|}
Warm-up
The drivers took to the track at 10:30 Malaysian Standard Time (GMT +8) for a half hour warm-up session in warm, dry weather. Both McLaren drivers finished in the top four—Häkkinen was second, slightly slower than Zonta, while Coulthard was fourth. Michael Schumacher, in third place, separated them.
Race
thumb|right|upright|[[David Coulthard (pictured in 2009) finished second.]]
The 56-lap race that ran over started at 15:00 local time. humidity was at 60 per cent. Tyre wear was not a major concern for the race. Cockpit temperatures were at their highest of the season due to the warm and humid climate and cooling was a major worry. When the red lights went out to start the race,
When the safety car entered the pit lane at the conclusion of the second lap, the race resumed with Häkkinen leading. Because he was driving a lightly fuelled car, Coulthard began to pull away from Michael Schumacher almost immediately with successive fastest laps. The stewards imposed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty on Häkkinen on lap four for jumping the start. Zonta moved up to eighth place after overtaking Button and Herbert. On the same lap, Button lost another position to Salo. Meanwhile, Verstappen began to make up ground, taking 16th place from Gené. Further down, Gené lost 13th position to Alesi, as Trulli made a pit stop for further repairs to his car. Mazzacane was the race's and season's final retirement with an engine piston failure on lap 54. He equalled the wins record set by himself in and Nigel Mansell in . Coulthard finished second in his McLaren, 0.7 seconds behind Michael Schumacher, with Barrichello third in the other Ferrari and Häkkinen fourth. Wurz, Salo, Fisichella, Verstappen and Alesi, Trulli (who had a slow puncture) and Mazzacane were the final classified finishers. He also added that he win with the use of team strategy after he realised Coulthard was quicker than him. Barrichello called his race "lonely" because to the lack of on-track action. He also stated that the hot temperatures he dealt with were emotionally taxing owing to his illness. Similarly, their technical director, Ross Brawn, believe that the team may improve more in the coming seasons: "We've got to build from this success and I'm sure we will do and get all the support from Italy and Ferrari that we will need to continue in this vein." Ferrari celebrated their wins in both championships and thanked their followers for their continuing support at an event at the Mugello Circuit in front of 50,000 people.
Häkkinen believed that if he had not received his stop-and-go penalty, he would have won the race. He added that his car was still before the starting procedure began, and that it moved before the sequence was completed. Mercedes-Benz Motorsport head Norbert Haug praised McLaren for their form and work during the season and reflected on the race, "We had the speed again today, but Mika was penalised and got a stop and go. He was on the right strategy, but if you are in the pits for 10 seconds, you are not going to win. He still came in fourth and that is a great achievement. David also put a lot of pressure on Michael, until the final lap and that is a great performance."
Villeneuve was pleased with his fifth-place performance given how his vehicle performed at the start of the season, commenting, "We have made good progress and improved the car throughout the season. We have got to know the car better in terms of set-up, which has allowed us to push harder in races and challenge consistently for points."
thumb|right|[[Johnny Herbert (pictured in 2011) retired from Formula One following the Malaysian Grand Prix.]]
Herbert was not injured in the crash, except for a bruised left knee. He expressed disappointment in his late exit in his final Formula One race, saying that "I'm pretty disappointed to have a good race ruined by a failure such as that." Diniz, meanwhile, could not find a race seat and became a shareholder in the Prost team, helping the team become more competitive.
Race classification
Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Driver
! scope="col" | Constructor
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Time/Retired
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Points
|-
! scope="row" | 1
| align="center" | 3
|data-sort-value="SCH1"| Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| align="center" | 56
| 1:35:54.235
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 10
|-
! scope="row" | 2
| align="center" | 2
|data-sort-value="COU"| David Coulthard
| McLaren-Mercedes
| align="center" | 56
| +0.732
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 6
|-
! scope="row" | 3
| align="center" | 4
|data-sort-value="BAR"| Rubens Barrichello
| Ferrari
| align="center" | 56
| +18.444
| align="center" | 4
| align="center" |4
|-
! scope="row" | 4
| align="center" | 1
|data-sort-value="HAK"| Mika Häkkinen
| McLaren-Mercedes
| align="center" | 56
| +35.269
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 3
|-
! scope="row" | 5
| align="center" | 22
| data-sort-value="VIL"| Jacques Villeneuve
| BAR-Honda
| align="center" | 56
| +1:10.692
| align="center" | 6
| align="center" | 2
|-
! scope="row" | 6
| align="center" | 7
| data-sort-value="IRV"| Eddie Irvine
| Jaguar-Cosworth
| align="center" | 56
| +1:12.568
| align="center" | 7
| align="center" | 1
|-
! scope="row" | 7
| align="center" | 12
| data-sort-value="WUR"| Alexander Wurz
| Benetton-Playlife
| align="center" | 56
| +1:29.314
| align="center" | 5
|
|-
! scope="row" | 8
| align="center" | 17
| data-sort-value="SAL"| Mika Salo
| Sauber-Petronas
| align="center" | 55
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 17
|
|-
! scope="row" | 9
| align="center" | 11
| data-sort-value="FIS"| Giancarlo Fisichella
| Benetton-Playlife
| align="center" | 55
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 13
|
|-
! scope="row" | 10
| align="center" | 19
| data-sort-value="VER"| Jos Verstappen
| Arrows-Supertec
| align="center" | 55
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 15
|
|-
! scope="row" | 11
| align="center" | 14
| data-sort-value="ALE"| Jean Alesi
| Prost-Peugeot
| align="center" | 55
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 18
|
|-
! scope="row" | 12
| align="center" | 6
| data-sort-value="TRU"| Jarno Trulli
| Jordan-Mugen-Honda
| align="center" | 55
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 9
|
|-
! scope="row" | 13
| align="center" | 21
| data-sort-value="MAZ"| Gastón Mazzacane
| Minardi-Fondmetal
| align="center" | 50
| Engine
| align="center" | 22
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="14" |
| align="center" | 8
| data-sort-value="HER"| Johnny Herbert
| Jaguar-Cosworth
| align="center" | 48
| Suspension/Accident
| align="center" | 12
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="15" |
|align="center" | 23
| data-sort-value="ZON"| Ricardo Zonta
| BAR-Honda
| align="center" | 46
| Engine
|align="center" | 11
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="16" |
|align="center" | 9
| data-sort-value="SCH2"| Ralf Schumacher
| Williams-BMW
| align="center" | 43
| Hydraulics
|align="center" | 8
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="17" |
| align="center" | 20
| data-sort-value="GEN"| Marc Gené
| Minardi-Fondmetal
| align="center" | 36
| Wheel
| align="center" |21
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="18" |
| align="center" | 10
| data-sort-value="BUT" | Jenson Button
| Williams-BMW
| align="center" | 18
| Engine
| align="center" | 16
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="19"|
| align="center" | 5
| data-sort-value="FRE" | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
| Jordan-Mugen-Honda
| align="center" | 7
| Electrical
| align="center" | 10
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="20"|
| align="center" | 18
| data-sort-value="DEL"| Pedro de la Rosa
| Arrows-Supertec
| align="center" | 0
| Collision
| align="center" | 14
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="21"|
| align="center" | 15
|data-sort-value="HEI"| Nick Heidfeld
| Prost-Peugeot
| align="center" | 0
| Collision
| align="center" | 19
|
|-
! scope="row" data-sort-value="22"|
| align="center" | 16
| data-sort-value="DIN"| Pedro Diniz
| Sauber-Petronas
| align="center" | 0
| Collision
| align="center" | 20
|
|-class="sortbottom"
!colspan="8"|
|}
Final championship standings
;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
| Michael Schumacher*
| 108
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 2
| Mika Häkkinen
| 89
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 3
| David Coulthard
| 73
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 4
| Rubens Barrichello
| 62
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 5
| Ralf Schumacher
| 24
|-
!colspan=4|Sources:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Constructor
! scope="col" | Points
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 1
| Ferrari*
| 170
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 2
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 152<!-- Please do not change this to 162 - McLaren (but not Häkkinen) were penalised 10 points at the Austrian GP due to a missing seal on Häkkinen's car, so McLaren's points total is NOT equal to the sum of Häkkinen's points plus Coulthard's points -->
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 3
| Williams-BMW
| 36
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 4
| Benetton-Playlife
| 20
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 5
| BAR-Honda
| 20
|-
!colspan=4|Sources: