Summary

Williams-Renault doesn't seem to be as far ahead of the pack as they were. Jacques Villeneuve had to work hard to keep the lead when Eddie Irvine put on the pressure on the final laps of the race. Olivier Panis again showed the potential of the Prost-Mugen when he could follow Villeneuve in the beginning of the race.

Ralf Schumacher was just aiming to finish but got an excellent podium with a sometimes failing Peugeot engine on the last laps.

Notes

• McLaren is talking to Mastercard to get a sponsor deal.
• Schumacher is out of the race in the first corner when he hits Barrichello. Barrichello continues but needs a new nose. Coulthard also out of the race because someone hits him and he looses a wheel. Coulthard said: "I expected something in the first corner but not this."
• The safety-car is on the track for a couple of laps.
• Frentzen parks his Williams on the grass because of a coupling problem on lap 5.
• Alesi shuts the door on Hill a little too early on overtaking, both drivers spin but can continue.
• Panis has an engine problem and retires on lap 18.
• Ralf Schumacher tries an impossible manoeuvre on his team mate Fisichella which leaves Fisichella out of the race on lap 24. Barrichello retires on the same lap.
• Larini has problems with his pitstop when the fuel hose wouldn't fit onto the car.
• Hill retires with engine problems on lap 33.
• Katayama spins entering a corner and Nakano misses the corner because of this on lap 37.
• The fuel pressure of Verstappen's Tyrrell drops which causes his engine to stall and this leaves the Dutchman out of the race. (lap 43)
• Nakano retires with technical problems.
• Diniz blows up a Yamaha engine on lap 50.
• Larini parks his car at the end of the pitlane. The car is started up again but his race ends just half a lap further. (lap 63)
• Magnussen blows up his Ford engine. (lap 66)

• Weather during session: Dry, Sunny

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.   11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Villeneuve (Williams) Irvine (Ferrari) R. Schumacher (Jordan) Herbert (Sauber) Hakkinen (McLaren) Berger (Benetton) Alesi (Benetton) Salo (Tyrrell) Trulli (Minardi) Magnussen (Stewart) Not Classified Larini (Sauber) Diniz (Arrows) Nakano (Prost) Verstappen (Tyrrell) Katayama (Minardi) Hill (Arrows) Fisichella (Jordan) Barrichello (Stewart) Panis (Prost) Frentzen (Williams) Schumacher (Ferrari) Coulthard (McLaren)

1h 52:01.715s + 0.979s + 12.089s + 29.089s + 30.351s + 31.393s + 46.359s 1 lap 1 lap 6 laps   9 laps 22 laps 23 laps 29 laps 35 laps 39 laps 48 laps 48 laps 54 laps 67 laps 72 laps 72 laps

Standings

Drivers Championship table

Villeneuve (Williams)	20
Coulthard (McLaren)	10
Berger (Benetton)	10
Hakinnen (McLaren)	9
Schumacher (Ferrari)	8
Irvine (Ferrari)	6
Panis (Prost)	6
R. Schumacher (Jordan)	4
Herbert (Sauber)	3
Larini (Sauber)	1
Alesi (Benetton)	1

Constructors Championship table

Williams-Renault	20
McLaren-Mercedes	19
Ferrari	14
Benetton-Renault	11
Prost-Mugen	6
Jordan-Peugeot	4
Sauber-Petronas	4

The Quotes

• Villeneuve: "It was one of the most satisfying races for me because it was very difficult ... We chose soft tires and that was a mistake because they blistered terribly in the heat. Last year, I fought for the championship until the last race, but I never led it. This is a great feeling."

• Irvine: "I am happy. My car was well balanced all weekend although I made hard work of qualifying. I made a really good start but in the early laps I was slowed by dirt on my tyres. As the fuel load went down the car improved. I would like to be as competitive in the following races. We adopted what was the best strategy for our car. I was confident I could make a good start and make up some places and that is how things turned out."

• Hill "It's disappointing for the team but we were in there fighting. We'd like to have finished. It was exciting and there's certainly more racing in the middle of the field. It's all a bit different from last season."

• M. Schumacher: "After a good start I found myself behind Frentzen with oil over my visor which made it difficult to see. I had a coming together with Barrichello at the first corner, ending up nose to nose with his car which was still accelerating. This made the situation worse and that was the end of my race. When I saw a red flag I ran back to the pits as I thought I could start again the race with the spare car. As I got back to the garage I realised that the race had not been stopped. I am very happy for Eddie who did a great job of picking up points for the team. I am optimistic about the San Marino race."

• Verstappen: "I made a great start, but I could not avoid Magnussen on the first corner and lost one of the new supplementary front wings. This left a big hole in the nose, but the car still handled well and I was confident I was going to finish in the points. The car and the engine both felt really good, but then I just lost power coming out of the corner. It was a shame because it has been a much better weekend for the team."

• Salo: "I lost a couple of places at the start because I didn't see the lights go out, but at least it allowed me to miss the pile up on the first corner. I have been suffering with understeer all weekend, but today it was really difficult on my second set of tyres. After my first pit stop I didn't see anybody for the rest of the race, but it is good to have finished again."

• Frentzen: "For me the season starts in Imola."