Michael Schumacher extended his margin of victory in the 2000 Drivers’ Championship with a win from the pole in today’s Malaysian Grand Prix. After recovering from a mid-season slump it was his fourth straight win and brings his total of victories for the season to nine. The win also ensured that Ferrari would repeat their win in the Constructor’s Championship
Mika Hakkinen’s McLaren beat Schumacher away from the grid and both he and his teammate David Coulthard were ahead of Schumacher by the first corner.
On the second corner Pedro de la Rosa (Arrows), Nick Heidfeld (Prost) and Pedro Diniz (Sauber) were involved in several multi-car collisions and all three were out of the race. Jarno Trulli (Jordan) who was also in the action had to pit for a new front wing but was then able to continue. Ralf Schumacher managed to avoid most of the debris by taking avoiding action across the grass.
It was revealed a couple of laps later that Hakkinen had jumped the start and he was given a 10 second stop-and-go penalty which he served on lap six and which moved him to the back of the field.
Coulthard started to pull away from Schumacher but had to make an early pit stop to have some grass from an off-track excursion removed from his side-pod where it was blocking the air flow to his radiators on a very hot and humid day. Schumacher’s stop was quicker and, despite another stop for each of them and some intense pressure from Coulthard right up to the finish line, he was in the lead and it was all over bar the crying.
Rubens Barrichello brought the second Ferrari home in third place with Hakkinen in fourth after having fought his way through the rest of the field after his penalty.
Jacques Villeneuve scored two points for BAR in fifth place followed by Eddie Irvine in his Jaguar.
Alexander Wurz had an unexpectedly good weekend finishing seventh on his last drive for Benetton before becoming McLaren’s test driver next year.
Mika Salo was eighth on his last drive for Sauber before joining the Toyota test and development team next year.
Johnny Herbert’s last F1 outing was less successful as an engine problem in the pits dropped him from fourth to 11th and then his Jaguar suffered a massive rear suspension failure eight laps from the end which sent him crashing into the barrier at high speed while his rear wing and one of his rear wheels broke away in a different direction. He was placed on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance but luckily the worst of his injuries were some severe bruises.
Jenson Button also had a day to forget as an engine failure left his Williams smoking at the side of the track. Next year he will be driving a Benetton and Juan Montoya will be hoping for better luck with the BMW powerplant.
Ricardo Zonta’s last drive for BAR — and maybe in Formula 1 — also ended with an engine meltdown.