The race was stopped early on lap 54 after a big crash involving Olivier Panis, who broke his legs and would be unable to start the next seven Grands Prix.

David Coulthard had been leading, but was delayed for over a lap by a clutch problem during his second pit stop, shortly before Panis's crash.

At the start, Eddie Irvine and Mika Häkkinen tangled at turn 2 and collected Jan Magnussen, with all three drivers immediately retiring.

The race resumed with both Tyrrell's drivers Jos Verstappen and Mika Salo passing Rubens Barrichello, running heavy on fuel on a one-stop strategy.

Three laps later the race was red flagged and finished, giving Michael Schumacher the Championship lead, Giancarlo Fisichella his very first podium and Shinji Nakano his first Formula One career point.