2000 Canadian Grand Prix

The 2000 Canadian Grand Prix (formally the Grand Prix Air Canada 2000) 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 his 40th overall. It increased his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 22 points over Coulthard, with Häkkinen another two points behind. Ferrari extended their World Constructors' Championship lead to 18 points over McLaren. Benetton, with 18 points, demoted the Williams squad to fourth place with nine races remaining in the season.

Background

The 2000 Canadian Grand Prix was the eighth of seventeen events in the 2000 Formula One World Championship and took place at the clockwise temporary road course Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 18 June 2000. Sole tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the soft and medium dry compound tyres to the event.

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the pre-race World Drivers' Championship with 46 points, followed by McLaren's David Coulthard on 34 points and his teammate Mika Häkkinen on 29 points. Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was fourth with 22 points, while Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella was fifth with 14 points. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 68 points, ahead of McLaren on 63. Williams were third with 15 points, Benetton fourth with 14 points and Jordan fifth with 9 points.

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. STCUM chose those dates as because public transport was designated as an essential service over the high-profile weekend. The road leading to the circuit would also be closed to spectators. 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. 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.

Following the on 4 June, the teams tested at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza between 6 and 8 June to prepare for the Canadian Grand Prix. 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. Häkkinen was fastest on the second day. 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. Williams' Jenson Button was quickest on the third day. 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.

The event included eleven teams (each representing a different constructor) of two drivers each. 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 gash on his left calf that required stitches. The Williams team had its test driver Bruno Junqueira ready to race if Ralf Schumacher was unable to compete. Ralf Schumacher said that he would decide whether to compete after the first free practice sessions. Two days before the race, he confirmed his participation.

Teams approached the event by concentrating on their brake cooling systems, installing larger air intakes to adapt to the circuit's braking demands. 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 qualifying grade Ferrari engine from the .

Practice

Before the race on Sunday, there were two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The Friday morning and afternoon practice sessions were held in hot, dry weather. Teams made changes to their car setups while drivers tested the updates, reporting on their effectiveness and any concerns. The majority of incidents during Friday practice occurred between turns seven and eight.

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 Sauber's Johnny Herbert. Arrows' Jos Verstappen, Fisichella, Villeneuve and Minardi's Marc Gené were seventh through tenth. Heidfeld damaged his car's left front suspension in a crash early in the session, and Zonta twice lost control of his vehicle by pushing hard. Coulthard set the day's fastest time in the second practice session, lapping at 1:20.602 with 20 minutes remaining. Michael Schumacher and Barrichello were second and third, with Herbert lapping quicker in fourth. Häkkinen, fifth, reported inclement handling and excess understeer entering turns. Jordan's Jarno Trulli, Mika Salo of Sauber, Irvine, Fisichella and Villeneuve followed in the top ten.

During Saturday morning practice, the weather became more breezy, cooler and cloudy. 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. 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. Coulthard did not set a lap time during practice because his engine was changed owing to a malfunctioning electrical system.

Most participants lapped faster in the last practice session. Coulthard enjoyed a trouble-free practice and was fastest just under halfway through with a time of 1:18.654, which was less than half a second slower than the circuit record lap set during qualifying for the 1998 race. 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. Trulli was fifth, ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who drove faster following set-up alterations. Villeneuve, Frentzen, Salo and Fisichella were seventh to tenth. Some drivers lost control of their cars during the session. 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. Pedro Diniz's Sauber chassis and undertray were damaged after mounting a kerb; he qualified in the spare C19 car.

Qualifying

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. The session was held in dry, sunny weather; winds were observed and there was a diminishing chance of rain. 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. Michael Schumacher took his third pole position of the season, and the 26th of his career, with a time of 1:18.439 set on his final lap. Coulthard qualified second, 0.098 seconds slower than Michael Schumacher's lap, having battled the latter for grid position throughout qualifying. Barrichello qualified third after encountering traffic and a stoppage to qualifying. Häkkinen, fourth, encountered traffic during his qualifying runs and ran a defective front wing. Frentzen, fifth, struggled to find his braking point at the L'Epingle hairpin due to heavy winds. Villeneuve was sixth after locking his front tyres at the first chicane during his first full speed lap. His teammate Zonta was eighth. 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.

Herbert missed qualifying for the top ten by two hundredths of a second, even though he was happy with his car. Despite lacking mechanical grip, Ralf Schumacher set the 12th quickest lap. He was ahead of Verstappen who damaged his front suspension at turn four, (a corner without a run-off area), resulting in a five-minute delay to qualifying after 40 minutes. Drivers entered the pit lane and remained there until marshals cleaned the circuit and put Verstappen's car onto a flatbed truck. The resultant damage meant Verstappen drove his team's spare car. Wurz, 14th in the second Benetton, lost time when he caught the aftermath of Verstappen's collision. Salo, 15th, had his rear wheel lock on downshifts. Irvine's slower Jaguar was behind him. Alesi qualified his Prost car 17th despite an engine failure. 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. Diniz was 19th. 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. 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. 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. Heidfeld separated the two Minardi drivers in 21st.

Qualifying classification

Warm-up

The drivers took to the track in cloudy, windy weather below at 09:30 Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-4) for a 30-minute warm-up session, reporting car issues to their teams. Michael Schumacher set the fastest overall lap in his Ferrari at 1:18.932. His teammate Barrichello was second-quickest. The McLaren pair rounded out the top four fastest drivers; Häkkinen in third in front of Coulthard in fourth. Amongst the slower runners, the engine cover was shed from Heidfeld's car on the main straight. 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.

Race

The race started before 100,000 at 14:00 local time and lasted 69 laps over a distance of . The pre-race weather was dry and cloudy with the air temperature at and the track temperature ; forecasters predicted a 70 per cent chance of rain. As the drivers began the formation lap, Coulthard's McLaren stalled due to a clutch problem and he signalled to his mechanics for assistance. The mechanics restarted Coulthard's car despite being warned not to on the McLaren team radio, a violation of FIA safety regulations. Coulthard took his grid position before the entire field passed him. Coulthard made a better start than Michael Schumacher, but the latter held his position going into the first corner. Meanwhile, Häkkinen resisted Barrichello's initial attempts to pass him for third. During lap one, Villeneuve progressed from sixth to third by passing on the outside, and Verstappen moved from 13th to 10th. Villeneuve's manoeuvre put the early braking Häkkinen wide, letting Barrichello past on the outside for fourth into turn two. A clutch failure farther down the track stranded Irvine on the grid. Marshals pushed him to the pit lane exit.

In contrast to past years, where there was a multi-car accident, no cars were damaged. At the first lap's completion, the first six drivers were Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Villeneuve, Barrichello, Häkkinen, and Frentzen. Coulthard set a fastest lap of the race, a 1:21.335 on lap two as he closed on Michael Schumacher. De la Rosa took sixth from Frentzen at the hairpin on the same lap. He could not get close to Häkkinen because of his engine's horsepower disadvantage. On lap four, Michael Schumacher began trading fastest laps with Coulthard as Villeneuve held third but was delaying three drivers behind him. Michael Schumacher pulled away from Villeneuve while Barrichello and Häkkinen could not beat Villeneuve's straight-line speed. As Verstappen pressures Fisichella into a braking error and passed him for tenth place on the same lap, Button's engine began to cut out at maximum revolutions due to a fuel pick-up issue.

As Michael Schumacher and Coulthard continued their battle up front, the stewards informed the McLaren team on lap ten that Coulthard would serve a ten-second stop-go penalty as his mechanics had worked on his car 15 seconds before the formation lap began. On the 13th lap, Ralf Schumacher overtook Herbert to take 12th position. Coulthard took his penalty on lap 14 and rejoined in tenth place. Herbert entered the pit lane with an gearbox issue on lap 15 and became the race's first retirement. Häkkinen failed to pass Barrichello on the front straight on lap 17. On lap 20, as the skies darkened and rain showers approached, De la Rosa became the first of the two stopping drivers to make a pit stop. He reemerged in 15th position. Michael Schumacher had extended his lead over Villeneuve to 22 seconds by the 22nd lap, while Villeneuve continued to battle for second with Barrichello and Häkkinen. Frentzen trailed the trio ahead of him by 1.9 seconds. Meanwhile, Coulthard was one second slower than the race leader.

Light rain began to fall on lap 23, and the circuit became slippery, slowing Michael Schumacher's lap times by two seconds for two laps. Trulli passed Zonta for sixth place one lap later. Coulthard lost three positions after spinning on oil dropped from Verstappen's car at turn 12. Villeneuve lost second to Barrichello on lap 25 following a short battle and the Brazilian started to gradually close up to Michael Schumacher. As Häkkinen was closing in on Villeneuve, Barrichello began to draw away from the two. Two laps later, Trulli overtook teammate Frentzen for sixth. Both Ferrari drivers were trading fastest laps by lap 29. Meanwhile, Häkkinen began to launch a challenge to overtake Villeneuve for third place. Further down, Zonta passed Frentzen for sixth place. Jordan retired Frentzen at the end of his 33rd lap due to a drop in pressure in the rear wheel braking system, which softened the brake pedal.

Michael Schumacher, concerned with braking issues, stopped early on lap 34. Ferrari inspected his car's rear and adjusted his front wing angle. Although Michael Schumacher had more fuel to complete extra laps, Ferrari did not feel he was under threat. He rejoined two seconds behind his teammate Barrichello, but a heavy fuel load and a car malfunction slowed him. Schumacher was ahead of Häkkinen, who passed Villeneuve on lap 35 by braking later than Villeneuve into the first turn. Heidfeld went off to the side of the circuit with an engine bay fire after making a pit stop on the 36th lap. Alesi in the other Prost stalled at his pit stop and emerged ahead of Irvine. Trulli became the first front runner to make a scheduled pit stop on lap 39. Alesi retired with a sudden loss of hydraulic pressure on lap 40. Häkkinen, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Zonta, Coulthard, Villeneuve and Fisichella made their pit stops over the next three laps. Salo retired with an engine failure on lap 43. As rain began to fall after the pit stop window closed on lap 42, every driver had switched from dry to wet tyres. Häkkinen was the final driver to make such a pit stop on lap 46. Fisichella ran wide and lost second to Barrichello on the 47th lap.
At the conclusion of lap 47, with the scheduled pit stops completed, the first six drivers were Michael Schumacher, Barrichello, Fisichella, Häkkinen, Trulli, and Wurz. Michael Schumacher went off the wet track at turn one on lap 48, remaining half a minute ahead of Barrichello. De La Rosa and Diniz were vying for 12th when contact between both drivers saw De La Rosa strike the barrier on the 49th lap. A broken wheel from the accident forced De La Rosa to retire. Verstappen and Wurz went off the track on lap 52 while duelling for sixth place. Verstappen overtook Wurz five laps later. Verstappen passed Trulli for fifth on lap 61. During lap 65, Gené lost control of his car in the middle of a straight while braking and spun onto the grass. His car stalled, causing him to retire. Villeneuve overshot an attempted overtake on Coulthard for eighth into turn 10 on the 64th lap.

On the next lap, the rain began increasing in intensity as Villeneuve performed the same pass although he hit Ralf Schumacher, causing both drivers to retire. Coulthard and Wurz collided at turn one, sending both drivers into the grass on lap 68. Wurz made a pit stop for repairs. Barrichello began to close up to Michael Schumacher in the final laps as Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn instructed him to slow. Michael Schumacher slowed due to an issue at the rear of his car he had for most of the race; he held off Barrichello to win his fifth race of the 2000 season and 40th of his career, in 1'41:12.313, at an average speed of . Barrichello finished second 0.174 seconds behind his teammate in a formation finish, with Fisichella securing the final podium in third because his pit stop for wet-weather tyres (following a quick decision not to install dry grooved tyres) came just as the rain fell. Häkkinen finished fourth after passing the pit lane entry just as rainfall arrived. Verstappen was fifth and Trulli completed the points scorers in sixth. Coulthard, Zonta, Wurz, and Diniz filled the next four spots, with Button, Mazzacane, and Irvine finishing at least one lap behind the victor. Despite not finishing the Grand Prix, Ralf Schumacher, Villeneuve, and Gené were the final classified runners.

Post-race

The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and in the subsequent press conference. Ferrari team member Ignazio Lunetta appeared on the podium to receive the winning manufacturer's award. Michael Schumacher explained that his early pit stop was due to a suspected sensor failure that caused his crew to receive misinformation. He also stated that the wet weather prompted him to shift his car's brake balance to the front. Barrichello stated that he warned Brawn that if it rained for ten more laps, it would be faster to make an extra pit stop. Nonetheless, he stated that he trusted his team's judgement and revealed that his car developed a clutch problem during the race. Fisichella remarked that he was racing conservatively due to his one-stop strategy. He also praised the team for maintaining a continuous run of podium finishes at the circuit.

Häkkinen said that his race was "over" when the rain began falling, having failed to finish higher. Verstappen scored his first points since the 1996 Argentine Grand Prix. Verstappen was pleased with the outcome and thanked his team for moving to wet tyres while staying in communication with his mechanics. Trulli remarked that he had "never had to work so hard for one point" because of the amount of pressure he was under. Coulthard stated that stalling his car cost him the race win and that it was his fault. On the other hand, he criticised his penalty, believing that Formula One's governing body, the FIA, should have allowed race stewards more freedom in determining whether a driver gaining an advantage. David Tremayne of ''The Independent'' noted had Coulthard raised his hand before the start, he might have started from the back of the grid.

The stewards penalties Villeneuve and Diniz 25 seconds to their total race times for their crashes with Ralf Schumacher and de la Rosa, respectively, because a decision was not reached prior to the race's last five laps. Villeneuve and Diniz were each reprimanded following a review of video footage and interviews of all the involved drivers. McLaren team principal Ron Dennis was critical of Villeneuve's driving in the event, saying he was driving "in a way that was verging on the kamikaze. He had nothing to lose and was driving in Canada in front of his home crowd and was clearly on a mission." Villeneuve admitted he was fault for causing the accident that saw him collide with Ralf Schumacher and apologised to Schumacher. De La Rosa thought it would better for all to watch footage of his accident with Diniz on television and called Diniz's manoeuvre "very dangerous". Diniz felt that De La Rosa should have been more intelligent by slowing.

The result increased Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 56 points, 22 more than second-placed David Coulthard. Häkkinen stayed third, two points behind his teammate, while Barrichello, in fourth, closed the gap to Häkkinen to four points. Fisichella finishing third kept him in fifth place on 18 points. Ferrari's one-two finish extended their lead over McLaren to 18 points in the World Constructors' Championship. Benetton overtook Williams for third place, while BAR remained fifth with nine races in the season remaining. Despite Michael Schumacher and Ferrari's increased points lead, Coulthard maintained that his main competitors could be caught in the season's last nine races, saying, "There's still a long way to go in the championship and anything can happen."

Race classification

Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold.

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

;Constructors' Championship standings

*Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

{{Coord, 45, 30, 02, N, 73, 31, 21, W, type:landmark_region:CA, display=title

Canadian Grand Prix
Grand Prix
Canadian Grand Prix
2000 in sports in Quebec
2000 in Montreal
Grand Prix