Mika Hakkinen, with a fantastic start from third place, beat David Coulthard and Michael Schumacher and won the Hungarian Grand Prix and for the first time in the 2000 F1 season took the lead in the driver’s championship while McLaren took the lead in the constructors’ championship.
After the extremely exciting 11th race of the season at the fast Hockenheim circuit, penultimate race on fast, old version, where Rubens Barrichello won in front of Hakkinen and Coulthard and Schumacher retired in the first lap, the championship fight became very tense – Schumacher led with two points more than Coulthard and Hakkinen, and Barrichello was only 10 points behind his teammate.
Schumacher won his fifth pole position on Saturday (1:17.514), 0.372 seconds ahead of Coulthard and 0.408 seconds ahead of Hakkinen. Barrichello was fifth behind Ralf Schumacher in BMW Williams.
But at the start, Hakkinen had fantastic reaction and traction and took the lead in the short sprint to the first corner.
The Finn had no problem controlling the race from the leading position and led 76 out of 77 laps – Coutlhard led one lap because he remained on track one lap longer than Hakkinen.
Schumacher defended second place from Coulthard, who pushed him hard in the last laps and finished half a second behind him, although he lost time behind the backmarkers.
Barrichello finished fourth, six seconds ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Frentzen in Jordan who scored the last point.
After 12 of the 17 races, Hakkinen led with 64 points, two more than Schumacher, six more than Coulthard and 15 more than Barrichello while McLaren led with one point more than Ferrari despite not scoring Hakkinen’s 10 points from Austria.
STARTING GRID
| 1 | 3 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:17.514 | – |
| 2 | 2 | David Coulthard | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:17.886 | 0.372 |
| 3 | 1 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:17.922 | 0.408 |
| 4 | 9 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams/BMW | 1:18.321 | 0.807 |
| 5 | 4 | R.Barrichello | Ferrari | 1:18.330 | 0.816 |
| 6 | 5 | H-H.Frentzen | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 1:18.523 | 1.009 |
| 7 | 11 | G.Fisichella | Benetton/Playlife | 1:18.607 | 1.093 |
| 8 | 10 | Jenson Button | Williams/BMW | 1:18.699 | 1.185 |
| 9 | 17 | Mika Salo | Sauber/Petronas | 1:18.748 | 1.234 |
| 10 | 7 | Eddie Irvine | Jaguar/Cosworth | 1:19.008 | 1.494 |
| 11 | 12 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton/Playlife | 1:19.259 | 1.745 |
| 12 | 6 | Jarno Trulli | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 1:19.266 | 1.752 |
| 13 | 16 | Pedro Diniz | Sauber/Petronas | 1:19.451 | 1.937 |
| 14 | 14 | Jean Alesi | Prost/Peugeot | 1:19.626 | 2.112 |
| 15 | 18 | Pedro de la Rosa | Arrows/Supertec | 1:19.897 | 2.383 |
| 16 | 22 | J.Villeneuve | BAR/Honda | 1:19.937 | 2.423 |
| 17 | 8 | Johnny Herbert | Jaguar/Cosworth | 1:19.956 | 2.442 |
| 18 | 23 | Ricardo Zonta | BAR/Honda | 1:20.272 | 2.758 |
| 19 | 15 | Nick Heidfeld | Prost/Peugeot | 1:20.481 | 2.967 |
| 20 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Arrows/Supertec | 1:20.609 | 3.095 |
| 21 | 20 | Marc Gené | Minardi/Fondmetal | 1:20.654 | 3.140 |
| 22 | 21 | Gastón Mazzacane | Minardi/Fondmetal | 1:20.905 | 3.391 |
RACE RESULTS
| 1 | 1 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren/Mercedes | 77 | 1:45:33.869 | |
| 2 | 3 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 77 | 1:45:41.786 | 7.917 |
| 3 | 2 | David Coulthard | McLaren/Mercedes | 77 | 1:45:42.324 | 8.455 |
| 4 | 4 | R.Barrichello | Ferrari | 77 | 1:46:18.026 | 44.157 |
| 5 | 9 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams/BMW | 77 | 1:46:24.306 | 50.437 |
| 6 | 5 | H-H.Frentzen | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 77 | 1:46:41.968 | 1:08.099 |
| 7 | 6 | Jarno Trulli | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 76 | 1:46:00.278 | 1 lap |
| 8 | 7 | Eddie Irvine | Jaguar/Cosworth | 76 | 1:46:01.026 | 1 lap |
| 9 | 10 | Jenson Button | Williams/BMW | 76 | 1:46:05.565 | 1 lap |
| 10 | 17 | Mika Salo | Sauber/Petronas | 76 | 1:46:39.757 | 1 lap |
| 11 | 12 | Alexander Wurz | Benetton/Playlife | 76 | 1:46:46.856 | 1 lap |
| 12 | 22 | J.Villeneuve | BAR/Honda | 75 | 1:45:36.684 | 2 laps |
| 13 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Arrows/Supertec | 75 | 1:46:13.985 | 2 laps |
| 14 | 23 | Ricardo Zonta | BAR/Honda | 75 | 1:46:57.044 | 2 laps |
| 15 | 20 | Marc Gené | Minardi/Fondmetal | 74 | 1:46:04.118 | 3 laps |
| 16 | 18 | Pedro de la Rosa | Arrows/Supertec | 73 | 1:45:40.556 | 4 laps |
| (16) | 21 | Gastón Mazzacane | Minardi/Fondmetal | 68 | 1:38:18.781 | Engine |
| (14) | 8 | Johnny Herbert | Jaguar/Cosworth | 67 | 1:35:39.320 | Gearbox |
| (9) | 16 | Pedro Diniz | Sauber/Petronas | 62 | 1:26:43.822 | Transmission |
| (20) | 11 | G.Fisichella | Benetton/Playlife | 31 | 48:18.966 | Brakes |
| (15) | 15 | Nick Heidfeld | Prost/Peugeot | 22 | 31:19.692 | Electrical |
| (22) | 14 | Jean Alesi | Prost/Peugeot | 11 | 20:45.503 | Suspension |
Fastest lap: Mika Hakkinen – 1:20.028 (lap 33)
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 12/17 RACES
| 1 | Mika Häkkinen | 64 | – | – | 6 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 10 |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | 62 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 10 | – | 10 | – | – | – | 6 |
| 3 | David Coulthard | 58 | – | – | 4 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 10 | – | 10 | 6 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | Rubens Barrichello | 49 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 4 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 3 |
| 5 | Giancarlo Fisichella | 18 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | 2 | 4 | 4 | – | – | – | – |
| 6 | Ralf Schumacher | 16 | 4 | 2 | – | 3 | 3 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 2 |
| 7 | Jacques Villeneuve | 11 | 3 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 8 | Jenson Button | 8 | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 3 | – |
| 9 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | 6 | – | 4 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 |
| 10 | Jarno Trulli | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | – |
| 11 | Mika Salo | 6 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – |
| 12 | Eddie Irvine | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | |
| 13 | Jos Verstappen | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | – | – |
| 14 | Pedro de la Rosa | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | – | 1 | – |
| 15 | Ricardo Zonta | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 16 | Pedro Diniz | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 17 | Alexander Wurz | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 18 | Johnny Herbert | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 19 | Marc Gené | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | Nick Heidfeld | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 21 | Gastón Mazzacane | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 22 | Jean Alesi | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 23 | Luciano Burti | 0 | – |
CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAPIONSHIP
| 1 | McLaren/Mercedes | 112 | – | – | 10 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 11 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 14 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 111 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 9 |
| 3 | Williams/BMW | 24 | 4 | 3 | – | 5 | 3 | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 4 | Benetton/Playlife | 18 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | 2 | 4 | 4 | – | – | – | – |
| 5 | Jordan/Mugen-Honda | 12 | – | 7 | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 1 | – | – | 1 |
| 6 | BAR/Honda | 12 | 4 | – | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | 3 | – | – |
| 7 | Sauber/Petronas | 6 | – | – | 1 | – | – | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | 2 | – |
| 8 | Arrows/Supertec | 4 | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | – | 1 | – |
| 9 | Jaguar/Cosworth | 3 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | Minardi/Fondmetal | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 11 | Prost/Peugeot | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
