2000 British Grand Prix
The 2000 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 April 2000 at the Silverstone Circuit, England, United Kingdom. It was the fourth round of the 2000 Formula One World Championship and was the 51st time that the British Grand Prix had been included in the championship since 1950. McLaren's David Coulthard won the 60-lap race after starting from fourth position. His teammate Mika Häkkinen finished second and Ferrari's Michael Schumacher was third.
Going into the event, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship while Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship. Rubens Barrichello, his teammate, took pole position after setting the quickest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session. Barrichello led for the first 30 laps before failing to upshift and being passed by Coulthard on lap 31. When Coulthard made his sole pit stop two laps later, Barrichello retook the lead until he spun and retired on lap 35 with a hydraulics issue. Five laps later Coulthard regained the lead, which he held for the rest of the race. Despite gearbox problems, he finished 1.4 seconds ahead of his teammate Häkkinen. It was the second time that Coulthard had won the British Grand Prix and was the seventh victory of his F1 career.
As a result of the race, Michael Schumacher maintained his lead in the World Drivers' Championship with 34 championship points, while Coulthard's win moved him from eighth to second. Häkkinen's second-place finish elevated him from fourth to third. Ferrari continued to lead the World Constructors' Championship, but their lead over McLaren was cut to 16 championship points with 13 races remaining in the season.
Background
Entries, tyres and championship standings
The 2000 British Grand Prix, formally the LIII Foster's British Grand Prix, was the fourth of seventeen races in the 2000 Formula One World Championship. It was held on 23 April 2000 at the Silverstone Circuit in England, United Kingdom. It was the 51st time that the race had been part of the Formula One World Championship since the 1950 Grand Prix. Eleven two-driver teams competed, each representing a different constructor, with no changes to the season entry list. Tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the soft and medium dry compound tyres and the soft and hard wet-weather compounds.Going into the race, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 30 championship points, followed by his teammate Rubens Barrichello on nine and Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella on eight. McLaren's Mika Häkkinen and Williams' Ralf Schumacher were tied on six championship points. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 39 championship points, McLaren and Benetton were second and third with ten and eight championship points respectively and Jordan and Williams were tied for fourth with seven championship points.
Pre-race testing
Teams tested at Silverstone from 11 to 14 April to prepare for the next race. There was occasional rain during the period, making the track slippery. Barrichello was fastest on the first day, ahead of Jordan driver Jarno Trulli. Ralf Schumacher was quickest on the second day. British American Racing driver Jacques Villeneuve hit a fox at the back of the circuit, limiting his testing time. Michael Schumacher led on the third day. Ricardo Zonta, Villeneuve's teammate, crashed into a spectator enclosure at Stowe corner after his front-right suspension failed and suffered a cut to his right middle finger. BAR withdrew from testing because of Zonta's accident. Michael Schumacher was fastest on the final day. Shakedown testing of the F1-2000 cars was undertaken by Ferrari on 15 April at the Fiorano Circuit in preparation for the British Grand Prix.Scheduling issues
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile moved the event from mid-July to April, when average temperatures in Britain are lower, and the race took place on Easter Sunday 2000. The need to reschedule arose following calendar congestion around July because Easter was later than usual in 2000 since that dictates the date of the held on the nearest Sunday to Ascension Day, which was later than normal, and the could not be moved because that race's organisers had trouble finding marshals on a date close to the Rally Catalunya. The 's reinstatement, initially excluded from the calendar due to problems concerning the country's tobacco advertising laws, and the return of the were suggested as other reasons. A general consensus was a dispute with Silverstone's owners, the British Racing Drivers' Club, and FIA vice-president Bernie Ecclestone over which track would hold the race was the reason for the move. Ecclestone said he had scheduled the for April with the British Grand Prix in July though "internal politics" in France had prevented the change. The race was moved back to July from the 2001 season and has been held in the British summer season ever since.Preview
Michael Schumacher won the season's first three races while Häkkinen scored only six points due to his McLaren's unreliability. Despite his start to the season, Michael Schumacher declared he would not relax until he had won the championship and would not underestimate Häkkinen, "We have the momentum, but we know how quick and lively Formula One can be. Even though Mika is behind by 24 points, it is still very early in the championship." Häkkinen stated he was frustrated not to score points in the first two races for a better championship standing but that a win at Silverstone was not necessary to secure the title, adding, "But there is still a long way to go in the championship and I am not stressed about it. I believe in my team and I know my car is excellent." McLaren's David Coulthard said winning the race would mean more to him than the year before and he would focus on aiming to be as fast as possible, "To get my first win of the season, and to get it at Silverstone, would be just the business."A change allowing teams to use modified pit lane speed limiters was a major topic of discussion leading up to the event. The FIA permitted their use as long as they were "hard-coded" below, preventing teams from modifying them. The condition was imposed to prevent driver aids such as traction control and launch control from being secretly deployed, but limiters were still allowed to operate the rear light and fuel flap filler. Most drivers agreed that the change lower the risk of drivers being distracted while entering and leaving the pit lane. They did, however, voice fears that they would not drive safely at a slow speed, increasing the danger of hitting mechanics or other car.
Following Zonta's crash, Michael Schumacher intervened, convincing the Silverstone authorities to enlarge the tyre wall at Stowe corner by one tyre in height and two in depth. Schumacher and FIA chief safety delegate Charlie Whiting ordered that the gravel trap around the area be smoothed to prevent cars becoming airborne. Some teams modified their cars for the event. Following Zonta's accident, BAR replaced the carbon elements of their 002 car's suspension with new steel ones. McLaren offered a revised front wing specification, as well as new screens behind the MP4/15's front wheels. McLaren received a lighter, more powerful, and reliable version of Mercedes-Benz's V10 engine, whereas Prost qualified and raced with the most recent version of Peugeot's Evo 3 engine.
Practice
There were four practice sessions held before the Sunday race, two one-hour sessions on Friday 21 April and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday 22 April. The Friday practice sessions began on a dry track in cold weather, but after half an hour, it started to rain heavily. Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen led the first session with a time of 1:27.683, almost half a second quicker than Jaguar's Eddie Irvine. Coulthard, Häkkinen, Trulli, Villeneuve. Barrichello, Benetton's Alexander Wurz, Fisichella and Minardi's Marc Gené rounded out the session's top ten fastest drivers. An electrical failure on Ralf Schumacher's car prevented him from setting a lap time and he stopped at the pit lane exit. Jaguar's Johnny Herbert was limited to three laps due to a loss of pneumatic valve pressure.In the second practice session, Frentzen remained fastest with his lap from the previous session; the circuit was too wet for him and others to improve. Clouds of spray reduced visibility, and cars aquaplaned on standing water. Conditions on the track ranged from nearly flooded to wet during the session, as drivers attempted to optimise their cars for a possible wet-weather qualifying session the next day, though no car damage was reported. Almost halfway through the session, Coulthard's McLaren pulled out to the edge of the tarmac surface on the Hangar Straight at the exit of Chapel corner with an hydraulic problem, necessitating a 14-minute red flag stoppage. The Land Rover recovery vehicle became stuck in mud near his car, necessitating the use of a tractor—and Villeneuve nearly struck a marshal assisting Coulthard. The stewards chose to shorten the session instead of extending it for the whole hour.
Sporting personalities criticised the Friday practice sessions being held in wet weather. Michael Schumacher stated that it was "almost impossible to drive and also dangerous" since he was unable to observe events ahead of him or judge the distance between himself and other cars. Coulthard believed that aquaplaning would become a serious issue and recommended that altering the wooden plank underneath the car could help alleviate the issue, "It's not comfortable for any of us, we all do it because we all want to win races but really to be going along the straight not knowing whether the car is going to stay in a straight line or not is very difficult." Three-time world champion Jackie Stewart blamed the FIA for damaging Formula One's image by holding the event in April.
File:Jenson button usgp 2004 onstage.jpg|thumb|right|upright|Jenson Button spun into the gravel trap and was then hit by Eddie Irvine's Jaguar.
The weather remained wet for the Saturday morning practice sessions, with a lot of water being lifted into the air from the track. Coulthard lapped fastest in the third session at 1:33.614; Häkkinen, Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, the Jordan duo of Frentzen and Trulli, Sauber's duo of Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz and Arrows' Jos Verstappen followed in the top ten. Several drivers went off the wet track during the session. Diniz spun off the track at Club corner, damaging his car's front suspension triangle and nose cone in a crash with the tyre barrier. Before the end of the session, Williams driver Jenson Button slid into the gravel trap at turn 14 after leaving Priory turn, and his stationary car stopped near the barrier. Button was then hit by Irvine's Jaguar while attempting to extricate himself from the gravel. The Williams car's front and back suspension were broken whilst the Jaguar's monocoque was punctured. Both drivers were unhurt. Fisichella set no lap times because of an engine oil leak caused by his team changing his engine. His team changed engines between the final two sessions.
In the final practice session, which took place on a gradually drying track after the rain had ceased, Häkkinen set the fastest lap time of 1:33.132 with one minute remaining. Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Fisichella, Frentzen, Verstappen, Trulli and Salo were in positions two to ten. Neither Button nor Irvine took part in the session following their accident because their cars needed repairing. Some drivers lost control of their cars on the track. Villeneuve went off the track at Club corner, but narrowly avoided a collision with a tyre barrier and returned to the circuit. The engine of Prost's Jean Alesi failed halfway around the track, causing flames to emerge from the rear of his car on the way to the pit lane after 25 minutes of the session.