[a][1][2][8] The event was contested by eleven teams (each representing a different constructor) comprising two drivers, with no changes from the season entry list.

To increase safety, the pit lane entry was moved from the end of the 130R's left-hand corner to the exit of the Casio chicane.

[12] Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 88 points before the race, followed by McLaren teammates Mika Häkkinen on 80 and David Coulthard on 63.

[21] Williams spent two days at the Circuito do Estoril testing wet weather tyres and different aerodynamic setups with rookie Jenson Button.

[24] At the Friday afternoon drivers meeting, Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) Race Director Charlie Whiting announced that any potential blocking manoeuvres that interfered with the World Championship battle would result in a driver being shown a waved black and white flag to indicate unsportsmanlike conduct, followed by a black flag to signal disqualification from the race.

[33] When fourth-placed Barrichello spun at the hairpin between turns ten and eleven and crashed into the perimeter fencing, the session was yellow flagged.

BAR's Jacques Villeneuve was tenth despite a 130 mph (210 km/h) spin off the circuit at Degner Curve, causing grass to penetrate his radiators.

[31][36] Coulthard, Button, Frentzen, Trulli, Arrows' Pedro de la Rosa, Villeneuve and BAR's Ricardo Zonta were in positions four through ten.

[31] While cars were being driven on the track, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake was felt at Suzuka, though no structural damage to the circuit was reported and no one was injured despite the mild alarm.

Fisichella set the fifth-fastest lap, ahead of Villeneuve, who spun into the gravel at the hairpin late in practice and had to walk to the pit lane.

[46] He was ahead of Ralf Schumacher, who had his fastest lap invalidated after breaching track limits at the chicane when he braked too late with ten minutes left.

[49] Michael Schumacher secured his eighth pole position of the season, the 31st of his Formula One career,[50] with a lap of 1:35.825 set with three minutes remaining after Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn sent him into a gap in traffic.

[51][52] Häkkinen, who was nine thousandths of a second slower than Schumacher and battled him for grid position throughout qualifying, joined him on the front row after being slow exiting the final turn.

Both Arrows drivers were on the seventh row--De La Rosa was faster than Verstappen--and their cars were hampered by water leaks, electrical and hydraulic issues.

[56] Two of Diniz's fastest qualifying times were disallowed due to him laying oil on the circuit and not stopping in the morning practice sessions.

[10] Due to a sudden rise in gear oil temperature, Gené drove the spare Minardi car, and Mazzacane made an error within the first part of his lap.

[49] During the final parade lap, Häkkinen's car developed a hydraulic system leak, causing oil to drip out of an overflow tank and hit the engine and emit smoke but was able to start.

[2][10] When the lights went out to start the race, extra track grip allowed Häkkinen to accelerate faster than Michael Schumacher off the line.

[64] Verstappen advanced from 14th to ninth at the end of the first lap,[10] while Fisichella's anti-stall system activated, making a slow getaway and dropping eight positions.

[65] Further back, Trulli made a pit stop from tenth on lap 17 due to him being fuelled light to gain track position.

After Häkkinen was slowed by de la Rosa's car in the chicane on the same lap, the gap between him and Michael Schumacher fell by one second.

[2][10][63] Ralf Schumacher lost sixth to teammate Button after an error on the same lap, while Frentzen retired at the entry of First Curve due to a hydraulic pump failure that caused his gearbox to fail.

[65] Michael Schumacher began immediately pulling away from Häkkinen;[65] he radioed Brawn that he was nearing slower vehicles and asked whether he should make his last pit stop earlier than planned.

[65] At the conclusion of lap 42, with the scheduled pit stops completed, the top six drivers were Michael Schumacher, Häkkinen, Coulthard, Barrichello, Button, and Villeneuve.

[65] On lap 43, Heidfeld retired due to a left-front suspension component failure, while De La Rosa passed Fisichella for 13th.

[64][66] Although Häkkinen closed the gap over the final 14 laps,[51] Michael Schumacher maintained the lead to win his eighth race of the 2000 season and 43rd of his career,[70] in a time of 1'29:53.435, at an average speed of 207.316 km/h (128.820 mph).

Herbert, Irvine, Zonta, Salo, Diniz, De La Rosa, Trulli, Fisichella and Mazzacane were the final classified finishers.

"[75] Ferrari president Luca Cordero di Montezemolo described Michael Schumacher's title victory as the "most beautiful day of my life".

FIA president Max Mosley published a letter to Ron Dennis dated 19 October accusing him of tarnishing Formula One with his recent statements on the issues.

[83] Williams technical director Patrick Head commended Button's performance in the changing conditions that saw him finish fifth, saying: "He drove an absolutely brilliant, very mature race and thoroughly deserved fifth position.