2000 Hungarian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher leads with 56 points. Häkkinen and Coulthard are tied for second on 54. The gap that stood at 22 points before the French Grand Prix has been reduced to two — three retirements including first-lap collisions in Austria and Germany have swung the championship dramatically. Schumacher’s objective here is clear: avoid the first lap and score points.

Previous race

At Hockenheim, Schumacher collided with Fisichella on the opening lap and did not score. McLaren took the top two places. The race was overshadowed by an extraordinary incident on lap 25 when a 47-year-old French Mercedes factory worker, protesting his dismissal, ran onto the circuit carrying a banner — forcing a safety car deployment that ultimately shuffled the pit-stop sequence and contributed to Barrichello claiming his maiden victory. Schumacher said he was “out of the race not because of David but because of Fisichella.”

Between-race developments

Alesi was involved in a heavy accident in Germany, suffering abdominal pain, dizziness, and vomiting. He was declared fit after tests, with Prost holding test driver Stéphane Sarrazin in reserve. Alesi has been passed fit by Sid Watkins in the days before the race.

Wurz crashed at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo during testing between Germany and Hungary, with a suspension wishbone striking his right leg; he was taken to hospital but passed fit the following day.

Weather

Partially cloudy, very hot, dry.

Tyre choices

Bridgestone brings the softest available compounds: soft and extra soft.

Practice

McLaren sits out FP1 entirely, saving tyres. Schumacher leads at 1:20.198; the track is dirty after months without activity. Coulthard leads FP2 at 1:18.792 — half a second off Häkkinen’s 1999 pole lap. De la Rosa crashes into a tyre wall; several drivers struggle with the low-grip surface.

Saturday is dry, hot and sunny. Barrichello leads FP3 with a 1:18.268 set with three minutes remaining; Mazzacane’s engine fails with a differential fault. Schumacher leads FP4 at 1:17.395, 0.630 seconds faster than Coulthard. Diniz stalls at the pit-lane entry in first gear.