When it did start, Michael Schumacher led the first two laps until he and Barrichello skidded on oil left by Olivier Panis' British American Racing (BAR) car, as a tropical monsoon begin to fall.

Michael Schumacher's victory was his sixth in succession from pole position, bettering a record jointly held by former world champions Nigel Mansell and Alberto Ascari.

In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari further extended its advantage over second-place McLaren while Sauber fell to fourth behind Jordan with fifteen races left in the season.

[1][6] A race sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's governing body, had been held in Malaysia since the 1960s, with the first editions being run in Singapore, then part of the Malaysian Federation, before moving to the Shah Alam Circuit.

With the arrival of the Formula One Grand Prix in 1999, the race was moved to the purpose-built Sepang International Circuit, where all editions were held until 2017.

[9][10] Some of the media attention focussed on the possibility of Michael Schumacher taking his sixth consecutive victory, which would have made him the first driver since the two-time world champion Alberto Ascari in 1952 to achieve the feat.

"[12] Following the death of track marshal Graham Beveridge, who was struck in the chest by a wheel from the car of British American Racing (BAR) driver Jacques Villeneuve at the Australian Grand Prix,[13] the organisers of the Malaysian race worked to better protect trackside personnel and drivers; they did not request assistance from Formula One officials.

[13] This came as executive director of the Malaysian Grand Prix and former driver Philippe Gurdjian presented a six-point advisory plan to all 700 circuit personnel including track marshals, firefighters and paramedics to improve safety.

[18] All cars ran with the same rear wings as in Melbourne since the revised downforce regulations caused aerodynamicists to reclassify the Sepang International Circuit as a "high-downforce track".

Jordan driver Jarno Trulli, Coulthard, Irvine, Heinz Frentzen, McLaren's Mika Häkkinen, Olivier Panis for BAR, Jaguar's Luciano Burti and Heidfeld in positions three to ten.

[25] Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya set no lap times due to a fuel pump failure and the Arrows car of Jos Verstappen stopped at turn three with an engine sensor fault.

Barrichello, Coulthard, Irvine, Häkkinen, Frentzen, Burti, Panis and Ralf Schumacher of the Williams team rounded out the session's top ten drivers.

[27] Battery problems sidelined Montoya and two fuel pump failures limited Alonso's running to the final 20 minutes.

His teammate Marques had an engine problem and Benetton's Jenson Button set his first lap times after missing the first session due to an overheating gearbox.

[29] Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella ran into a gravel trap beside the circuit and Alonso stopped with smoke billowing from the rear of his car because of debris accumulation overheating his engine.

During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, which necessitated each driver to set a time within 107 per cent of the quickest lap to qualify for the race.

[36] Jean Alesi was the faster of the two Prost cars in 13th and spoke of his belief that the team had made progress from its pre-season testing form.

[31][32] After a change of left-rear suspension wishbone, Räikkönen took 14th; he ran wide due to an understeer and was prevented from doing a fourth lap because he was called to the weighbridge.

[4][40][41] A dry line appeared towards the session's end helped by warm temperatures and the top three runners set their fastest times this way.

[40] Alonso stopped on the start/finish straight with a fuel pump failure and he took the spare car originally setup for his teammate Marques.

[41] Five minutes before the pit lane was officially closed, Michael Schumacher's race car had an oil leak,[47][50] prompting him to drive the spare Ferrari that was setup for his teammate Barrichello.

[55] As the two Ferraris pulled away from the rest of the field on lap two, Panis' engine failed, pitching his car backwards into the gravel trap.

None of the leaders made pit stops to switch to wet-weather compound tyres immediately because half of the track was dry while the final hairpin was flooded as some areas did not have adequate drainage.

[44] He began to pull away from the rest of the field as Verstappen slipstreamed Frentzen on the back straight and out-braked him for second at the turn 15 hairpin.

[54] During the lap, Schumacher, on a light fuel load and whose engine almost overheated in the pit lane,[46][53] went onto the dirt to pass Barrichello,[58] who went to the left of Trulli at turn five and was blocked by him.

[2] On the 15th lap, Michael Schumacher overtook Verstappen on the inside for second and began to draw closer to Coulthard,[44] who drove with an understeer.

[46][2] Frentzen's scheduled two-stop strategy put him fourth despite locking rear wheels and was ordered by Jordan to stop at the end of the pit lane barrier because he needed to have enough fuel in his car to pass a post-race FIA analysis.

"[64] Ron Dennis, the McLaren team principal, said he was certain the decision to run his cars on the wet tyres was correct, "Are we disappointed?

The Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore did not reprimand Fisichella, but praised him for moving to seventh place before retiring.

[69] The result extended Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 10 points over Barrichello and Coulthard, tied for second place.