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Warm-up
The drivers took the track at 09:30 Central European Summer Time (UTC+2) for a 30-minute warm-up a rising mist formed low on the track by dawn.
After spinning sideways because his left-rear wheel touched a damp white line, Fisichella struck the tyre barrier at Stavelot corner with enough force to launch him into the air. the session was suspended for approximately 20 minutes while marshals cleared the track of debris and repaired the wall. Fisichella sustained a bruised left knee, and had to start the race with his team's spare car.
Race
thumb|right|alt=Mika Häkkinen, the first black and silver car, leads a field of ten Formula One cars on a wet track.|Häkkinen led for the first part of the race. Although it did not rain during the race, the track was wet and spray impaired the drivers' visibility.
The 44 lap race, clouds, but no rain, were predicted for the race. The rain had stopped approximately an hour before the race began, the organisers were keen to avoid a multi-car pileup as experienced at the 1998 race. but he ran wide and left the inside open for Michael Schumacher to take third position.
As the dry line continued to appear on the circuit, During that lap Barrichello overtook Frentzen for seventh, whilst Verstappen and Fisichella collided after Verstappen tried to pass the slowing Benetton at the Bus Stop chicane.
By the beginning of lap 13, Michael Schumacher closed the gap from Häkkinen to about 4.6 seconds after setting four consecutive fastest laps. and was 7.7 seconds behind after gaining on him. The drivers made contact, with Häkkinen sustaining minor damage to his front wing from contact with Schumacher's right-rear wheel and being forced to slow. During the following lap, Häkkinen was quicker through Eau Rouge turn by taking the corner at full throttle and drew closer to Michael Schumacher, Michael Schumacher finished second, 1.1 seconds behind Häkkinen. Ralf Schumacher was third but became worried about a possible engine failure in the final six laps (a throttle fault nearly forced him to retire). 17 of the 22 starters finished the Grand Prix. The driver added that he wanted to review his overtaking manoeuvre to see if Michael Schumacher performed an illegal move. Schumacher said that despite improvements to his car, he was unable to match Häkkinen's overall pace. Trulli refused to criticise Button after the race, believing that Button made a mistake. Fisichella and Verstappen felt similarly about their lap-nine collision, with Fisichella saying that he "felt sorry" for Verstappen and describing his weekend as "disastrous". Zonta later said that although he was unaware of Häkkinen's presence, he saw Schumacher in his mirrors. McLaren team principal Ron Dennis said: "His overtaking manoeuvre I'm sure will go down as one of the greatest in Formula One history."
The use of a safety car to start the race had a mixed response within the sport. Coulthard agreed with the FIA's decision, saying: "I know there will be a debate over it but the fact is I was asked beforehand and I said that, based on the previous years we've had here, the safest thing is to have a safety-car start." Journalist Nigel Roebuck said that the length of time under safety-car conditions was inadequate, and raised the possibility of abandoning standing starts. Whiting consulted Coulthard, the drivers' representative, before making his decision.
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Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Driver
! scope="col" | Points
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 1
| Mika Häkkinen*
| 74
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 2
| Michael Schumacher*
| 68
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 3
| David Coulthard*
| 61
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 4
| Rubens Barrichello*
| 49
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
| align="center" | 5
| Ralf Schumacher
| 20
|-
!colspan=4|Sources:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings