2000 European Grand Prix

Race details
Race 6 of 17 in the 2000 Formula One season
The Nürburgring (last modified in 1995)
Date	May 21, 2000
Official name	LI Grand Prix of Europe
Location	Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany
Course	Permanent racing facility 4.556 km (2.831 mi)
Distance	67 laps, 305.252 km (189.675 mi)
Weather	Dry at first, rain later on, Air Temp: 10°C
Pole position
Driver	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes
Time	1.17.529
Fastest lap
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Time	1:22.269 on lap 8
Podium
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes

The 2000 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on May 21, 2000.

Report[link]

Qualifying had David Coulthard on pole position, with Michael Schumacher second, Mika Häkkinen third, Rubens Barrichello fourth, Ralf Schumacher fifth and Jarno Trulli sixth. Nick Heidfeld qualified his Prost-Peugeot in 13th position, but his car was found to be two kilograms underweight, and he was excluded from the race. This would have been his first Formula 1 race in his home country of Germany.

At the start, Coulthard missed the lights for a second while Häkkinen got away well. Häkkinen and Schumacher touched but both went through safely with Häkkinen ahead of Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello and Jacques Villeneuve. Behind them, Jarno Trulli tangled with Giancarlo Fisichella, putting Trulli out.

Coulthard had a problem and was keeping Barrichello behind him while allowing Häkkinen and Schumacher to get away. So, by 10 laps, Häkkinen and Schumacher were four seconds ahead but the first rain drops fell on lap 11 and Schumacher pulled out from behind Häkkinen and took the lead at the Veedol-chicane. Next lap, Barrichello dived ahead of Coulthard as the rains became stronger. It continued for three laps with the Ferraris on a clear track pulling away from the McLaren behind them until Coulthard went into the pits on lap 14. Soon Schumacher went into the pits followed by Häkkinen. Both of them were slow but Schumacher came 4 seconds ahead of Coulthard and Häkkinen came 5 seconds behind him. Barrichello went on lap 18 from the lead but he found out that he was down in ninth place after his stop. The order was: Schumacher, Coulthard, Häkkinen, Ralf, Pedro de la Rosa, Fisichella, Eddie Irvine, Jos Verstappen and Barrichello.

Ralf soon pitted and was back down in 10th while Häkkinen passed Coulthard for second and Barrichello passed Verstappen and Irvine to be up to sixth. Fisichella passed de la Rosa soon afterward but Barrichello was closing on both of them. On lap 29, Verstappen tried to pass Irvine and got ahead but Irvine refused to lift and the two collided and Ralf hit Irvine's car, taking all three of them out. At the front, Schumacher and Häkkinen were threading their way through backmarkers, but the gap between them was increasing. Coulthard was dropping way at over a second a lap because of his gearbox problems and soon Barrichello was up to fifth by passing de la Rosa. At the front, Schumacher went into the pits on lap 35 with a 20 second lead. He rejoined 7 seconds behind Häkkinen.

Häkkinen with a lighter fuel load was pulling away from Schumacher at a second a lap as the Ferrari was fueled to the flag. But he was only 10 seconds ahead with 7 laps fuel left and 17 seconds needed to have a chance to get ahead of Schumacher. On lap 41, Barrichello overtook Fisichella for fourth but he was already a lap down on Häkkinen and Schumacher. Häkkinen pulled away until lap 45 when he pitted. He rejoined 11 seconds behind Schumacher and again started to close in. Behind them, Barrichello was closing in on Coulthard rapidly but he was well behind. Fisichella stayed ahead of de la Rosa after their stops. Häkkinen reduced the gap to 5 seconds but Schumacher started to pull away again. The race ended with Schumacher winning by 13 seconds from Häkkinen, Coulthard holding off Barrichello with Fisichella and de la Rosa with the other points.

Classification[link]

Qualifying[link]

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	2	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:17.529
2	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:17.667	+0.138
3	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:17.785	+0.256
4	4	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:18.227	+0.698
5	9	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	1:18.515	+0.986
6	6	Jarno Trulli	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:18.612	+1.083
7	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	1:18.697	+1.168
8	7	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:18.703	+1.174
9	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	1:18.742	+1.213
10	5	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:18.830	+1.301
11	10	Jenson Button	Williams-BMW	1:18.887	+1.358
12	18	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows-Supertec	1:19.024	+1.495
13(EX)	15	Nick Heidfeld	Prost-Peugeot	1:19.147	+1.618*
14	19	Jos Verstappen	Arrows-Supertec	1:19.190	+1.661
15	12	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	1:19.378	+1.849
16	16	Pedro Diniz	Sauber-Petronas	1:19.422	+1.893
17	8	Johnny Herbert	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:19.638	+2.109
18	14	Jean Alesi	Prost-Peugeot	1:19.651	+2.122
19	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR-Honda	1:19.766	+2.237
20	17	Mika Salo	Sauber-Petronas	1:19.814	+2.285
21	20	Marc Gené	Minardi-Fondmetal	1:20.162	+2.633
22	21	Gastón Mazzacane	Minardi-Fondmetal	1:21.015	+3.486

Source (qual times):^[1]

• Nick Heidfeld had qualified 13th but was later excluded because his car was found to be underweight. He was not allowed to start the race.^[2]

Race[link]

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	67	1:42:00.307	2	10
2	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	67	+13.822	3	6
3	2	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	66	+1 Lap	1	4
4	4	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	66	+1 Lap	4	3
5	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	66	+1 Lap	7	2
6	18	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows-Supertec	66	+1 Lap	12	1
7	16	Pedro Diniz	Sauber-Petronas	65	+2 Laps	15
8	21	Gastón Mazzacane	Minardi-Fondmetal	65	+2 Laps	21
9	14	Jean Alesi	Prost-Peugeot	65	+2 Laps	17
10	10	Jenson Button	Williams-BMW	62	Electrical	11
11	8	Johnny Herbert	Jaguar-Cosworth	61	Collision	16
12	12	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	61	Collision	14
Ret	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR-Honda	51	Spun off	18
Ret	20	Marc Gené	Minardi-Fondmetal	47	Throttle	20
Ret	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	46	Engine	9
Ret	7	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	29	Collision	8
Ret	19	Jos Verstappen	Arrows-Supertec	29	Spun off	13
Ret	9	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	29	Collision	5
Ret	17	Mika Salo	Sauber-Petronas	27	Halfshaft	19
Ret	5	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	2	Engine	10
Ret	6	Jarno Trulli	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	0	Collision	6

Notes[link]

• Lap leaders: Mika Häkkinen 20 (1-10, 36-45), Michael Schumacher 46 (11-15, 17-35, 46-67), Rubens Barrichello 1 (16)

Standings after the race[link]

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 46 2 Mika Häkkinen 28 3 David Coulthard 24 4 Rubens Barrichello 16 5 Ralf Schumacher 12

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 62 2 McLaren-Mercedes 52 3 Williams-BMW 15 4 Benetton-Playlife 10 5 Jordan-Mugen-Honda 9

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References[link]

European Grand Prix

Valencia Street Circuit
Race information
Laps	57
Circuit length	5.419 km (3.367 mi)
Race length	308.883 km (191.931 mi)
Number of times held	21
First held	1983
Most wins (drivers)	Michael Schumacher (6)
Most wins (constructors)	Ferrari (6)
Last race (2011):
Pole position	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:36.975
Podium	1. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1h 39m 36.169s 2. Fernando Alonso Ferrari +10.891s 3. Mark Webber Red Bull-Renault +27.255s
Fastest lap	Sebastian Vettel Red Bull-Renault 1:41.852

The European Grand Prix (sometimes referred to as the Grand Prix of Europe) is a Formula One event that was reintroduced during the mid-1980s and has been held regularly since 1999. From 2008 it will take place for at least another 7 years. The most recent host venue for this event was Valencia, Spain.

In earlier years, the European Grand Prix was not a race in its own right but just a honorific title; one of the national Grands Prix was also designated as the European Grand Prix. The first race to be so named was the 1923 Italian Grand Prix, held at Monza and won by Carlo Salamano in a Fiat and the last one was the 1977 British Grand Prix. Since its reintroduction, the European Grand Prix is usually held in a country that also holds a national Grand Prix in that same year.

Historical[link]

The European Grand Prix was created as an honorific title by the AIACR, the FIA's predecessor in the organisation of motor racing events. The first race to receive the title was the Italian Grand Prix, in 1923, and it was followed by the French Grand Prix and Belgian Grand Prix. After a hiatus in 1929, Spa received the last honorific title of the pre-WWII years, in 1930.

The title was revived by the FIA after World War II, and was first given to the Belgian Grand Prix in 1947, and was distributed across several countries until the 1977 British Grand Prix, the last race to receive the honorific title. All post-war honorific European Grands Prix were F1 races.

The Italian Grand Prix was named the European Grand Prix seven times, which was more than any other race. It received the title three times in the 1920s.

First modern incarnation[link]

The event was initially created as a stopgap. In 1983, the Formula One schedule originally featured a race near Flushing Meadows Park in New York. When the race was cancelled three months before the event, track organizers at Brands Hatch were able to create a European Grand Prix at the track in its place. The success of the event, buoyed by a spirited battle for the World Championship, led to the event returning on the schedule the following year.

Brands Hatch was unable to host the European Grand Prix in 1984, as it was hosting the British Grand Prix in even numbered years (alternating with Silverstone) so the European GP went to a redesigned and shorter Nürburgring circuit in 1984. It was a far cry from the 14 mile Nürburgring that most were used to seeing, and was initially unpopular during Formula One's return. Brands Hatch returned to host the European Grand Prix in 1985, but the race was replaced in 1986 by the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Second modern incarnation[link]

In 1990, a wealthy Japanese businessman, Tomonori Tsurumaki, built an extravagant (and remote) race track called Nippon Autopolis with the idea of hosting a Formula One race. In 1992, plans were made to have an Asian Grand Prix in 1993 to replace the Mexican Grand Prix on the schedule. However, these plans failed to materialize. Instead, Bernie Ecclestone added a race at Donington Park to the schedule, which brought back the European Grand Prix moniker. The race was the brainchild of Tom Wheatcroft, who had been trying to bring F1 to the track since an abortive attempt to host the British Grand Prix in 1988. The first (and so far only) race at Donington Park resulted in Ayrton Senna's victory in wet/dry conditions.

The European race would go to Jerez the following season, and then returned to Nürburgring, which was now popular again with drivers. Because of this it hosted the race again in 1996, but after complaints that no other countries were to get the race, the Nürburgring race was renamed the Luxembourg Grand Prix. Jerez got the race back in 1997 as a replacement for the Portuguese Grand Prix. Jerez hosted the season finale that year, and it was the site of the famous collision between Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve which saw Schumacher get disqualified from the championship. It was also the scene of Mika Häkkinen's first Formula One victory.

In 1998, the European Grand Prix was dropped from the schedule, but returned in 1999 when the race at Nürburgring re-adopted the European Grand Prix name.

The 1999 race was notable for the torrential rain conditions which saw many experienced drivers slide off the circuit, presenting Johnny Herbert with the opportunity to take Stewart Grand Prix's first (and only) victory in its final season before being sold to Ford.

The race continued to be held at the Nürburgring until 2007. On August 29, 2006 it was announced that it had been removed from the F1 calendar for the 2007 season. From then there would only be one GP hosted in Germany each year, alternating between Hockenheimring and Nürburgring. However, what the name of this Grand Prix would be was uncertain for a time; while originally intended to be the German Grand Prix from 2007,^[1] the Nürburgring race of 2007 was renamed "Großer Preis von Europa" (European Grand Prix)^[2] due to a dispute over the ownership of the title "German Grand Prix".^[3]

Since 2008 the European Grand Prix has taken place in Valencia, Spain. During the 2009 event, Valencia signed a deal for a further 5 races, which puts Valencia on the calendar until 2014. There are doubts about its continuation on the calendar thereafter due to disappointing attendances and increased competition between nations to host a grand prix, leaving no room for one country to host two races. Its vacated place on the calendar is set to rotate among other nations, as the sport seeks new markets.^[4][5]

In March 2012, it was announced that the European Grand Prix would be discontinued in 2013, with the Spanish Grand Prix alternating between Barcelona and Valencia.^[6] Then in April 2012 it was announced that the entirety of the Grand Prix at Valencia would be discontinued and the European Grand Prix would still be existant, just not at Valencia.

Sponsors[link]

John Player Grand Prix of Europe 1983
AvD Grand Prix of Europe 1984
Shell Oils Grand Prix of Europe 1985
Sega European Grand Prix 1993
Warsteiner Grand Prix of Europe 1999–2001
Allianz Grand Prix of Europe 2002–2004
Grand Prix of Europe 2006-2007, 2011-
Telefónica Grand Prix of Europe 2008–2010

Winners of the European Grand Prix[link]

Repeat winners (drivers)[link]

Only includes standalone events. Bold indicates a driver active in the current season.

# of wins	Driver	Achieved
6	Michael Schumacher	1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006
2	Fernando Alonso	2005, 2007
	Rubens Barrichello	2002, 2009
	Sebastian Vettel	2010, 2011

Repeat winners (constructors)[link]

Only includes standalone events. Bold indicates a constructor active in the current season.

# of wins	Constructor	Achieved
6	Ferrari	2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008
4	McLaren	1984, 1993, 1997, 2007
3	Williams	1985, 1996, 2003
2	Benetton	1994, 1995
	Red Bull	2010, 2011

By year: The European Grand Prix as a standalone event[link]

Nürburgring GP circuit, used from 1984, 1995, 1996 and 1999-2007

Jerez, used in 1994 and 1997

Donington, used in 1993

Brands Hatch, used in 1983 and 1985

Year	Driver	Constructor	Location	Report
2011	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault	Valencia	Report
2010	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull-Renault		Report
2009	Rubens Barrichello	Brawn-Mercedes		Report
2008	Felipe Massa	Ferrari		Report
2007	Fernando Alonso	McLaren-Mercedes	Nürburgring GP-Strecke	Report
2006	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari		Report
2005	Fernando Alonso	Renault		Report
2004	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari		Report
2003	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW		Report
2002	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari		Report
2001	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari		Report
2000	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari		Report
1999	Johnny Herbert	Stewart-Ford		Report
1998	Not held
1997	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	Jerez	Report
1996	Jacques Villeneuve	Williams-Renault	Nürburgring GP-Strecke	Report
1995	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Renault		Report
1994	Michael Schumacher	Benetton-Ford	Jerez	Report
1993	Ayrton Senna	McLaren-Ford	Donington	Report
1986 -92	Not held
1985	Nigel Mansell	Williams-Honda	Brands Hatch	Report
1984	Alain Prost	McLaren-TAG	Nürburgring GP-Strecke	Report
1983	Nelson Piquet	Brabham-BMW	Brands Hatch	Report

By year: The European Grand Prix as an honorary designation[link]

Year	Driver	Constructor	Designated Grand Prix	Location	Report
1977	James Hunt	McLaren-Ford	British Grand Prix	Silverstone	Report
1976	James Hunt	McLaren-Ford	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	Report
1975	Vittorio Brambilla	March-Ford	Austrian Grand Prix	Österreichring	Report
1974	Clay Regazzoni	Ferrari	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Report
1973	Jackie Stewart	Tyrrell-Ford	Belgian Grand Prix	Zolder	Report
1972	Emerson Fittipaldi	Lotus-Ford	British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch	Report
1969 -71	Not held
1968	Jackie Stewart	Matra-Ford	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Report
1967	John Surtees	Honda	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	Report
1966	Jack Brabham	Brabham-Repco	French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux	Report
1965	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps 14 km circuit	Report
1964	Jim Clark	Lotus-Climax	British Grand Prix	Brands Hatch	Report
1963	Graham Hill	BRM	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco	Report
1962	Graham Hill	BRM	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	Report
1961	Stirling Moss	Lotus-Climax	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Report
1960	Phil Hill	Ferrari	Italian Grand Prix	Monza Full Circuit	Report
1959	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux	Report
1958	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps 14 km circuit	Report
1957	Tony Brooks Stirling Moss	Vanwall	British Grand Prix	Aintree	Report
1956	Stirling Moss	Maserati	Italian Grand Prix	Monza Full Circuit	Report
1955	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco	Report
1954	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes-Benz	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring Nordschleife	Report
1953	Not held
1952	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps 14 km circuit	Report
1951	Luigi Fagioli Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux	Report
1950	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	British Grand Prix	Silverstone	Report
1949	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	Report
1948	Carlo Felice Trossi	Alfa Romeo	Swiss Grand Prix	Bremgarten	Report
1947	Jean-Pierre Wimille	Alfa Romeo	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps 14 km circuit	Report
1931 -46	Not held
1930	Louis Chiron	Bugatti	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps 15 km circuit	Report
1929	Not held
1928	Louis Chiron	Bugatti	Italian Grand Prix	Monza Full Circuit	Report
1927	Robert Benoist	Delage	Italian Grand Prix	Monza Full Circuit	Report
1926	Jules Goux	Bugatti	San Sebastián Grand Prix	Lasarte	Report
1925	Antonio Ascari	Alfa Romeo	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps 15 km circuit	Report
1924	Giuseppe Campari	Alfa Romeo	French Grand Prix	Lyon	Report
1923	Carlo Salamano	Fiat	Italian Grand Prix	Monza Full Circuit	Report