Formula One Race Synopsis - 2000

The Formula One British Grand Prix April 23, 2000

In a strange move, the 51st British Grand Prix was moved from its traditional June date to Easter Sunday, a notorious time for nasty weather in England. The rain came hard this week and many of the fans had their cars stuck in the mud. The authorities were telling race goers to stay away this weekend during qualifying, if they were planning to drive there. On race day, traffic was reportedly backed up so bad that cars were still in line waiting to get in by the end of the race! I don't look for them to try that again next year. In 1995, Michael Schumacher's teammate out qualified him. It had not happened since until this race. Michael's new Ferrari teammate is the Brazilian, Rubens Barrichello. The lineup for the race was different than usual owing to the fact that the track conditions improved throughout the day of qualifying with the last qualifiers getting the best times. We were to see the all three of the leading teams have their number two's running ahead of their respective number ones. After the start of the race and through the first half of the race the line up was generally: 1. Rubens Barrichello .................. Ferrari 2. Heinz Harald-Frentzen ............ Jordon 3. David Coulthard ........................ McLaren 4. Mika Hakkinen ........................... McLaren 5. Jenson Button ............................ Williams BMW 6. Ralf Schumacher ........................ Williams BMW 7. Jacques Villeneuve .................. BAR Honda 8. Michael Schumacher ................. Ferrari By Lap 28 the top 5 had not yet pitted and the line up was: 1. Barrichello 2. Coulthard 3. Hakkinen 4. Villeneuve 5. M. Schumacher 6. Frentzen Two laps later, David Coulthard finally got around Ruben's Ferrari, to take the lead. Soon after the McLarens took their pitstops. A few laps later, Barrichello spun half way around in the middle of the track while leading! He stayed on the gas and did a donut to turn around, but he over corrected and ended up going through the wet grass. He dove into the pits and his pit crew wasn't ready! When he went to pull out of his pit, it sounded like he ground his gears and he quickly came to a halt. They pushed him into his garage. It was all over for Rubens this day. Jacques Villeneuve, a hard man to pass, was able to keep Michael Schumacher behind him up until the pit stops. Ferrari was able to get Michael out faster and in front of Jacques. Still, Jacques stayed in the running, and it lookied like he was going to score a point. Unfortunately he suffered car problems and had to retire 4 laps from the end of the race. Rookie, Jenson Button had a tremendous day, along with his Williams teammate, Ralf Schumacher. BMW's re-entry into Formula One is looking very good. Well the fans we're happy to see A British driver win the British Grand Prix for a British team. The English are also quite excited about their new 20-year old rookie driver, Jenson Button, who secures his 4th World Championship point in his third grand prix. TOP 6 FINISHERS 1. David Coulthard 2. Mika Hakkinen 3. Michael Schumacher 4. Ralf Schumacher 5. Jenson Button 6. Jarno Trulli Tobacco Advertising is illegal in Britain, and basically every car had to change their paint job to remove names of cigarette makers. McLaren painted their drivers' names on the side of the car instead of "West". I like that.