The race was stopped due to a software glitch in the starting procedure and a collision between Jenson Button and Pedro de la Rosa that created a traffic jam.

After the second round of pit stops, Michael Schumacher's exhaust failed, resulting in a left rear suspension failure and his retirement from the race.

[7] Late in the session, Fisichella collided with Jordan driver Jarno Trulli's right-rear tyre, flipping his Benetton and temporarily stopping testing.

[9] Fisichella experienced mild thumb bruising, and Benetton withdrew second driver Alexander Wurz from testing.

[11] BAR tested a new control system named "Athena 2000," which managed the software of the car's engine and several chassis parts.

[12] Because of the Circuit de Monaco's configuration, with its low average speed and quantity of low-speed corners, combined with the low-grip nature of the public road surface, the teams all set their cars up to produce the maximum amount of downforce and mechanical grip possible.

[17] Ralf Schumacher collided with the barrier near the tunnel's entrance, necessitating pit lane repairs and Minardi's Gastón Mazzacane spun and lost his front right wheel in an accident at La Rascasse.

[16][18] Nick Heidfeld lost control of his Prost car and damaged its right-hand side against the barrier at La Rascasse corner.

[18] Pedro Diniz's Sauber car collided with the barrier at the same turn, dropping a considerable amount of oil that marshals attempted to clean up.

Alesi kept improving and was fourth, faster than Coulthard, Frentzen, Irvine, Trulli, Fisichella and Sauber's Johnny Herbert.

[26] Michael Schumacher took his second pole position of the season and the 25th of his career with a time of 1:19.475 with seven minutes left;[27] he struck the metal guardrail at Portier corner entering the tunnel with his rear-left wheel but continued.

[15][20][28] Trulli, who was 0.271 seconds slower and had his best qualifying performance of the season on soft tyres and made car adjustments for better handling, joined him on the grid's front row.

[21] BAR's Jacques Villeneuve started from 17th after an engine failure into Lowes corner led him to stop at the furthest place from the pit lane and lay oil on the circuit.

[20] After spinning on oil on the track, Herbert clipped the tyre barrier at Piscine turn in the Swimming Pool complex, forcing him to drive the spare car in the race.

[38] The course at Sainte Devote corner had become slick owing to a two-car accident during the morning Renault Clio Cup undercard round, which saw fluids from the smashed vehicles flow onto the track, necessitating marshals to apply cement mortar in an unsuccessful attempt to dry the oil puddles.

[42] Button, Zonta, Heidfeld, Diniz, and Gené restarted in their team's spare cars and had to start from the pit lane.

[41] Wurz lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers at Sainte Devote corner, causing his retirement from the race.

Häkkinen slowed on lap 36 owing to a brake pedal blockage caused by a loose sensor and made an unscheduled pit stop.

[20][48] Ralf Schumacher, fourth, took evasive action, went off the racing line and struck the right-hand Sainte Devote wall on the 38th lap,[30] as the suspension arm penetrated the monocoque.

[45] Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn retired Michael Schumacher in the pit lane after mechanics failed to replace the broken arm.

[43] Verstappen, holding off Heidfeld for ninth, spun 360 degrees into a concrete barrier at the Swimming Pool complex on lap 62 and retired.

[50] On the 71st lap, Frentzen, who lost concentration looking at the leader board,[30] became the race's final retirement when his rear suspension broke in an accident with the wall at the Sainte Devote turn.

[41][43] Coulthard slightly slowed after Frentzen's retirement,[38] winning his second race of the season and eighth of his career in a time of 1:49:28.213, at an average speed of 144.072 km/h (89.522 mph).

[2] The top three drivers appeared in Prince Rainier III of Monaco's Royal box to collect their trophies and at the press conference that followed.

[54] He also stated that he wanted to avoid needless repairs to his car by waiting until the pit stops to pass Michael Schumacher and Trulli.

[56] Irvine described the Grand Prix as one of the most difficult of his Formula One career, owing to a malfunctioning drink bottle and a blistering foot.

[59] Nevertheless, he was happy to finish fifth, saying, "I knew that he would find it very tough to overtake here but I made extra sure I didn't leave the slightest gap or make any mistakes.

"[60] Michael Schumacher admitted to feeling disappointed after the race, having led most of it until his lap 56 retirement, saying: "The exhaust was too hot and that was why the rest went wrong.

[30] His teammate Trulli expressed disappointment over the gearbox failure, since he had thought he would have won the Grand Prix following Michael Schumacher's retirement.

[64] As a result of the race, Michael Schumacher retained the World Drivers' Championship lead, albeit by ten points to twelve.