2000 Monaco Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher leads with 46 points following his Nürburgring win. Häkkinen is second on 28, Coulthard third on 24. The gap has stabilised after McLaren’s run of two wins ended at the Nürburgring.

Previous race

At the Nürburgring, Schumacher won in rapidly changing conditions, reading the weather switch better than his rivals to pull clear of Häkkinen who finished second. Coulthard completed the podium but was lapped by the leaders; he described Monaco as one of the final chances to recover ground, acknowledging the team had been “slowly chipping away at Michael’s lead.”

Sprint format

Monaco uses Thursday practice and Saturday practice. Two one-hour sessions are held on Thursday; Friday is a rest day as the circuit roads re-open; two 45-minute sessions take place on Saturday. This weekend structure is unique to Monaco.

Tyre choices

Bridgestone brings the soft and extra soft dry compounds.

Weather

Sunny.

Practice

Sessions are held in hot, dry weather throughout the weekend. Schumacher sets the Thursday first session’s fastest time at 1:23.039, three-tenths clear of Häkkinen. Ralf Schumacher collides with the barrier near the tunnel entrance; Mazzacane spins and loses his front right wheel at La Rascasse.

Häkkinen takes the day’s fastest time in the second Thursday session at 1:21.387. Irvine is a strong fourth. Wurz collides at the Swimming Pool complex, breaking his front wing and losing a wheel. Heidfeld loses control of his Prost and damages the right side against the barrier at La Rascasse; Diniz follows with a similar incident at the same corner, dropping oil on the track. On Saturday morning, before practice begins, Alex Ribeiro crashes his car into the rails at Tabac; he is unhurt but FIA medical delegate Sid Watkins, assisting at the scene, suffers three broken ribs.

Schumacher sets the third session’s fastest lap at 1:20.762. In the final session, Coulthard leads at 1:20.405 — 0.142 seconds quicker than Häkkinen’s 1999 pole lap. Irvine crashes at the Swimming Pool complex, ending his session early.