2000 Austrian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher leads with 56 points — unchanged since the British Grand Prix in April. In the same period Coulthard has risen to 44 and Häkkinen to 38. Schumacher’s 22-point lead over Coulthard after Canada has been cut to 12.

Previous race

At Magny-Cours, Coulthard won after a perfectly timed two-stop strategy. Häkkinen finished second, with Schumacher out of the points. Coulthard’s overtake on Schumacher, which drew an angry hand gesture from the Ferrari, became the talking point of the weekend — Coulthard said he “just don’t think Michael is very sporting,” while Mercedes motorsport chief Norbert Haug defended it as “a traditional gesture used to indicate to the driver ahead that you intend to overtake him in one lap’s time.”

Entrants

Irvine arrived at the circuit feeling ill and was diagnosed with suspected appendicitis at the infield medical centre. On the advice of Sid Watkins, he withdrew from the event and flew to London for additional surgical consultation. Jaguar test driver Luciano Burti replaces him, making his Formula One race debut. Burti completed only one installation lap in FP3 and will use FP4 to familiarise himself with the circuit.

Car upgrades

McLaren brings the extractor profile last tested at France, a revised rear suspension, and a new Mercedes engine. Ferrari tweaks the aerodynamic profile and continues chimney-stack testing in free practice.

Weather

Partially cloudy, dry.

Tyre choices

Bridgestone brings soft and medium dry compounds.

Practice

Friday sessions are dry. Barrichello leads FP1 at 1:13.603; Häkkinen’s fuel pump fails on his out lap, limiting him to one lap. Coulthard leads FP2 at 1:12.464 after running into the gravel during the session. Ralf Schumacher stops five minutes in with an electrical failure; Irvine slows into Coulthard’s path and the two collide.

Irvine withdraws after FP2. Häkkinen leads FP3 at 1:11.355; Burti is limited to his one installation lap. Häkkinen leads FP4 at 1:11.336 despite briefly running a wheel on the grass at Jochen Rindt Kurve and getting beached in the gravel trap with ten minutes remaining. Zonta loses control and reverses into the path of an incoming driver, who veers onto the grass to avoid him.