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Convinced that Coulthard was at fault, [21] Schumacher confronted him. According to Coulthard's version of events, Schumacher accused Coulthard of "trying to fucking kill me", [22] and also threatened to kill Coulthard. [23] Many were convinced that Coulthard did it intentionally in order to help his teammate. [24]
Coulthard closed up to Michael Schumacher (who was slowed by around 1.5 to 2 seconds per lap with air leaking from his left rear tyre) by lap 46. [48] Coulthard attempted to overtake Michael Schumacher on the inside of the pit lane straight into the first corner of the following lap, intending to slow Schumacher at the right-hand turn.
Schumacher then managed to get past Alesi and Hill during the first of three pit stops. This allowed him, on a new set of slick tyres, to close on Coulthard who was on a two-stop strategy. Schumacher opened up a gap of 21 seconds by lapping two seconds faster per lap than Coulthard, so that when his third stop came, he still led the race. [5]
Michael Schumacher finished first after 58 laps to achieve his fifth consecutive victory and the 45th of his career. Coulthard was 1.717 seconds behind in second with Barrichello a further 31 seconds adrift in third. [2] Panis was fourth on the road, Heidfeld finished fifth and he held off Frentzen in sixth over the last nine laps.
[79] [84] Michael Schumacher came closer on Coulthard in the infield segment, challenging him for the lead. [85] 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.
Michael Schumacher and Coulthard battled for first place until Coulthard served a ten-second stop-go penalty on lap 14 because mechanics worked on his car 15 seconds before the race began. Michael Schumacher took an early pit stop just before half-distance, allowing Barrichello to lead the race until his own pit stop on lap 43.
With 16 laps to go, Coulthard had a 12-second lead; by lap 55 of 58, Coulthard's lead was reduced to two seconds. [2] A few laps before the end of the race, Coulthard let Häkkinen past on the front straight. From the pre-season test, it was clear that McLaren had the fastest car but was unreliable.
The 58-lap race was won by David Coulthard, driving a McLaren-Mercedes, after he started from fourth position. It was Coulthard's second F1 victory, and the first for the McLaren team since the 1993 Australian Grand Prix. German Michael Schumacher finished second in a Ferrari, with Coulthard's Finnish teammate Mika Häkkinen third.