacane qualified 21st and 22nd, respectively.[28][34]
Post-qualifying
When Heidfeld's car was pushed onto the weighbridge during qualifying, it was discovered to be 2 kg (4.4 lb) under the 600 kg (1,300 lb) minimum weight limit. This resulted in a one-tenth of a second improvement per lap but had no effect on his qualifying time. The Prost squad was summoned to meet the stewards and accepted that the car was underweight. The stewards disqualified Heidfeld from the race in accordance with Formula One's Technical Regulations. The Prost team filed no appeal.[23][36] Prost stated Gilles Alegeot, Heidfeld's race engineer, had committed an "unforgivable mistake" for not accounting for weight-saving changes elsewhere on the vehicle with the inclusion of additional ballast.[7]
Qualifying classification
- Notes
- ^1 – Nick Heidfeld was found to have a car 2 kg (4.4 lb) underweight and was barred from the race.[36]
Warm-up
A 30-minute warm-up session on Sunday morning took place in cool and dry weather.[39] All drivers fine-tuned their race set-ups and set laps in their spare cars.[39] Michael Schumacher set the fastest time in the session's final seconds, 1:20.251. Häkkinen in second was nine thousandths of a second slower. The top ten included Frentzen, Barrichello, Verstappen, Coulthard, De la Rosa, Villeneuve, Irvine, and Trulli.[40] Near the end of the session, Fisichella's car's left rear wheel detached, and a track marshal retrieved it as it rolled onto the track.[39][40]
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