2000 United States Grand Prix

The 2000 United States Grand Prix (formally the 2000 SAP United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on September 24, 2000, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana before 250,000 spectators. It was the 15th round of the 2000 Formula One World Championship and Indianapolis held its first United States Grand Prix. Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the 73-lap race from pole position. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second with Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen third.

Before the race, McLaren's Mika Häkkinen led Michael Schumacher by two championship points in the World Drivers' Championship while McLaren led Ferrari by four championship points in the World Constructors' Championship. Michael Schumacher took pole position by setting the best lap in the one-hour qualifying session. McLaren's David Coulthard started second, with Michael Schumacher. However, Coulthard had to serve a ten-second stop-go penalty on lap eight because he jumped the start. Häkkinen started third, but retired on lap 26 with a blown engine due to a pneumatic valve system failure. Michael Schumacher thus had an uncontested lead after passing Coulthard on lap seven, and despite losing control of his Ferrari in the final five circuits of the race, he went on to win his seventh race of the season and 42nd overall. Barrichello finished second, 12.1 seconds behind, and Frentzen finished third, holding off British American Racing's Jacques Villeneuve in the final laps.

Michael Schumacher retook the lead in the World Drivers' Championship by eight championship points over Häkkinen following the race. Coulthard's fifth-place finish in the Grand Prix eliminated any mathematical chance of winning the Drivers' Championship, reducing his advantage over fourth-placed Barrichello to eight championship points. Ferrari retook the World Constructors' Championship lead from McLaren, establishing a ten-point lead with two races left in the season.

Background

left|thumb|The [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the race was held]]

The 2000 United States Grand Prix, officially the SAP United States Grand Prix, was the 15th race of 17 in the 2000 Formula One World Championship. The event was held under the auspices of the United States Auto Club (USAC), the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA; Formula One's governing body) member for the United States, There were eleven teams of two drivers (each representing a different constructor), and all but one had never raced at Indianapolis, with no changes to the season entry list.

The event marked the United States' return to Formula One after a hiatus since . It was ended because of low attendance at its old venue on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona and it was replaced by the South African Grand Prix in the 1992 season. It was reintroduced in December 1998 after IMS president Tony George's seven-year campaign. The road circuit was built between 2 December 1998 and 10 September 2000, ending two weeks before the Grand Prix. To celebrate the race's return, Jaguar drivers Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert did a demonstration lap in a Jaguar R1 and a Taxicab along Broadway in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.

Going into the race, McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen led the World Drivers' Championship with 80 championship points, ahead of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher on 78 championship points, Häkkinen's teammate David Coulthard on 61 championship points, Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello on 49 championship points and Williams' Ralf Schumacher on 24 championship points. McLaren led the World Constructors' Championship with 131 championship points, four ahead of Ferrari. Williams were third with 34 championship points, Benetton fourth on 20 and Jordan fifth with 17. Olivier Panis, McLaren's test driver, led on the first day, ahead of Sauber's Pedro Diniz. Williams and Benetton tested at the Autódromo do Estoril circuit, with Ralf Schumacher setting fastest laps on the first and second days, and Benetton's test driver Mark Webber leading on the third day. Häkkinen had won three of the previous five races to Michael Schumacher's one. Bookmakers put both drivers as joint favourites to win the race. With three races left in the season, Häkkinen believed that the remaining races, including the United States Grand Prix, were equally vital, and that the championship battle may last until the season-ending . and that winning at Indianapolis would not be more difficult than at any other track, despite drivers' unfamiliarity with the layout. Barrichello spoke with his team Ferrari and said his job was to help his teammate and hinder McLaren, "The objectives are clear. We have to tighten ourselves around Michael and help bring the title back in Italy after 21 years of absence."

thumb|upright|[[Jacques Villeneuve (pictured in 2002) was vocally critical of the circuit.]]

The track garnered largely excellent feedback, but most drivers were disappointed by the lack of challenge on the banked turn 13. Häkkinen called the track "great, really enjoyable to drive and quite difficult in some parts", and Michael Schumacher said he did not find it hard to adapt to the circuit. Concerns over a driver error leading to a collision at turn 13 prompted the relocation of the pit lane entry line. Bridgestone created the extra hard tyre compound to help drivers cope with the additional demands of the Indianapolis road course. It advised teams to increase air pressures to withstand the higher cornering load through the final two corners after concerns were raised about a mechanical failure in turn 13 with a concrete barrier lining it following Ghisliberti's death. The company and the FIA agreed to provide teams with two extra sets of tyres for Friday's two free practice sessions in order to collect additional data and ensure that drivers were better acclimatised to the circuit.

Teams concentrated on improving their car setups for the Indianapolis track, The Williams team brought a new front wing and a Ferrari-inspired sweep main profile. Arrows' car used a low-downforce layout similar to that seen at the Italian Grand Prix to gain speed on the main straight. Sauber and Williams used similar designs, but most teams eventually settled on a compromise configuration seen at the .

Practice

There were four practice sessions preceding Sunday's race, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. It was warm and dry for the first practice session. All drivers entered the circuit to familiarise themselves with it, with lap times gradually decreasing, Michael Schumacher led early in the first practice session, with the quickest time of 1:14.927 seconds, ahead of teammate Barrichello. Häkkinen was third although his car's gearbox was changed. Button, Villeneuve, Benetton's Alexander Wurz, the Jordan duo of Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Irvine and Prost's Nick Heidfeld were in fourth through tenth. an electrical fault prevented Coulthard from establishing a fast lap time as marshals pulled him onto the circuit from the pit lane entry, preventing him from participating in the rest of practice under series regulations. Giancarlo Fisichella removed his Benetton's left-front wheel in a crash at the turn 11 tyre barrier. Michael Schumacher and Barrichello fell to third and fourth fastest, respectively, after failing to better their lap times, even though both drivers expressed satisfaction with their performance. His car went down an escape road and marshals moved him off the circuit. Jean Alesi lost control of his Prost car at turn four, getting stuck in a gravel trap near the barriers.

The Saturday morning sessions were run in cloudy conditions on a damp track with patches of standing water from overnight rain, resulting in minimal grip and some drivers going off the circuit. Warm weather improved conditions gradually throughout practice, but lap times were generally slower than the previous day. Häkkinen set the third session's fastest lap, a 1:15.802; Coulthard was third. Button ran quicker and was second. Both Ferrari drivers were fourth and fifth–Barrichello ahead of Michael Schumacher. Fisichella, Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, Verstappen and Diniz followed in the top ten. Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, and Wurz all left the track at various points in the session, but all three were able to resume driving. Both Ferraris maintained their fast performance; Michael Schumacher was the fastest driver, with a lap of 1:14.804. Barrichello was second. Button separated the McLaren drivers—Coulthard in third and Häkkinen in fifth—who remained fast. Frentzen, sixth, found it a struggle to adapt to the changing conditions. Fisichella, Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher and Trulli made up positions seven through ten. During the session, Gené and Michael Schumacher lost control of their vehicles and ran off the track, although both were able to continue driving. A passing car dislodged part of a track marking, which a marshal removed from the circuit. Meteorologists predicted a 70% probability of rain, so several drivers concerned over a downpower went onto the circuit early on as a precaution; the downpour never materialised. He took his seventh pole position of the season and 30th of his career with a lap time of 1:14.266 set seven minutes in. Coulthard was second, one-tenth of a second slower after going from fourth to second. Coulthard was aided by running in Häkkinen's slipstream for more speed through turn 13 and the start of the main straight before his teammate let him pass at the start of the former's final quick lap after being asked over the radio by McLaren technical director Adrian Newey if it would help. Häkkinen qualified third after completing nearly all of the 12 allowed laps and having no time for a final run, saying he was not disappointed to start from third. Trulli qualified sixth late in the session after replacing his car's engine due to issues during practice.

Frentzen, seventh, reported grip troubles in the infield and slid onto the grass at turn eight. after improving the car's feel by removing some downforce. Ralf Schumacher, tenth, had car setup issues that compromised handling, and he spun onto the turn eight grass on his fourth attempt. said understeer and poor grip prevented him from lapping faster but Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore blamed the driver for his performance.

Warm-up

A 30-minute warm-up session was held on the morning of the race in cool, damp, and overcast weather following heavy overnight rain, with poor grip and many drivers going off the track onto the grass. Drivers were keen to test their cars on the damp track, and some tested wet-weather tyres, Coulthard set the fastest time, a 1:23.14, with six minutes to go.

The FIA safety delegate, Charlie Whiting, moved the grid's front row back the previous night after concerns were raised by Coulthard and Michael Schumacher who experienced wheelspin while crossing the "Yard of Bricks" laid in the track, which stretched from its outside edge to the pit lane. They were concerned that when the race began from a standing start, their cars would lose traction or crash. Whiting also had the pit lane speed limit zone advanced deeper between turns 12 and 13 and raised the speed limit from to after most drivers raised concerns over the high speeds entering the pit lane during the race arising from incidents there during practice.

Race

thumb|right|The start of the Grand Prix.

The Grand Prix began at 13:00 Eastern Time after the FIA moved the race's start time by an hour from 14:00 local time for unknown reasons. The conditions on the grid were dry and damp before the race; the air temperature was between and the track temperature between . Every driver, except Herbert, began on the intermediate compound tyre when heavy rain fell between the end of warm-up and just before the afternoon, making the track much wetter; no more rain was forecast however the oval section dried quickly but the infield did not since there was still standing water there, Engineers from each team were required to repeatedly calculate the optimal lap to switch from wet-weather tyres to dry tyres because of the drying circuit. Coulthard jumped the start by releasing the clutch too soon, taking the lead into turn one. Coulthard had a 1.7-second lead over Michael Schumacher by the end of lap two. On lap five, Alesi became the first driver to make a pit stop for dry tyres. Michael Schumacher came closer on Coulthard in the infield segment, challenging him for the lead.

Michael Schumacher unsuccessfully tried to overtake Coulthard on the outside on the start/finish straight at the start of lap six. Coulthard's blocking of Schumacher allowed Häkkinen to close up and almost pass on the inside.

The stewards handed Coulthard a ten-second stop-go penalty on lap eight, and he was summoned to the pit lane at the end of the lap to serve the penalty. He re-emerged in first place, sixteen seconds ahead of Häkkinen, who began steadily reducing Michael Schumacher's lead. and Herbert and Villeneuve overtook him. Flames and smoke billowed from Häkkinen's rear-left engine exhaust banks, This promoted Diniz into the points-paying positions in sixth. Both men were brought to the infield hospital for x-ray examinations after suffering minor injuries in the crash. According to Barrichello, wet-weather tyres allowed him to lap two seconds faster than dry tyres. He also stated that, despite having an advantage on the wet track, he had struggled with significant oversteer and maintaining his car on a high fuel load after his pit stop. Coulthard expressed disappointment at his jump-start and apologised. Zonta was delighted to finish sixth, noting that his competitors were faster early in the race due to fuel loads, but he was able to keep up with them. Mercedes-Benz motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug apologised to Häkkinen for the engine failure. Coulthard denied any wrongdoing: "I could have easily pushed him off the circuit. But I didn't and I won't in the future because it is not sporting and it is not the way I do things." Trulli and Button had a similar ill-feeling following their collision on lap two, the second in three races. Button suggested that Trulli had moved towards him slightly, despite believing he had taken the right line. He also believed Trulli moved towards him while braking. Emerson Fittipaldi, the 1993 winner and double Formula One World Champion, believed that it would begin in a new era of Formula One racing in the United States. The race received the Race Promoters' Trophy at the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in Monte Carlo in December 2000.

As a result of the race, Michael Schumacher reclaimed the lead in the World Drivers' Championship, with 88 championship points, for the second time in the 2000 season, which he would not relinquish in the final two races. The McLaren team's poor results, along with Ferrari's one-two finish, resulted in Ferrari retaking the lead in the World Constructors' Championship, ten championship points ahead of McLaren with two races in the season remaining.

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"

! scope="col" |

! scope="col" | Driver

! scope="col" | Points

|align="left"| 10px 1

| align="center" | 1

| Michael Schumacher*

| 88

|align="left"| 10px 1

| align="center" | 2

| Mika Häkkinen*

| 80

|align="left"| 10px

| align="center" | 3

| David Coulthard

| 63

|align="left"| 10px

| align="center" | 4

| Rubens Barrichello

| 55

|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" | Constructor

! scope="col" | Points

|align="left"| 10px 1

| align="center" | 1

| Ferrari*

| 143

|align="left"| 10px 1

| align="center" | 2

| McLaren-Mercedes*

| 133

|align="left"| 10px

| align="center" | 3

| Williams-BMW

| 34

|align="left"| 10px

| align="center" | 4

| Benetton-Playlife

| 20

|align="left"| 10px

| align="center" | 5

| Jordan-Mugen-Honda

| 17

!colspan=4|Sources: