Teammate Michael Schumacher, in his first race back after breaking his leg at the 1999 British Grand Prix, finished second after letting Irvine overtake him, having started from pole position.

[3] Michael Schumacher returned to Formula One having recovered from his broken leg, and took pole position by nearly a second from Ferrari teammate Eddie Irvine,[4] with the McLarens of David Coulthard and Mika Häkkinen third and fourth, respectively.

As the first round of pit stops loomed, Schumacher accelerated the pace in order to stay ahead of Häkkinen.

Realising this, McLaren gambled on giving Häkkinen half a tank of fuel, hoping it would be enough to get him out of the pits ahead of Schumacher.

The gamble failed, as Schumacher stayed ahead of the Finn and proceeded to block him again, allowing Irvine to extend his lead to 20 seconds.