Michael Schumacher's victory increased his World Drivers' Championship lead to 24 points over Coulthard and 42 ahead of Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello.

[11] Ferrari's test driver, Luca Badoer, evaluated electronic controls and engine plans in Fiorano before shaking down three cars for the European Grand Prix.

[15][16] With 90 points available in the next nine Grands Prix, pundits speculated that McLaren may use team orders to favour Coulthard over teammate Häkkinen in the championship race.

[20] Despite this, he expressed caution about winning a fourth world title, believing his 18-point lead over Coulthard was insufficient to give him confidence given the large number of points still available.

[23] Having missed the previous event due to a concussion, a headache and dizziness resulting from a crash during Friday practice for the Canadian Grand Prix, Jordan driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen was declared fit to race by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA) Medical Delegate Sid Watkins and returned to his seat taken over by temporary replacement Ricardo Zonta, the team's test driver.

Similarly, Irvine recovered from his injured neck, and Heidfeld was suffering from migraines and disorientation after an accident in Canada; both were passed fit to race.

Sauber revised their front wing endplates only for the day before the race and Minardi modified Tarso Marques's pedals for his large feet.

[33] Lap times decreased during the second practice session due to the bright weather, which raised the track and ambient temperatures.

[28] Barrichello was fourth with 11 minutes remaining after a power steering malfunction forced him to abort his second run, prompting his team to prepare a spare Ferrari for him if needed.

[49] Häkkinen could not accelerate out of the slow-speed corners without losing control of his car's rear,[53] and made an error mounting the kerbs at the Veedol chicane.

[47] On a lap with used front and new rear tires that caused oversteer,[50] he spun into the edge of the gravel trap at the final Coca-Cola hairpin,[28][52][55] while attempting to qualify on the second row.

[52][53] Burti moved to teammate Alesi's spare vehicle, which had to be reset due to a fuel pressure issue with his racing car.

[48][49] Marques briefly stopped on track at the Veedol chicane with a loss of drive,[54][55] and Alonso aborted his third run when he ran wide and lost a set of tyres.

[60] Both Ferrari drivers continued their outstanding performance from qualifying; Barrichello achieved the quickest time of 1:18.209 with five minutes left; his teammate Michael Schumacher was second.

[66] Michael Schumacher, driving a spare Ferrari, came to a halt at the bottom of the hill at the Dunlop hairpin while on a reconnaissance lap due to a fuel pump failure.

[28][67][61] Marques, from 22nd on the grid, stalled his Minardi car on the formation lap due to a launch control issue and had to start manually.

[28][68] Autosport wrote that race strategy would be concerned with limiting damage since inclement weather in the past two years and tyre degradation.

[72] Behind the leading trio, Barrichello made a slow start due to a launch control issue, dropping from fourth to seventh.

[64][74] Marques became the Grand Prix's first retirement on lap eight, pulling over to the side of the track due to a gearbox failure caused by voltage fluctuations.

[70][71] On lap 22, Häkkinen ran wide on the grass and kerbing at the Veedol chicane after flat-spotting his front right tyre, causing a severe vibration.

[69][77] This promoted his teammate Montoya to second and Barrichello to third;[28] the penalty effectively eliminated Ralf Schumacher's chances of winning the race.

[28] On lap 46, Trulli retired his car on the grass after the Bit curve turn due to a gearbox failure caused by an oil pressure problem.

Frentzen spun his car after the Dunlop hairpin on lap 50 due to a traction control system failure and retired to the side of the track.

[63] Heidfeld drove slowly to the pit lane due to his previous incident with Alesi, which bent a driveshaft, and was pushed into the garage on lap 56 to retire on safety grounds.

[28][64] Alesi attempted to brake later than Räikkönen, who had closed the inside line, into the Dunlop hairpin for 11th place on the penultimate lap, but spun into the gravel trap and retired.

[28] Burti was 12th after grass penetrated his car's radiators when he ran off the track on lap 10 owing to blistering tyres from running in teammate Alesi's slipstream and had them cleaned.

[79] Following the race, Ralf Schumacher confronted his brother Michael in the scrutineering garage about being forced towards the pit lane barrier at the start.

[80] He would not discuss the start, but did issue a statement in which he expressed his disappointment in receiving a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for crossing the white line at the pit lane exit, which he believed may have lost him the race victory.

"[84] Barrichello attributed his fifth-place finish to running a one-stop strategy and carrying a lot of fuel, which prevented him from racing with competitors close behind him, adding, "It was just one of those days which didn't work out right.

[86] McLaren team principal Ron Dennis defended Häkkinen, stating the driver slowed due to a tyre issue and resulting vibrations, preventing him from finishing fourth.