Summary

Mika Hakkinen drove to an excellent win on the Barcelona track today. The McLaren team is still out in front with David Coulthard second. Michael Schumacher again ended on the podium.

There was a real boost for the Stewart team with Barrichello fifth. The new chassis worked will on this circuit and with the new engine, a definite step forward is made.

Notes

• The rumour has it that Renault will completely fund next year's Mecachrome engine to ensure competitiveness.
• Rosset did not start because he did not make the 107% rule in qualifying.
• Barrichello uses a new chassis and engine. Magnussen does not have the new chassis yet.
• Diniz starts from the pits after failing to start the warm-up lap.
• Frentzen spins in the first lap and comes into the pits to get the noose replaced.
• The exhaust of Herbert is torn, but this does not seem to bother him too much.
• Fisichella and Irvine collide leaving both drivers stranded in the gravel trap. Fisichella got a 7,5 thousand-dollar fine for the incident.
• Tuero and M. Schumacher get a stop-and-go penalty for pit-lane-speeding.
  • Weather during race: Sunny, Strong winds. (22 °C / 72 °F)

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

Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) B Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) B M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G Wurz (Benetton-Playlife) B Barrichello (Stewart-Ford) B Villeneuve (Winfield-Williams) G Herbert (Sauber-Petronas) G Frentzen (Winfield-Williams) G Trulli (Prost-Peugeot) B Alesi (Sauber-Petronas) G R. Schumacher (Jordan-Mugen) G Magnussen (Stewart-Ford) B Takagi (Tyrrell-Ford) G Nakano (Minardi-Ford) B Tuero (Minardi-Ford) B Panis (Prost-Peugeot) B Not Classified Hill (Jordan-Mugen) G Fisichella (Benetton-Playlife) B Irvine (Ferrari) G Salo (Arrows) G Diniz (Arrows) B B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear

1h 33:37.621s 0m 09.439s 0m 47.049s 1m 02.538s 1 lap 1 lap 1 lap 2 laps 2 laps 2 laps 2 laps 2 laps 2 laps 2 laps 2 laps 5 laps: mechanical   19 laps: engine 37 laps: crash 37 laps: crash 44 laps: engine 45 laps: engine

• Fastest Lap: Mika Hakkinen 1m 24.275s

Quotes

• Hakkinen: "This is great. But, despite what everyone could see and the big margin, it was not easy....It never is easy to win and I had to concentrate hard all the way. Also, overtaking back-markers was not easy this afternoon. It was very challenging and interesting for me, but it was quite demanding."

• Coulthard: "You have to say 'well done' to Mika as he really did a good job and he has given me a bit of a driving lesson this weekend. For me, now, it is back to the drawing board and time to start rebuilding my plans. He was obviously much quicker than me and, quite simply, I just couldn't keep up. I pushed as hard as I can because you never know what can happen, but it was not enough."

• M. Schumacher: "I made a bad start as I got too much wheelspin and I could not recover the situation. I lost two places, but thanks to the team doing a fantastic job I moved up to third after the first pit stop. Maybe the pit lane speed limiter was not working properly and I saw my speed go over the limit for a moment. I came in for the penalty and was fourth behind Wurz. I pushed hard to close the gap to him and again the team called me at just the right moment and that enabled me to get past Wurz. I don't think I could have passed him on the track. Third was the best we could do today, but I think it will be closer in Monaco. We have a big development programme coming and now we must continue to work, work, work. Some of the next few races should suit us better than this one."

• Fisichella to Irvine: "I went over and asked him if he was an idiot?"

• Irvine: Fisichella came out of the last corner very well and came alongside me. We braked at the same time and he turned in on me. In these situations there is nowhere to go. It was a great shame as I was having a really good race."

• Villeneuve: "A lot of hard work went into getting this point, but it doesn't do much for the championship. We need a few more new parts on the car if we are to regain our normal competitiveness."

• Trulli, he let Frentzen go by because he got the blue flag - the stewards though the Williams was a Ferrari: "I am truly angry because I had to give up a great battle, and it isn't fair to lose a position because they are blind and can't recognise one car from another. Of course it doesn't matter much to finish eighth or ninth, but for a racer it matters. In a case of a blue flag I didn't have an alternative"

The Standings

Drivers Championship table

Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes)	36
Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes)	29
M. Schumacher (Ferrari)	24
Irvine (Ferrari)	11
Frentzen (Winfield-Williams)	8
Wurz (Benetton-Playlife)	9
Villeneuve (Winfield-Williams)	6
Alesi (Sauber-Petronas)	3
Barrichello (Stewart-Ford)	2
Herbert (Sauber-Petronas)	1
Fisichella (Benetton-Playlife)	1

Constructor Championship table

McLaren-Mercedes	65
Ferrari	35
Winfield-Williams	14
Benetton-Playlife	10
Sauber-Petronas	4
Stewart-Ford	2

All images courtesy of McLaren F1