2000 Japanese Grand Prix

  2000 Japanese Grand Prix

Race details
Race 16 of 17 in the 2000 Formula One season
Date	October 8, 2000
Official name	XXVI Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility 5.859 km (3.641 mi)
Distance	53 laps, 310.527 km (192.953 mi)
Pole position
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Time	1:35.825
Fastest lap
Driver	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes
Time	1:39.189 on lap 26
Podium
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes

The 2000 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Suzuka on October 8, 2000. It was the 16th and penultimate round of the 2000 Formula One season.

Michael Schumacher claimed his third World Drivers' Championship (equalling the championship totals of Jack Brabham, Jackie Stewart, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna) and the first drivers' title for Ferrari since Jody Scheckter back in 1979, in a very tense race. Schumacher trailed Häkkinen for most of the race after a poor start, but steady drizzle near the end of the race made the track slippery and allowed Schumacher to turn the tables.

Michael Schumacher became a triple World champion at the penultimate round of the season after a season long battle with Mika Häkkinen to end Ferrari's 21 year driver-championless drought.

Schumacher's fast in-lap and 6-second final pit stop put him in front of McLaren's Mika Häkkinen and won him and Ferrari the race on a track that was tricky due to persistent light rain throughout the race. Häkkinen's teammate David Coulthard finished a distant third after a racelong battle with the second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello and the Williams of Jenson Button. The last point went to the BAR of former world champion Jacques Villeneuve.

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:35.825
2	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:35.834	+0.009
3	2	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:36.236	+0.411
4	4	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:36.330	+0.505
5	10	Jenson Button	Williams-BMW	1:36.628	+0.803
6	9	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	1:36.788	+0.963
7	7	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:36.899	+1.074
8	5	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:37.243	+1.418
9	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	1:37.267	+1.442
10	8	Johnny Herbert	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:37.329	+1.504
11	12	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	1:37.348	+1.523
12	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	1:37.479	+1.654
13	18	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows-Supertec	1:37.652	+1.827
14	19	Jos Verstappen	Arrows-Supertec	1:37.674	+1.849
15	6	Jarno Trulli	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	1:37.679	+1.854
16	15	Nick Heidfeld	Prost-Peugeot	1:38.141	+2.316
17	14	Jean Alesi	Prost-Peugeot	1:38.209	+2.384
18	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR-Honda	1:38.269	+2.444
19	17	Mika Salo	Sauber-Petronas	1:38.490	+2.665
20	16	Pedro Diniz	Sauber-Petronas	1:38.576	+2.751
21	20	Marc Gené	Minardi-Fondmetal	1:39.972	+4.147
22	21	Gastón Mazzacane	Minardi-Fondmetal	1:40.462	+4.637

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	3	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	53	1:29:53.435	1	10
2	1	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+1.837	2	6
3	2	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+1:09.914	3	4
4	4	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	53	+1:19.191	4	3
5	10	Jenson Button	Williams-BMW	53	+1:25.694	5	2
6	22	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	52	+1 Lap	9	1
7	8	Johnny Herbert	Jaguar-Cosworth	52	+1 Lap	10
8	7	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	52	+1 Lap	7
9	23	Ricardo Zonta	BAR-Honda	52	+1 Lap	18
10	17	Mika Salo	Sauber-Petronas	52	+1 Lap	19
11	16	Pedro Diniz	Sauber-Petronas	52	+1 Lap	20
12	18	Pedro de la Rosa	Arrows-Supertec	52	+1 Lap	13
13	6	Jarno Trulli	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	52	+1 Lap	15
14	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Playlife	52	+1 Lap	12
15	21	Gastón Mazzacane	Minardi-Fondmetal	51	+2 Laps	22
Ret	20	Marc Gené	Minardi-Fondmetal	46	Engine	21
Ret	9	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	41	Spun off	6
Ret	15	Nick Heidfeld	Prost-Peugeot	41	Suspension	16
Ret	12	Alexander Wurz	Benetton-Playlife	37	Spun off	11
Ret	5	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan-Mugen-Honda	29	Hydraulics	8
Ret	14	Jean Alesi	Prost-Peugeot	19	Engine	17
Ret	19	Jos Verstappen	Arrows-Supertec	9	Electrical	14

Standings after the race

• Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 98 2 Mika Häkkinen 86 3 David Coulthard 67 4 Rubens Barrichello 58 5 Ralf Schumacher 24

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 156 2 McLaren-Mercedes 143 3 Williams-BMW 36 4 Benetton-Playlife 20 5 BAR-Honda 18

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

Previous race: 2000 United States Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 2000 season	Next race: 2000 Malaysian Grand Prix
Previous race: 1999 Japanese Grand Prix	Japanese Grand Prix	Next race: 2001 Japanese Grand Prix

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