The 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XXIX Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil, was the second round of the 2000 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil, on the 26 March 2000.[1] The race would see Michael Schumacher claim a seemingly dominant victory, albeit only after Mika Häkkinen had seen his race destroyed by an engine failure.[1]
Indeed, it was the Finn who started the weekend in the strongest form, sweeping to pole position in his McLaren-Mercedes ahead of teammate David Coulthard.[1] Schumacher hence had to settle for third ahead of his Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello, while Giancarlo Fisichella secured fifth for Benetton-Playlife.[1] Sauber-Petronas, meanwhile, would withdraw from the race weekend after two wing failures during practice/qualifying.[1]
However, things were beginning to swing towards Schumacher's favour on race day, with the German only 0.005s down on Häkkinen during the warm-up.[1] Elsewhere, Alexander Wurz was in trouble, with a malfunctioning anti-stall system forcing him to start from the pitlane.[1]
The start itself would see Häkkinen sprint into an early lead, while a poor getaway for Coulthard allowed Schumacher to storm through to second.[1] The German then threw everything he could at the #1 McLaren to try and claim the lead, while Coulthard found himself back down in fourth behind Barrichello.[1]
Schumacher's early aggression paid off at the start of the second lap, with the Ferrari scything inside Häkkinen's McLaren into turn one to claim the lead.[1] He duly sprinted away to try and build a lead, having been put on a two-stop rather than a one-stop as Häkkinen was on, with the Finn unable to match the lighter Ferrari's pace.[1]
Behind, Coulthard and Barrichello would exchange some impressive blows in the early stages, with both making mistakes to allow the other through.[1] Indeed, a fairly even battle would be sorted out by an issue for Coulthard, with the Scot losing third gear and his radio systems.[1]
Coulthard was hence left to run in a lonely fourth, while Barrichello tried his best to get on terms with Häkkinen and help Schumacher escape up the road.[1] With the home fans behind Barrichello threw everything he had at the double World Champion, and duly forced his way into second on lap fifteen.[1]
The two Ferraris would run one-two for the next few laps, before Schumacher made his first stop on lap 20, rejoining behind Häkkinen.[1] Barrichello stayed out for a further two laps before stopping, although he would drop back behind Coulthard, whose entire race was being dictated by his pit-board.[1]
Many expected Schumacher, with fresh tyres, to begin closing on Häkkinen for the lead, although the Finn seemed to have enough pace to keep the Ferrari at bay.[1] That was, until Häkkinen's pace collapsed on lap 30, the sign that his Mercedes engine had cried enough.[1]
With Häkkinen out, and Barrichello likewise at the side of the circuit with smoke pouring from his exhausts, Schumacher was left with a fair lead over Coulthard.[1] With that the fight at the head of the field was over, leaving Giancarlo Fisichella and Heinz-Harald Frentzen in an intense fight for third for the rest of the afternoon.[1]
Yet, the order would not drastically change, with Schumacher cruising home four seconds clear of Coulthard to claim victory.[1] Fisichella, meanwhile, would just keep Frentzen at bay to complete the podium, with Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher claiming the remaining points.[1]
However, after the race there would be an alteration to the finishing order, with Coulthard being thrown out of the race as his car failed post-race scrutineering.[1] His exclusion promoted Fisichella into second ahead of Frentzen, while young Jenson Button was promoted to sixth to claim a maiden World Championship point.[1]
Background[]
Michael Schumacher started the 2000 season as the man to beat with victory in Australia, leaving the opening round with ten points. Rubens Barrichello opened his account in second ahead of Ralf Schumacher, while Jacques Villeneuve was on the board for the first time since the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix. The other drivers on the scoresheet after the opening race were Giancarlo Fisichella and Ricardo Zonta.
There were just four scorers in the Constructors Championship after the opening race of the season, with Ferrari already holding a daunting lead of twelve points. Behind, Williams-BMW were in second, level with BAR-Honda but ahead courtesy of Ralf Schumacher's podium, while Benetton-Playlife rounded out the scorers.
Entry list[]
The full entry list for the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix is outlined below:
Practice Overview[]
Qualifying[]
Qualifying Report[]
Qualifying Results[]
The full qualifying results for the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix are outlined below:
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap | Ave. Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 |  Mika Häkkinen
|
 McLaren-Mercedes
|
1:14.111 | — | 209.313 km/h |
| 2 | 2 | David Coulthard
|
McLaren-Mercedes
|
1:14.285 | +0.174s | 208.823 km/h |
| 3 | 3 |  Michael Schumacher
|
 Ferrari
|
1:14.508 | +0.397s | 208.198 km/h |
| 4 | 4 |  Rubens Barrichello
|
Ferrari
|
1:14.636 | +0.525s | 207.841 km/h |
| 5 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Benetton-Playlife
|
1:15.375 | +1.264s | 205.803 km/h |
| 6 | 7 | Eddie Irvine
|
Jaguar-Ford Cosworth
|
1:15.425 | +1.314s | 205.667 km/h |
| 7 | 5 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|
 Jordan-Mugen-Honda
|
1:15.455 | +1.344s | 205.585 km/h |
| 8 | 23 | Ricardo Zonta
|
BAR-Honda
|
1:15.484 | +1.373s | 205.506 km/h |
| 9 | 10 | Jenson Button
|
Williams-BMW
|
1:15.490 | +1.379s | 205.489 km/h |
| 10 | 22 |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
BAR-Honda
|
1:15.515 | +1.404s | 205.421 km/h |
| 11 | 9 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Williams-BMW
|
1:15.561 | +1.450s | 205.296 km/h |
| 12 | 6 | Jarno Trulli
|
Jordan-Mugen-Honda
|
1:15.627 | +1.516s | 205.117 km/h |
| 13 | 12 |  Alexander Wurz
|
Benetton-Playlife
|
1:15.664 | +1.553s | 205.017 km/h |
| 14 | 19 |  Jos Verstappen
|
Arrows-Supertec
|
1:15.704 | +1.593s | 204.909 km/h |
| 15 | 14 |  Jean Alesi
|
Prost-Peugeot
|
1:15.715 | +1.604s | 204.879 km/h |
| 16 | 18 |  Pedro de la Rosa
|
Arrows-Supertec
|
1:16.002 | +1.891s | 204.105 km/h |
| 17 | 8 | Johnny Herbert
|
Jaguar-Ford Cosworth
|
1:16.250 | +2.139s | 203.441 km/h |
| 18 | 20 | Marc Gené
|
Minardi-Fondmetal
|
1:16.380 | +2.269s | 203.095 km/h |
| 19 | 15 | Nick Heidfeld
|
Prost-Peugeot
|
1:17.112 | +3.001s | 201.167 km/h |
| 20* | 16 | Pedro Diniz
|
 Sauber-Petronas
|
1:17.178 | +3.067s | 200.995 km/h |
| 21 | 21 |  Gastón Mazzacane
|
Minardi-Fondmetal
|
1:17.512 | +3.401s | 200.129 km/h |
| 22* | 17 | Mika Salo
|
Sauber-Petronas
|
1:18.703 | +4.592s | 197.100 km/h |
| 107% Time: 1:19.299[3] | ||||||
| Source:[4][3] | ||||||
- T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
- Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
- * Diniz and Salo's entries were withdrawn after qualifying.[3]
Grid[]
| Pos. | Pos. | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | Driver | |
| ______________ | ||
| Row 1 | ______________ | 1 |
| 2 | Mika Häkkinen | |
| David Coulthard | ______________ | |
| Row 2 | ______________ | 3 |
| 4 | Michael Schumacher | |
| Rubens Barrichello | ______________ | |
| Row 3 | ______________ | 5 |
| 6 | Giancarlo Fisichella | |
| Eddie Irvine | ______________ | |
| Row 4 | ______________ | 7 |
| 8 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | |
| Ricardo Zonta | ______________ | |
| Row 5 | ______________ | 9 |
| 10 | Jenson Button | |
| Jacques Villeneuve | ______________ | |
| Row 6 | ______________ | 11 |
| 12 | Ralf Schumacher | |
| Jarno Trulli | ______________ | |
| Row 7 | ______________ | 13 |
| 14 | ||
| Jos Verstappen | ______________ | |
| Row 8 | ______________ | 15 |
| 16 | Jean Alesi | |
| Pedro de la Rosa | ______________ | |
| Row 9 | ______________ | 17 |
| 18 | Johnny Herbert | |
| Marc Gené | ______________ | |
| Row 10 | ______________ | 19 |
| 20 | Nick Heidfeld | |
| Gastón Mazzacane | ______________ |
- * Wurz would start the race from the pitlane after stalling on the formation lap.[3]
Race[]
Report[]
Results[]
The full results for the 2000 Brazilian Grand Prix are outlined below:
- T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
- * Coulthard was disqualified from the results of the race for using illegal front wing end-plates.[5]
Milestones[]
- 100th Grand Prix to feature an entry from Peugeot as an engine supplier.[6]
- 200th individual entry for a Peugeot engine.[7]
- 100th entry for Heinz-Harald Frentzen.[7]
- 500th entry for an Arrows chassis.[7]
- 37th career victory for Michael Schumacher.[6]
- Ferrari claimed their 127th win as a constructor and engine supplier.[6]
- Maiden points finish for Jenson Button.
- Schumacher recorded his 40th career fastest lap.[6]
Standings[]
Michael Schumacher moved twelve points clear at the head of the Championship having made it two wins in two races, holding a perfect score of twenty points. Giancarlo Fisichella was a surprise second after the opening rounds, and hence the German's closest challenger, while Rubens Barrichello had slipped to third. The Brazilian was level on points with Schumacher's brother Ralf, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed the top five.
In the Constructors Championship Ferrari had extended their early lead, leaving Brazil on 26 points. Benetton-Playlife were into second, already eighteen off the leaders, while Jordan-Mugen-Honda were in third, one behind. Williams-BMW were mathematically level with the Irish squad in fourth, while BAR-Honda were the only other scorers in fifth.
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
References[]
Images and Videos:
References:
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 'Brazilian GP, 2000', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr648.html, (Accessed 01/09/2019)
- ↑ 'Brazil 2000: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2000/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 01/09/2019)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 'Brazil 2000: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2000/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 01/09/2019)
- ↑ 'Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2000 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2000/races/48/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 01/09/2019)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 'Brazil 2000: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), , (Accessed 01/09/2019)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 '2. Brazil 2000', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2000/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 01/09/2019)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 '2000 Brazilian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2000&gp=Brazilian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 01/09/2019)
| V T E | Brazilian Grand Prix
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Circuits | Interlagos (1972–1977, 1979–1980, 1990–2019), Jacarepaguá (1978, 1981–1989) |  |
| Races (Brazilian GP) | 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018 • 2019 • | |
| Non-Championship Race | 1972 | |
| See also | São Paulo Grand Prix |
| v·d·e | Nominate this page for Featured Article |