Häkkinen took the lead after the second round of stops because McLaren told him to push to get ahead of Schumacher, whose rear tyres began to vibrate.

Häkkinen led the race and appeared set to win until his clutch failed on the final lap due to a hydraulic leak.

[4] Two months before the start of the Grand Prix weekend, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's governing body) and all the teams agreed to legalise electronic driver aids such as traction control, fully-automatic gearboxes, and launch control from the Spanish Grand Prix to end long-standing rumours of cheating by teams in Formula One, because of the extreme difficulty of policing such systems and to clarify which electronic systems were legal.

[6][7] Several drivers voiced displeasure with the systems' return, but engineers and manufacturers observed that it provided an opportunity for them to demonstrate their technical skills.

[24] Following two subpar races, Michael Schumacher stated that he was not concerned after retiring from the San Marino Grand Prix, but believed Ferrari might regain competitiveness and win in Spain.

[25] Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya anticipated a difficult Grand Prix due to his car's pace in recent circuit tests, saying, "I am sure when we get there we will figure it out and hopefully be competitive.

[27] Luciano Burti, who had driven for Jaguar from the beginning of the season, was released and replaced by Pedro de la Rosa, the team's test driver.

[28][29] Prost attempted to replace Mazzacane with Jordan test driver Ricardo Zonta, among others, but they declined to join a smaller team.

[34]: 220–221  The quickest lap times were recorded early in both Friday sessions' one-hour periods,[35] and the abrasive track surface resulted in heavy tyre wear.

[37][39][40] Villeneuve pulled over to the side of the pit lane exit, with flames erupting from his car after an engine failure,[36][37] probably caused by an electronic driver aid, while performing a standing start with ten minutes remaining.

[34]: 220–221  It was sunny but breezy for qualifying,[55] and with softer tyre compounds and traction control, the quickest lap was six seconds faster than Häkkinen's pole position time in 2000.

[8][32]: 240 [38] He was sent out with his car 10 kg (22 lb) overweight due to ballast that should have been removed for a run with low fuel, and had a slight brake issue during qualifying.

[32]: 292 [60] Burti, in his first Formula One qualifying session for Prost,[61] was 14th after the wind hampered his car's balance, making it difficult to record a quick lap.

[32]: 344  Verstappen spun into the turn four gravel trap on his third run due to a lengthy brake pedal, causing undertray damage.

[32]: 344 [61][62] Fernando Alonso was the fastest Minardi driver in 18th place after having his engine replaced due to an oil system issue in morning practice.

De La Rosa qualified 20th due to rear brake issues on his final run in the spare Jaguar R2 set up for teammate Irvine while his race car was being repaired following his fourth practice session crash.

[32]: 266, 292 [53] Button continued to nurse his shoulder injury,[59] and took 21st as the slower Benetton driver because late-qualifying car setup alterations took longer than expected, and he missed the final run.

[59][63] He could not find a proper chassis balance because of excess oversteer in some turns and he lost a lot of time approaching a slower car on his final run, in which he almost spun.

[68] With two minutes remaining,[65] Coulthard's engine failed because of a hydraulics failure, resulting in a full shutdown of his McLaren's essential systems exiting the final turn.

[74] Frentzen was temporarily stranded on the grid after turning off his launch control system, dropping from eighth to 22nd as cars swerved to avoid hitting him and caused congestion.

[78] Montoya on the track's middle moved from 11th to sixth by the end of the main straight after the Sauber teammates avoided crashing, while Barrichello fell behind Ralf Schumacher and Trulli.

[77] Panis overtook Räikkönen for 10th on lap three as Alonso fell to 16th after being passed by de la Rosa and Frentzen due to a driver error.

[82] He began to push hard, but Schumacher's speed on new tyres and a full tank of fuel allowed him to negate his weight advantage.

[32]: 110 [57][81] Michael Schumacher was unable to duplicate his earlier performance due to a vibration from his Ferrari's rear tyres shifting on the rims, resulting in poor balance.

[32]: 136, 424  He had to drive slowly around the track before pulling off at the exit of turn seven,[32]: 136, 424  with smoke pouring and metal debris from his McLaren's rear[81][82] Michael Schumacher was thus promoted into the lead, which he maintained to claim his third victory of the season and 47th overall.

[85] After the race, Coulthard stopped at Häkkinen's car and gave him a lift back to the closed parc fermé in the pit lane on his sidepod.

"[86] McLaren team principal Ron Dennis told British television station ITV that Coulthard's stall before the formation lap was due to "a bit of brain fade.

[91] Coulthard later stated that there was no need to remedy the issue because it was resolved shortly after the race, and his launch control system software was modified to prevent him from stalling again.

[92] Brawn said Ferrari strategy and his calculations may have allowed Michael Schumacher to win the race if the driver had not been hindered by tyre vibrations after his second pit stop, saying, "It would have been very close.

"[93] Trulli dedicated his fourth-place finish to fellow Italian Michele Alboreto who died in a sports car accident at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz in Germany in the week of the Grand Prix.