(Above) Felipe Massa set the fastest time of all 3 practice sessions. (Picture from F1Fanatic.com)

Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa’s Ferrari’s look like the cars to beat this weekend after they topped the First and Third Practice sessions for the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix at Catalunya.

Practice 1

A lot of the teams had introduced many new upgrades for the start of the European season of this year’s F1 Championship, so the teams were hoping for some good dry running to test the new parts.

Unfortunately the weather chose not to co-operate. Morning rain lingered at the track and the circuit was wet as the session began.

That did not discourage teams from running entirely but it wasn’t until the final quarter of an hour that the track was sufficiently dry for slicks to be used.

(Above) Alonso set the fastest time of Practice 1 ahead of team-mate Massa. (Picture from F1Fanatic.com)

The session ended with a frenzy of laps which saw the lap times tumble. But Alonso was always at or near the top and his final effort secured the quickest time. Massa, despite sliding off into the gravel at turn seven on an earlier lap, backed up his effort with the second-best time.

Jean-Eric Vergne, who’d been the first driver to risk slick tyres, ended up third quickest despite going off at the chicane.

The Lotus of Romain Grosjean was fourth – he’d also gone off during the session, losing the back of the car under braking for La Caixa and arriving at the corner backwards.

A late effort from Adrian Sutil but him fifth ahead of Lewis Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas gave Williams some encouragement with seventh, followed by fellow Finn Kimi Raikkonen. Nico Rosberg and Paul di Resta completed the top ten.

McLaren, who were especially in need of the dry running, left Jenson Button in the garage until the dying moments. He began his first flying lap seconds before the chequered flag came out, but aborted it and returned to the pits. Team mate Sergio Perez was 13th.

Heikki Kovalainen took part in another practice session for Caterham and set the 16^th fastest time, 3 tenths ahead of team-mate van der Garde and Marussia driver Jules Bianchi.

The Red Bulls of Vettel and Webber were in 19^th and 20^th ahead of the other Marussia of Rodolfo Gonzalez and the McLaren of Jenson Button who didn’t set a time.

Practice 1 Top 10:

Practice 2

Practice 2 saw the rise of Red Bull as Vettel and Webber took 1^st and 3^rd in the session with Fernando Alonso in P2.

After the wet first practice session the second practice period saw sunshine and warmer temperatures. Most of the teams joined the track as practice began, several drivers using the development hard tyre compound.

The Mercedes pair led the times initially but Lewis Hamilton spun to a stop while trying to better Nico Rosberg’s best effort. He was able to continue, however.

Webber was next to take over at the head of the times. But Alonso had a quicker run through the first sector and carried his advantage through to the end of the lap, edging Webber by less than a tenth of a second.

Webber responded by switching to the medium tyres and all-but matched Alonso in the first sector but going much quicker in the second. He broke through the 83 second barrier with a 1’22.891.

(Above) Sebastian Vettel took the best time in P2 ahead of Alonso and Webber. (Picture from F1Fanatic.com)

However Vettel found more time with the mediums, beating his team mate by 0.083s. Alonso improved his first sector time again when he did his first run, but fell just 0.017s short of beating Vettel, splitting the two Red Bulls.

Kimi Raikkonen was fourth quickest for Lotus but team mate Romain Grosjean was left shaking his head as he returned to the pits with a time that was only good enough for 18th.

The two Mercedes were behind Felipe Massa, Lewis Hamilton told their pace was six to seven tenths of a second slower than the likes of Red Bull and Lotus.

Both Force Indias were inside the top ten but Paul di Resta’s session ended when his left-rear tyre appeared to suffer a delamination as he came out of the final corner. He pulled the car up to a safe stop at the pit lane exit.

Practice 2 Top 10:

Practice 3:

As qualifying day dawned, the final practice session saw Ferrari re-take the top of the timesheets with Felipe Massa beating Kimi Raikkonen to the fastest time.

Felipe set a fastest time of 1’21.901 in the dying moments of the final hour of practice, taking the top time off the Lotus.

(Above) Massa took the overall fastest Practice time in Practice 3. (Picture from F1Fanatic.com)

Massa set his quickest time on the medium tyres and earlier on team mate Alonso had been the quickest driver on the hard compound. He ended the session sixth fastest having been one of the first drivers to do his medium tyre lap.

Vettel left his medium tyre run until the final minutes, but ended up slower than his team mate. The pair were split by the second Lotus of Romain Grosjean, who went quickest in the first sector before losing time later in the lap.

Both Force Indias were in the top ten again but the fastest Mercedes was only ninth as the team seemed more preoccupied with working on their race performance. Jean-Eric Vergne was an encouraging tenth for Toro Rosso, continuing the good form shown by the sister Red Bull team.

McLaren were once again out of the top 10 with Button coming home in 12^th behind Rosberg and Perez coming home in 14^th after a problematic session after losing part of his car running over the kerb at the final corner.

Thanks for reading!

Jordan Groves

With the Spanish race infamously being a benchmark to see how the teams are doing, the new upgrades filled many teams with a little more confidence, each hoping their developments would give them an advantage no one else had. The teams back at base have been nonstop for the last few weeks, making sure everything is ready, tested, double tested, and finalised before taking it to the race. For the driver, the teams, and us the viewer, it is impossible to predict which team have made the biggest jump ahead, and who still need work. It is only until FP we get an idea.

FP1

It wasn’t the sunny day you’d imagine when you think of Spain, with it raining hard before the race; it was a wet start to the first practice session. The track did start to dry up, and towards the end of the session, drivers managed a few laps on slicks. The weather led to a very changeable time sheet, but at the end of practice, Ferrari showed dominance with a 1-2, Alonso heading the pack here at his home GP. This is also a great result from Massa; maybe the Scarlet Red team have got some good upgrades giving them the edge? But with the changing weather conditions, we cannot take this result as true, as normally very strong Red Bull managed only 19^th and 20^th, and completing considerably less laps than those at the top.

The weather showed us yet again how easy it is to make a simple mistake, with Massa and Lewis both having spins. It was a good day for the Frenchman of JEV and Grosjean, who managed to get 3^rd and 4^th respectively, and also a good time by Valtteri Bottas who claimed 7^th in the Williams, just 1 second slower than Alonso. It was also very interesting to see a camera on the helmet of Bottas, which gave us not only a new view, but it visibly, showed us how much the driver’s heads move as a result of the high amounts of G force.

Complete FP1 results are below.

FP2

The sun had come back out and dried the track nicely; however the Astroturf around the track was still retaining a lot of water. But spirits were up, with teams able to get a truer look into how their upgrades were affecting them, finding out what was working and what wasn’t. The day also brightened up for Red Bulls, who both found a much faster pace, and ended up putting Alonso in a Red Bull sandwich;  Vettel headed the pack, leading Fernando by just 0.017 seconds, with Australian, Webber just 0.066 behind him in 3^rd.

Raikkonen managed 4^th, and the Mercedes boys took 5^th and 6^th. Force India managed to have both drivers in the top 10, but then Di Resta unfortunately suffered a tyre failure, causing him to end the session early. Surprisingly, Romain Grosjean was down to 18^th in the much more suitable weather conditions, behind Pastor Maldonado who got his debut win for F1 at this circuit last year.

It is looking like it is going to be a Ferrari or Red Bull on pole tomorrow, but who knows what may happen. Fernando Alonso will be pushing his hardest, to impress his home crowd, but with numerous drivers talking last week about improving their qualifying pace, Hamilton, Rosberg, Raikkonen and Grosjean will be a few to keep your eyes on.  Let’s see what Saturday’s Qualifying will bring us!

FP1

1. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1min 25.252secs

2. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:25.455

3. Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso 1:25.667

4. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus 1:26.042

5. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:26.212

6. Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:26.374

7. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:26.456

8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus 1:26.614

9. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:26.621

10. Paul di Resta (GB) Force India 1:26.755

11. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Toro Rosso 1:26.940

12. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Sauber 1:27.061

13. Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren 1:27.135

14. Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber 1:27.250

15. Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:27.576

16. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Caterham 1:28.373

17. Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham 1:28.600

18. Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia 1:28.887

19. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1:29.457

20. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:29.473

21. Rodolfo Gonzalez (Ven) Marussia 1:30.314

22. Jenson Button (GB) McLaren no time

FP2

1. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 1min 22.808secs

2. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 1:22.825

3. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:22.891

4. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Lotus 1:23.030

5. Felipe Massa (Brz) Ferrari 1:23.110

6. Lewis Hamilton (GB) Mercedes 1:23.140

7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes 1:23.398

8. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:23.840

9. Jean-Eric Vergne (Fra) Toro Rosso 1:24.058

10. Paul Di Resta (GB) Force India 1:24.104

11. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Toro Rosso 1:24.175

12. Jenson Button (GB) McLaren 1:24.306

13. Sergio Perez (Mex) McLaren 1:24.854

14. Valtteri Bottas (Fin) Williams 1:24.888

15. Nico Hulkenberg (Ger) Sauber 1:25.167

16. Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams 1:25.321

17. Esteban Gutierrez (Mex) Sauber 1:25.441

18. Romain Grosjean (Fra) Lotus 1:25.851

19. Giedo van der Garde (Ned) Caterham 1:25.963

20. Jules Bianchi (Fra) Marussia 1:26.078

21. Charles Pic (Fra) Caterham 1:26.930

22. Max Chilton (GB) Marussia 1:26.970

The most recent incarnation of this age-old discussion has risen from the smouldering aftermath of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Here, the opposing arguments for and against the use of team orders were neatly distilled for us in two separate sets of circumstances that arose during the race. On one hand we had Ross Brawn’s authoritatively delivered decree that Nico Rosberg hold station behind his team mate Lewis Hamilton and the pair bring home their Mercedes Silver Arrows line astern. On the other, we witnessed some feisty racing between the Red Bulls of Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel with the latter emerging victorious, before later finding out that Vettel had disobeyed similar orders from his team and had seemingly mugged Webber for the race victory.

Never mind for the moment whether the concept of team orders is right or wrong;  team orders have always existed and will always exist. We only need choose whether we want the FIA sanctioned antics exemplified by Ferrari in Austria 2002, where the Scuderia unashamedly ordered Rubens Barrichello to hand the win to team leader Michael Schumacher, or the more clandestine version (necessitated by the FIA’s banning of team orders) best exemplified by Ferrari at Hockenheim in 2010, where the team covertly (but equally unashamedly) asked Felipe Massa to let Fernando Alonso through to take the chequered flag.

This time round the post race analysis has centred not on the issuing of driver instructions in the first place, but whether or not the driver in question chooses to obey them or not. Essentially there are two schools of thought on this. The first concludes that race drivers are ruthless beasts and those who have been most successful in the past have often displayed an uncompromising attitude to ethical treatment of their competitors. The oft-quoted sound byte of Ayrton Senna (arguably the sport’s greatest champion) is offered in support of this paradigm: “…if you no longer go for a gap, you are no longer racing”. The more principled school of thought is that racing is nothing without honour and there is no merit in beating someone whose hands are tied behind their back in the way that we were led to believe Mark Webber’s were.

Shades of grey exist between the two extremes and even Vettel himself had not quite worked out whether to be remorseful, as he was immediately after the race in Malaysia in offering his apologies to his team, or bullish, as he was in the build up to the following race weekend in China,  proclaiming that he was racing, saw an opportunity and took it. At the more philosophical end of the spectrum we had Lewis Hamilton feeling uncomfortable that his team denied the quicker driver the higher finishing position, vocalising his desires to always be allowed to race and for the best man to win. For the time being we must accept this as genuine contrition though you must question whether Hamilton will maintain this stance if he ever has a team mate quick enough to consistently beat him.

Whichever viewpoint you subscribe to, the debate has provided no shortage of publicity for the pinnacle of motor racing and reminded us that it’s not all about tyres and torque maps. For now though, the bandwagon has moved on to Barcelona and the talking can stop and the racing resume.

The incident took place last week outside a hotel on Spain’s Costa Brava, where photographer Jordi Martín was waiting outside the F1 champion’s hotel along with a group of fans, who were waiting to see their idol.

Martin he told magazine Vanity Fair: “He came straight up to me and told me not to dare take photos of his girlfriend, he pushed me and my camera hit the wall. Then the Ferrari physiotherapist grabbed me by the neck. Dasha couldn’t believe her eyes”.

The Barcelona based photographer said the cost of repairing the damage to his €6,000 camera would be considerable.

Alonso’s agent, Luis García Abad took a picture of Martín from the car and posted it on Twitter under the message “Paparazzi: press photographers who take pictures of celebrities without their permission? Unfortunately these things only happen in Spain”.

Martín, who had initially decided not to press charges against Alonso, changed his mind and he took the matter to Catalonia’s Mossos d’Esquadra police force, using a fan’s photo of the attack.

Martín explained to Vanity Fair: “Alonso’s fans turned against him, they called him an animal. I didn’t provoke him and now I’m receiving all kinds of threats on Twitter”.

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When running commenced in earnest it was Mercedes that set the early benchmarks, with Hamilton and Rosberg comfortably setting fastest sector times. Toro Rosso proved to be on the ball too, with Daniel Ricciardo and Jean Eric Vergne repeatedly setting fastest times as they pre-empted the rest of the field on tyre choice for the drying circuit.

McLaren didn’t demonstrate the full potential of their update package, with Jenson Button not even setting a lap time after a bargeboard came loose from his MP4/28. Sergio Perez was 13th. Red Bull set a similar conservative strategy and focused on update intelligence-gathering work, meaning Vettel and Webber were well down the order come the chequered flag. Valterri Bottas, Adrian Sutil and Romain Grosjean all set competitive laptimes in the wet conditions.

FP2 will follow.

Fernando Alonso remains optimistic over Ferrari’s chances this season (Picture: AP)

Formula One returns to its European heartland this weekend in Barcelona. With three weeks to fettle their cars after the four long-haul races that opened the season, will the order change at all?

It’s pretty close at the top. Sebastian Vettel has barely put a foot wrong and leads the way but the pace of the Red Bull is more-or-less on a par with Ferrari and Lotus, and Mercedes is catching up.

Most of the attention this weekend is on Spanish hero Fernando Alonso, who has had two races blighted by bad luck but is encouraged by his car’s pace.

‘Last year we started the season one or 1.5 seconds off the pace,’ he said. ‘This year we have scored one strong win and one second place. We are more optimistic.

‘Maybe it’s the first time we arrive with a competitive car [in Barcelona] but that doesn’t mean you will fight for top places if you don’t do everything right.’

Alonso’s words of caution come after his Ferrari’s DRS flap stuck open in Bahrain, causing him to make an extra pitstop and lose performance.

He is fourth in the championship, 30 points behind Vettel, but he’s not panicking yet. ‘Last year, going into the August break, Sebastian was 42 points behind me but he came through to win the championship. As long as we’re not 80 points behind we shouldn’t worry.’

Only once in the 21 years the grand prix has been held at the Circuit de Catalunya has the race been won by a driver who did not start on the front row (Michael Schumacher, 1996). Overtaking opportunities are far from bountiful. That makes qualifying critical, and therefore Vettel is the man to beat. The German has only been off the front row once this season. The closest Alonso has got is third, suggesting the Ferrari is quicker in race trim than in qualifying.

Sebastian Vettel is 10 points clear of second-placed Kimi Raikkonen (Picture: Getty)

Keep an eye on Lotus’s pace at the next few races. They’ve started strongly, with Kimi Raikkonen winning in Australia, but this week’s announcement technical director James Allison is leaving is a major blow. With Raikkonen a free agent next year, the team will be scrambling to persuade the Finn to stay. Rumour has it that Red Bull are in talks with the 2007 world champion, and if Lotus’ performance drops off he’s going to be very tempted to join Vettel.

Nevertheless, Kimi shrugged off the news of Allison’s departuree, saying: ‘It doesn’t really make a difference. There are a lot of strong people and we should be fine.

‘My decision [on where to race next year] will be purely on what is best for me overall. It’s a long time until next year.’

All the graphics are made for private use only, so no profit making whatsoever (If you want to pay me for it we can discuss this). If you want to have someone else’s autograph made into a circuit comment and I will think about it.

Jenson Button Circuit

Sergio Pérez Circuit

Kimi Räikkönen Circuit

Lewis Hamilton Circuit

Nico Rosberg Circuit

Mark Webber Circuit

Sebastian Vettel Circuit

Fernando Alonso Circuit

Spanish GP Stats

Circuit Name: Circuit de Catalunya
Number of Laps: 66
Circuit Length: 4.655km
Lap Record: 1:21.670 K Räikkönen (2008)
2012 Results: 1.Pastor Maldonado 2. Fernando Alonso 3. Kimi Räikkönen

There are seven previous Spanish GP winners still on the grid: Pastor Maldonado, Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Jenson Button, Kimi Räikkönen, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso.

• For the past seven years, the Spanish GP has been won by a different driver
  
• From the current grid, Kimi Räikkönen is the only driver to have won it more than once. He won it in 2008 for Ferrari and 2005 for McLaren
• Ferrari are the most successful team at the Circuit de Catalunya with seven wins under their belt
• The Spanish GP was first held at the Circuit de Catalunya in 1991 and so 2013 will be the 23rd running of it
• Of the 22 races held the race winner has come from pole 18 times
• Heikki Kovalainen will once again get behind the wheel of the Caterham for FP1
• Alan Jones will be the driver steward this weekend

With the start of the European season generally comes a raft of significant upgrades. The Spanish GP is another one which can prove to be tough on the tyres and proves to be notoriously difficult for overtaking. There are a number of high speed corners, as well as medium and low-speed, and a long pit straight – generally a little bit of everything thrown in for drivers to contend with. Teams have a long history of testing at the circuit pre-season and so drivers all well accustomed to it come race weekend. Pirelli will bring the hard and medium compound tyres to this race. There will be two DRS zones – one between Turn 9 and Turn 10, and the other on the pit straight.

What came before?

Sebastian Vettel took a controlling victory at the Bahrain GP, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean to produce an exact replica of the 2012 results. Paul di Resta equalled his best ever finish by bringing his Force India home in fourth while Lewis Hamilton came back from a difficult opening stint to finish fifth. While team orders came to the fore after both Red Bull and Mercedes deployed them at the Malaysian GP, they were in the spotlight again in Bahrain but for a different reason. Having been urged by Team Principal Martin Whitmarsh to get his elbows out, Sergio Perez came out all guns blazing. After failing to make the pole-position shoot out yet again, while team-mate Jenson Button slipped through, Perez revealed his car was set up for the race. The pair were involved in a spirited on-track battle which saw them bang wheels and run each other off the road. Perez eventually muscled his way through to finish sixth while Button had to make another stop and ended the day in tenth. Perez finished the race just seven tenths down on Lewis Hamilton.

Elsewhere, following his commanding win in China, Fernando Alonso had a disappointing race. A DRS problem, which saw the flap jammed open, left him having to pit two times to close it. He then spent the rest of the race having to defend and attack with no DRS available to him, and ended up finishing in eighth place. His team-mate Felipe Massa was not so lucky as to salvage points after picking up a puncture, ending the day in 15th spot. Pole sitter Nico Rosberg lost out in the race and he also made an extra stop, dropping down to finish tenth.

What’s to come?

The Spanish GP is traditionally where teams bring their first significant upgrades of the year, having spent the first four races of the year in Australia, Malaysia, China and Bahrain. So look out for an array of new parts, including front wings, sidepods, and rear wings, as teams look to maximise their car’s potential. All eyes will specifically be on McLaren as they look to pick up the pace, quite literally, after a disappointing start to the season. They currently lie sixth in the constructors’ championship, with 23 points – 86 behind championship leaders Red Bull already – and a best placed finish of fifth place. For a team who are used to winning races – they won seven in 2012 – their revolutionary car has not yet paid off. 2012 race winners Williams are another team currently in the doldrums and are looking to get their season back on track. Williams took the opportunity during the break to complete an aero test at Idiada, following which they will be bringing updates to Spain. The Spanish GP can prove to be an important race in terms of shaping the remainder of the championship.

This weekend will see teams provided with an extra set of the prototype hard tyres, with Pirelli tweaking the compound to make it more similar to 2012 in terms of durability.

του Γιώργου Καπούσι

Λένε ότι οι πιο σημαντικοί γύροι ενός αγώνα είναι ο πρώτος και ο τελευταίος. Στο Ισπανικό Grand Prix του 2001, ο Michael Schumacher είχε την πρωτοπορία και στους δύο. Αλλά όπως σε πολλά πράγματα, έτσι και στη Formula 1, το αποτέλεσμα είναι το ήμισυ της ουσίας. Και η ουσία είναι πως εκείνη η μέρα δικαιωματικά άνηκε στο Mika Hakkinen.

Οι τέσσερις πρώτοι αγώνες του 2001 αποδείχθηκαν δύσκολοι για το Φιλανδό δύο φορές παγκόσμιο πρωταθλητή. Δυο εγκαταλείψεις, μια 4^η και μια 6^η θέση δεν αποτελούσαν σε καμία περίπτωση καλό ξεκίνημα για τη νέα σεζόν και το κίνητρο του Mika να συνεχίσει να αγωνίζεται στην κορωνίδα του μηχανοκίνητου αθλητισμού ήταν εμφανές πως είχε αρχίσει να εξασθενεί. Έτσι, όταν η Formula 1 πήγε στην Ισπανία για τον πέμπτο αγώνα της χρονιάς, ο Φιλανδός είχε μόλις 4 βαθμούς στο ενεργητικό του, σε αντίθεση με τους 26 του team mate του, David Coulthard.

Ένα από τα θέματα συζήτησης εκείνο το Σαββατοκύριακο στα paddock δεν ήταν άλλο από την αξιοπιστία. Η FIA εκείνη τη χρονιά είχε δώσει την άδεια στις ομάδες να χρησιμοποιήσουν το traction control και launch control, πράγμα που είχε γεννήσει πολλά ερωτηματικά σχετικά με το αν κάποια ζωτικά εξαρτήματα των μονοθεσίων όπως η μετάδοση μπορούσαν να αντέξουν τις δυνάμεις που αναπτύσσονται όταν μεταφέρεις περισσότερους από 800 ίππους στην άσφαλτο χωρίς καθόλου σπινάρισμα. Και το γεγονός ότι οι τρεις πρώτοι αγώνες της χρονιάς ήταν εκτός Ευρώπης (πράγμα που συνεπάγεται καθυστέρηση στα προγράμματα εξέλιξης) δεν βοήθησε καθόλου.

Έτσι, δικαιολογημένα εν μέρει οι ομάδες έφεραν στο Ισπανικό GP περισσότερους εφεδρικούς κινητήρες από ότι συνήθιζαν. Για του λόγου το αληθές, στα πρώτα λεπτά του free practice της Παρασκευής η McLaren του  Mika Hakkinen επέστρεψε στα pit ασθμαίνοντας, με μια λεπτή στήλη καπνού να την ακολουθεί.

Προβλήματα αξιοπιστίας αντιμετώπισαν και τα μονοθέσια με κινητήρες της Honda, με τον Jacques Villeneuve να πραγματοποιεί μια πρόβα εκκίνησης στο pit lane και να ανταμείβεται με φλόγες και ένα ηχηρό «μπαμ». Αμέσως μετά από αυτό το περιστατικό ο Olivier Panis βίωσε μια παρόμοια εμπειρία με αυτή του team mate του στη BAR, αλλά λιγότερο θεαματική. Οι αστοχίες κινητήρων όμως δεν τελείωσαν εδώ, με τη Williams-BMW του Juan Pablo Montoya να υποφέρει από αντίστοιχης φύσης πρόβλημα.

Οι κατατακτήριες δοκιμές του Σαββάτου βρήκαν τη Ferrari του Michael Schumacher στην πρώτη θέση, με τη McLaren του David Coulthard να προσπαθεί χωρίς επιτυχία να φτάσει το χρόνο του Γερμανού. O Mika Hakkinen όμως με την άλλη McLaren, παρά τα προβλήματα που αντιμετώπιζε όλο το Σαββατοκύριακο, με μία εντυπωσιακή προσπάθεια βρέθηκε στη 2^η θέση, με λιγότερο από ένα δέκατο του δευτερολέπτου να τον χωρίζει από τη Ferrari. Το πιο εντυπωσιακό όμως είναι ότι σε αυτήν του την προσπάθεια ο Φιλανδός είχε απενεργοποιήσει το traction control, δηλώνοντας: «Αν έχεις προβλήματα με το μονοθέσιό σου, σε μερικές στροφές μπορείς να τα διορθώσεις με το γκάζι. Το traction control πολλές φορές δεν σου επιτρέπει να το κάνεις αυτό».

Από την άλλη μεριά, ο Michael Schumacher είχε μεγάλη πίστη στις δυνατότητες των ηλεκτρονικών του μονοθεσίου του, γνωρίζοντας όμως πολύ καλά ότι οι δύο McLaren πίσω του μπορούν να αποτελέσουν σοβαρή απειλή. Την εξάδα έκλεισαν ο Rubens Barrichello στην 4^η θέση, ο Ralf Schumacher στην 5^η και ο Trulli με την Jordan στην 6^η. Ο Juan Pablo Montoya θα είχε πολλή δουλειά να κάνει στον αγώνα, καθώς θα εκκινούσε 12^ος .

Με το warm up της Κυριακής να ολοκληρώνεται χωρίς ιδιαίτερα προβλήματα, τα 22 μονοθέσια παρατάχτηκαν στο grid περιμένοντας να ξεκινήσει ο γύρος σχηματισμού. Όταν δόθηκε το σήμα για την πραγματοποίησή του όμως, η McLaren του David Coulthard αρνήθηκε να ξεκινήσει, αναγκάζοντας το Σκοτσέζο να εκκινήσει από την τελευταία θέση.

Όταν τα κόκκινα φώτα έσβησαν, η Ferrari του Michael Schumacher εκκίνησε αποφασιστικά υπερασπιζόμενη την πρωτοπορία της, με τον Hakkinen να την ακολουθεί. Ο Heinz Harald Frenzen αντιμετώπισε και αυτός προβλήματα στην εκκίνηση, συνεισφέροντας έτσι στο στρίμωγμα που συνέβη μεταξύ των μονοθεσίων στη μέση της κατάταξης. Ο Montoya εντυπωσίασε ανεβαίνοντας από τη 12^η στην 6^η θέση μέσα σε λίγα μόλις μέτρα, πραγματοποιώντας μερικές από τις χαρακτηριστικές του «τολμηρές» κινήσεις. Ο Coulthard όμως από την τελευταία θέση αντιμετώπισε κι άλλα προβλήματα, καθώς οι στενές επαφές του με τους Bernoldi και Fisichella τον οδήγησαν στο να σπάσει την μπροστινή αεροτομή του.

Η κατάταξη λοιπόν διαμορφώθηκε με τον Schumacher να προπορεύεται και τον Hakkinen  να ακολουθεί, με την μεταξύ τους διαφορά να παραμένει λίγο παρακάτω από 2 δευτερόλεπτα μέχρι να ολοκληρωθεί το 1^ο stint. O Barrichello τους ακολουθούσε στην 3^η θέση, με τα υπόλοιπα μονοθέσια να βρίσκονται σε εντελώς διαφορετικό ρυθμό. Ο Ralf Schumacher βρισκόταν στην 4^η θέση και λίγο πιο πίσω ο Trulli προσπαθούσε να υπερασπιστεί την 5^η θέση του από τον Montoya.

O Coulthard στις τελευταίες θέσεις βρέθηκε να μονομαχεί με τη Minardi του rookie τότε Fernando Alonso και η μονομαχία αυτή τελείωσε όταν η Minardi μπήκε στα pit στον 12^ο γύρο.

Στον 21^ο γύρο η Williams του Ralf Schumacher έκανε ένα μεγαλοπρεπέστατο τέτακέ στην στη στροφή 10 ενώ οι μηχανικοί του τον περίμεναν στα pit. Αυτό άφησε τους Trulli και Montoya στην 4^η και 5^η θέση αντίστοιχα, με τη σειρά αυτή να αλλάζει μόλις οι δυο τους μπήκαν μαζί στα pit. Οι μηχανικοί της Williams έκαναν άριστα τη δουλειά τους με αποτέλεσμα ο Montoya να βρεθεί μπροστά από την Jordan.

Είχε έρθει όμως η σειρά του Michael Schumacher να μπει στα pit, πραγματοποιώντας τον ανεφοδιασμό και την αλλαγή ελαστικών του σε 8.7 δευτερόλεπτα. Αυτό έδωσε την πρωτοπορία στον Hakkinen, που την ξαναέχασε όταν μπήκε με τη σειρά του στα pit στον 27^ο γύρο. Έτσι μετά το τέλος του πρώτου γύρου των pit stops η διαφορά μεταξύ των δυο πρώτων είχε αυξηθεί στα σχεδόν 4 δευτερόλεπτα, με τον Γερμανό να πραγματοποιεί το ταχύτερο πέρασμα στον 25^ο γύρο.

Το 2^ο stint του αγώνα κύλισε χωρίς πολλά δράματα, με τη μόνη αξιοσημείωτη στιγμή να είναι η έξοδος του Montoya στον 37^ο γύρο ακριβώς στο ίδιο σημείο που είχε κάνει τετακέ νωρίτερα ο team mate του.

Στον 43^ο γύρο ο Michael μπήκε στα pit για δεύτερη φορά, δίνοντας την πρωτοπορία του αγώνα στο Mika. Για τους επόμενους 4 γύρους κάθε φορά που ο Hakkinen περνούσε από την ευθεία εκκίνησης τερματισμού η McLaren του έδειχνε μια πινακίδα που έγραφε «P1 +22.9 PUSH», με το Φιλανδό να ερμηνεύει αλάνθαστα το λακωνικό αυτό μήνυμα.

Εντωμεταξύ, η Ferrari του Barrichello πραγματοποίησε μια έξοδο στη στροφή 7 και μετά από αυτό το περιστατικό έγινε εμφανές πως κάτι δεν πάει καλά με τη μια, αν όχι και με τις δύο Ferrari. O Barrichello εγκατέλειψε, ενώ ο Schumacher δεν μπορούσε να ακολουθήσει το ρυθμό του Hakkinen, γιατί όπως δήλωσε μετά το τέλος του αγώνα το μονοθέσιό του αντιμετώπιζε μεγάλο πρόβλημα κραδασμών από τα ελαστικά.

Στον 49^ο γύρο ο Hakkinen πραγματοποίησε το ταχύτερο πέρασμα του αγώνα και έναν γύρο αργότερα μπήκε στα pit για τον τελευταίο του ανεφοδιασμό. Όταν βγήκε, ήταν μπροστά από τη Ferrari.

Καθώς οι εναπομείναντες γύροι για το τέλος του αγώνα όλο και λιγόστευαν, φαίνονταν πως το αποτέλεσμα είχε πλέον κριθεί με τη ζυγαριά να γέρνει αρκετά προς το μέρος του Hakkinen. Καθώς όμως ο Φιλανδός περνούσε από την ευθεία εκκίνησης-τερματισμού για να ξεκινήσει τον τελευταίο του γύρο, ο κινητήρας της Mercedes στην πλάτη του έβγαλε έναν ασυνήθιστο ήχο. Με το άκουσμα αυτού του θορύβου, τα πρόσωπα των θεατών στις κερκίδες καθώς και των μηχανικών της McLaren στα pit πέτρωσαν. Όλοι οι υποστηρικτές του Mika και της Βρετανικής ομάδας σε όλον τον κόσμο που παρακολουθούσαν τον αγώνα από τα σπίτια τους είχαν σηκωθεί όρθιοι, βλέποντας  τον κινητήρα της Mercedes να ασθμαίνει και προσεύχονταν να αντέξει για έναν ακόμη γύρο. Έναν γύρο, τον τελευταίο. Ο θεός των αγώνων όμως μερικές φορές μπορεί να γίνει πολύ σκληρός.

Μέχρι να φτάσει η MP4-16 στη στροφή 3, όλα είχαν τελειώσει. Ο Mika σταμάτησε το μονοθέσιό του, που τώρα έβγαζε καπνούς και σπίθες στην άκρη της πίστας και βγήκε έξω, με τη γλώσσα του σώματος να δείχνει ξεκάθαρα τα συναισθήματά του. Η αξιοπιστία του μονοθεσίου του μόλις του είχε στερήσει μια σίγουρη νίκη, μια νίκη που ψυχολογικά την είχε ανάγκη. Μια νίκη που του διέφευγε από το Βελγικό Grand Prix της προηγούμενης χρονιάς.

Ο Michael Schumacher πήρε τη νίκη με τον Montoya να τον ακολουθεί στη 2^η θέση παίρνοντας το πρώτο βάθρο της καριέρας του, ενώ ο Villeneuve έδωσε και αυτός στη BAR το πρώτο βάθρο της ιστορίας της.

Αμέσως μετά τον τερματισμό ο Schumacher και ο Villeneuve πήγαν να παρηγορήσουν τον Mika, χαρίζοντάς μας το σπάνιο θέαμα τριών ενεργών παγκόσμιών πρωταθλητών να μαζεύονται για μια ομαδική αγκαλιά. Ο Schumacher δήλωσε πως δεν του αρέσει να κερδίζει με αυτόν τον τρόπο, άλλα έτσι είναι οι αγώνες και αυτά τα πράγματα συμβαίνουν.

Αν ο Michael ήταν στεναχωρημένος για κάτι, αυτό ήταν η μεγάλη βαθμολογική διαφορά που είχε ανοίξει μεταξύ του εαυτού του και του αντιπάλου που σέβονταν πιο πολύ από όλους. Μετά το τέλος του αγώνα, δήλωσε πως του έλειψαν οι μάχες που είχε με τον λιγομίλητο Φιλανδό που οδηγούσε πάντα με τέρμα γκάζι. Και όταν αυτός εγκατέλειψε την ενεργό δράση στο τέλος της χρονιάς, σίγουρα του έλειψαν πολύ περισσότερο.