The McLarens of Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard made good starts from the front row of the grid.

After the first round of pitstops, Villeneuve found himself behind teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Ferrari's Eddie Irvine, and Fisichella.

He drove straight through the pitlane and rejoined the race without stopping but lost first place to teammate Coulthard.

"[3] In 2023, Hakkinen recalled: "The team said something on the radio, I was confused, I thought they asked me to come to change tyres and that was not the case.

[2][nb 1] Due to those reliability concerns, Hakkinen and Coulthard had made a pre-race agreement that between the two of them, the driver who led at the first corner would go on to win the race, should he be in the position to do so.

The verdict was that "any future act prejudicial to the interests of competition should be severely punished in accordance with article 151c of International Sporting Code.