Sunday June 4th, 2000
David Coulthard became the first Briton since Jackie Stewart in 1973 to win the Monaco Grand Prix when he drove his McLaren to victory in a race of dramatic twists on Sunday.
German Michael Schumacher, Ferrari's championship leader, dominated for 55 laps before suffering a rear suspension problem that put him out of the race.
That allowed Coulthard, who had moved up to second place after Italian Jarno Trulli's Jordan went out, to take the lead and win comfortably by 15.8 seconds ahead of Brazilian Rubens Barichello in the second Ferrari.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was third in a Benetton.
Coulthard's win was the eighth of his career and hoisted him up to second place in the drivers' world championship.
"Okay, I've benefitted today with problems to Michael and Jarno but that's Monaco," said Coulthard.
"I've had my fair share of bad luck over the years so I'm quite happy to take this win today."
The McLaren driver, a Scot like Stewart, now has 34 points and is 12 behind Schumacher, who has 46.
He also lapped his team mate and world champion Mika Hakkinen who had to claw his way back through the field to sixth after an unscheduled pitstop.
"Michael had a big lead but obviously that took a toll on his car," said Coulthard. "You've got to have a reliable car and keep away from the barriers. Today I was able to do that."
Irvine puts Jaguar in the Points
Barrichello, sixth on the grid, said he was blocked at the start and lost time as a result.
"I was conserving the tyres and fuel for much of the time. It was a good race, catching up the whole time and just proving that qualifying just went wrong."
Another Briton Eddie Irvine finished fourth to give Jaguar their first points in Formula One.
"It's really what the team desperately needed," commented Jackie Stewart, the former Jaguar team chairman.
"It's a race of attrition here but you have to finish and that is what Eddie did."
Finland's Mika Salo was fifth in a Sauber, fighting off intense pressure in the closing laps from defending world champion and fellow Finn Hakkinen.
The race was filled with incidents which included one aborted start, a red-flagged first "race" and then the departure of both Schumacher brothers.
"We had an exhaust failure, one of the pipes broke and basically cooked the suspension," said Schumacher of his retirement.
The two times world champion had led from pole and, following a pit stop, was 4.2 seconds ahead of Coulthard when the front right side of his car lifted.
The German, winner at Monaco four times in the past six years, nursed his Ferrari around the circuit before pulling into the pits and stepping out of the car after mechanics struggled for a minute to repair the problem.
Ralf, the younger of the two, cut his left leg in an accident in his Williams which saw him crash out from sixth place after 38 laps. His brother Michael said Ralf needed stitches on a deep cut but had not broken anything.
PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS
Monaco Grand Prix
Monte Carlo, Monaco;
78 laps; 262.860kms;
Weather: Dry, sunny.
Classified:
Pos Driver Team
1. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1h 49:28.213
2. Barrichello Ferrari + 17.889
3. Fisichella Benetton Playlife + 18.522
4. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth + 1:05.924
5. Salo Sauber Petronas + 1:20.774
6. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes + 1 lap
7. Villeneuve BAR Honda + 1 Lap
8. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap
9. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth + 2 Laps
10. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda + 8 Laps *
* Retired after crash
Fastest Lap: M.Hakkinen, 1:21.571 (148.729 km/h), lap 57
Not Classified/Retirements:
Driver Team On Lap Reason
Verstappen Arrows Supertec 60 accident
M.Schumacher Ferrari 55 suspension
Zonta BAR Honda 48 accident
R.Schumacher Williams BMW 37 accident
Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 36 gearbox
Diniz Sauber Petronas 30 accident
Alesi Prost Peugeot 29 transmission
Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 22 accident
Gene Minardi Fondmetal 21 gearbox
Wurz Benetton Playlife 18 accident
Button Williams BMW 16 engine
de la Rosa Arrows Supertec - DNS
Lap Leaders: Laps 01-55, M.Schumacher;
Laps 56-78, Coulthard;
World Championship Standing, Round 7:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 46 1. Ferrari 68
2. Coulthard 34 2. McLaren 63
3. Hakkinen 29 3. Williams-BMW 15
4. Barrichello 22 4. Benetton-Playlife 14
5. Fisichella 14 5. Jordan-Mugen Honda 9
6. R.Schumacher 12 6. BAR-Honda 6
7. Villeneuve 5 7. Jaguar 3
= Frentzen 5 = Sauber 3
9. Trulli 4 9. Arrows 1
10. Button 3
= Irvine 3
= Salo 3
13. Zonta 1
= de la Rosa 1
All timing unofficial