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Formula 1 news, results and statistics when you need it |
2000 Italian GP News |
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Formula 1 news, results and statistics when you need it |
2000 Italian GP News |
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Download the NewsOnF1.com |
Drivers Championship Constructors
Championship
Italian Grand Prix Race Report. Michael Schumacher wins the Italian GP from start to finish ahead of Mika Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher. Jos Verstappen, Alexander Wurz and Ricardo Zonta make the top 6. It was a superb win for Michael Schumacher in front of the home crowd of Ferrari and a win that they needed to keep their chances alive in both world championships. Mika Hakkinen still leads the drivers championship but only by 2 points and it is now almost certain that one or both the championships will go down to the wire. The race started with Michael Schumacher making a good start while Barrichello didn't and Hakkinen taking 2nd. Most of the cars managed to get through the first chicane with the exception of Eddie Irvine who retired at the first chicane. Coming to the second chicane, Rubens Barrichello, Jarno Trulli and Heinz Harald Frentzen all touched and went off taking David Coulthard with them as well. Pedro de la Rosa behind them hits Johnny Herbert and spins and flips on top of David Coulthard car and lands next to Barrichello's car. Luckily for all 3 no one was hurt. This forces a safety car situation that remains on the track for 10 laps while the debris from the 2 accidents is cleared and the medical staff attend to a fire marshal who was hit by debris. While the safety car was on its last lap, Michael Schumacher slows down the field to the surprise of Jenson Button who was accelerating at that moment. He narrowly misses Jacques Villeneuve in front of him and goes off hitting an armco resulting in his retirement. Just a bit of inexperience by Button. Once the safety car leaves the track, 8 drivers have retired already. A few laps later Jacques Villeneuve who was running strong in 3rd place retires due to an electrical problem and Nick Heidfeld spins and retires a lap later. While Michael Schumacher starts building a gap to Mika Hakkinen at the front, it was Ricardo Zonta who was overtaking everyone in front of him as he was running a two stop strategy. He managed to get up into 3rd place just before his 1st stop. He eventually finished in 6th place after stopping once more. Ralf Schumacher benefited from the early retirements and managed to finish 3rd while Jos Verstappen also had a good race and managed to finish in 4th. Alexander Wurz finally managed to get into the points this season finishing in 5th. But the master of the race was Michael Schumacher who never appeared threatened by Mika Hakkinen even though the gap at the end was less than 4 seconds as Michael had a comfortable cushion towards the end of the race that allowed him to ease a little on his car. Mika Hakkinen also drove a good race but it appears that the McLaren just didn't have the pace to match the Ferrari at Monza which must have caught McLaren by surprise as they were expected to be dominant here. Michael Schumacher has now won 6 races this season but more significantly he equals the number of wins by Ayrton Senna at 41. Both David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello who both had a slim chance at the title are now out of the race. Barrichello has no mathematical chance as he is already 31 points behind Hakkinen with 30 points remaining while Coulthard is 19 points behind Hakkinen and with only 2 points separating Michael Schumacher from Mika Hakkinen, David will have to play second to Mika yet again. With 3 races to go and only 2 points separating Michael Schumacher and Mika Hakkinen, the championship will most probably go down to the wire and the upcoming race at Indianapolis will certainly be an exciting one. Click
here for the lap by lap history of the race
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