2000 Gran Premio do Brasil
Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace, Interlagos

  Pit Report

Button makes Formula One history

Briton Jenson Button made history as Formula One's youngest points scorer while compatriot David Coulthard left Brazil on Monday with little to celebrate on his birthday.

Coulthard, 29 on Monday, had finished runner-up to Ferrari's Michael Schumacher on Sunday at Interlagos but the McLaren driver was disqualified and stripped of his six points after the car failed a post-race inspection.
The stewards ruled that the McLaren's front wing was five millimetres lower to the ground than regulations permit. McLaren appealed, arguing that the vibration of the bumpy circuit had damaged the body of the car.
The world governing body FIA said a hearing with three judges was expected in Paris at the start of next week, before Imola hosts the San Marino Grand Prix on April 9.
The disqualification provisionally moved 20-year-old Button up to sixth and gave the Williams driver a point in only the second race of an already remarkable career.
At the start of the year, Button was little more than a promising teenager with a test drive secured after attracting attention in British Formula Three.
Having convinced Frank Williams to take the plunge and sign him as Italian Alex Zanardi's replacement, Button then lined up at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 12 as the youngest Briton ever in the sport.
Many of the sport's elder statesmen, former champions Jackie Stewart and Jody Scheckter included, expressed concern that Button was too inexperienced to be there.
Two weeks later and, after completing a grand prix for the first time in his life with great poise and confidence, the Briton found himself with more points than the entire McLaren team and their world champion Mika Hakkinen.


BUTTON TAKES THE POINT

At 20 years and two months -- Button was born on January 19, 1980 -- he became the youngest points scorer.
The previous record was set by Mexican Ricardo Rodriguez, who was 20 years and four months old when he finished fourth for Ferrari at the 1962 Belgian Grand Prix.
Rodriguez died in a crash that year.
Coulthard's points would have been McLaren's first of a season that has so far shown every sign of being as frustrating for the team as last year's when they dominated qualifying but failed to hammer home their advantage on race day.
The Scot was already heading for the airport when news of his disqualification finally emerged six hours after Schumacher had taken the chequered flag.
The Briton and Hakkinen were both forced to retire with engine trouble in Australia and the Finn, to his dismay, was again sidelined in Brazil.
That left Hakkinen, chasing a third successive title, with no points on the board from the opening two races despite having started both on pole position and also led both.
"Nothing can describe how I feel," he said.
"We have been quick all weekend, right the way through, so I am not happy to be leaving Brazil without any points. We have some work to do before the start of the European season."

It was the second race in a row that a car had been disqualified after failing the post-race inspection and also the second time in Coulthard's career that he had finished as runner-up in Brazil only to be disqualified.
The Briton and Schumacher were disqualified in Brazil in 1995 while he was at Williams when the team and the German's Benetton were found to have used illegal fuel.
Both drivers had their points reinstated on appeal but the teams had them withheld and were fined.
The Sauber of Finland's Mika Salo was also disqualified in this year's opening Australian Grand Prix for having a front wing that extended 20 mm too far.
The Swiss-based team did not compete in Brazil for safety reasons after rear wing failures in practice.
Last season was overshadowed by a similar measuring controversy involving Ferrari, whose aerodynamic barge boards were found to be illegal, at the penultimate Malaysian Grand Prix. That decision was later reversed.
The new season has seen no let up as a place in Formula One history is still measured in millimetres.

  Pit Report

Team-by-team results of Brazil GP

Details of how each team fared in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix:

FERRARI: Michael Schumacher won his second consecutive race and his third in Brazil with a good start strategy that put him past the two McLarens early on. Local hero Rubens Barrichello dropped out in the 27th lap with hydraulic problems, dashing Brazilians' high hopes of seeing him on the top of the podium for the first time.
MCLAREN: David Coulthard lost his second place finish after his car was disqualified six hours later for a low front wing. Defending world champion Mika Hakkinen dropped out in the 29th lap with engine problems while leading after Schumacher's pit stop. McLaren is pointless in the first two races of the season.
JORDAN: After both cars failed to finish in Melbourne, Jordan was back in the points in Brazil with a third-place finish by Heinz-Harald Frentzen and a fourth-place finish by Jarno Trulli. "There had been a lot of concern about our reliability and today proved that we did indeed make a big step at Silverstone in testing last week," said owner Eddie Jordan.
JAGUAR: Eddie Irvine spun out in the 21st lap, pushing his car harder than he should have been and losing the back end after a good sixth position in the grid. Veteran Johnny Herbert went out in the 50th with a gearbox problem. "Despite the two retirements, we have definitely made progress since Melbourne," said team principal Paul Stewart.
WILLIAMS: Ralf Schumacher was in the points for the second consecutive race, picking up fifth, while 20-year-old Jenson Button scored his first point in the Formula One with a sixth place thanks to Coulthard's disqualification.
BENETTON: With the return of Flavio Briatore to the helm this week after a two-year absence, Benetton scored a second place finish with Giancarlo Fisichella's one-stop strategy. Alexander Wurz had the opposite fortune, stalling in the warm-up lap, starting in the pitlane and dropping out after six laps.
SAUBER: Sauber retired from the race after Saturday's qualifying session registered rear wing problems in both Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz's cars. Salo suffered a scary crash in practice Saturday when the wing flew off for no apparent reason.
ARROWS: Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa finished in seventh and eighth in a race that proved tough for both of them. Verstappen admitted that physical exhaustion kept him from holding third place, while De la Rosa came in four laps late for his pit stop due to a radio problem. Team principal Tom Walkinshaw said fitness training is on the cards before Imola.
MINARDI: Newcomer Gaston Mazzacane was at the back for most of the race but managed to be the last finisher in 10th place, while Marc Gene dropped out with engine failure on lap 31. "We feel satisfied with the car's competitiveness and we are disappointed to realise that our potential in qualifying will not allow us to reach better positions," said owner Gabriele Rumi.
BAR: Young local driver Ricardo Zonta finished his first Brazilian Grand Prix in 9th place after his serious accident here in practice last year. Former world champion Jacques Villeneuve did not finish, dropping out in the 16th lap with gearbox problems.

  Pit Report

Results of Brazilian Grand Prix and Formula One standings

Results of Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix motor race.
Race distance: 71 laps (4.309 kms)
1.Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 1 hour 31 minutes and 35.271 seconds (average speed 200.4 kph)
2. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton 39.9
3. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Jordan 42.3
4. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Jordan 72.8
5. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 1 lap
6. Jenson Button (Britain) Williams 1 lap
7. Jos Verstappen (Netherlands) Arrows 1 lap
8. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) Arrows 1 lap
9. Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) BAR 2 laps
10. Gaston Mazzacane (Argentina) Minardi 2 laps

DISQUALIFIED: David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 4.3 seconds behind Michael Schumacher

Did not finish:
Johnny Herbert (Britain) Jaguar 51 laps completed
Marc Gene (Spain) Minardi 31 laps
Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren 30 laps
Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 27 laps
Eddie Irvine (Britain) Jaguar 20 laps
Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR 16 laps
Jean Alesi (France) Prost 11 laps
Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Prost 9 laps
Alexander Wurz (Austria) Benetton 6 laps


Fastest lap: M. Schumacher (1 minute, 14.755 seconds)

Formula One standings after Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix:

Drivers' championship:
1. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 20 points
2 Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton 8
3. equal. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 6
3. equal. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 6
5. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Jordan 4
6 equal.Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR 3
6. equal Jarno Trulli (Italy) Jordan 3
8. equal. Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) BAR 1
8. equal. Jenson Button (Britain) Williams 1

Constructors' championship:
1. Ferrari 26
2 Benetton 8
3 equal. Jordan 7
3. equal. Williams 7
5. BAR 4

  Pit Report

Ferrari flies as McLaren disqualified

McLaren have yet to score a single point in this year's Formula One championship after David Coulthard lost six points when his car was disqualified from second place in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher is now way ahead of the field with his second win in as many races in the 2000 season. Schumacher's car had also come under scrutiny in a post-race inspection, but was cleared by scrutineers.
Coulthard was already on his way to the airport to celebrate his 29th birthday Monday in London when he got the bad news nearly six hours after the race. A technical inspection found his front wing was 5 mm or a fraction of an inch lower to the ground than regulations allow.
McLaren appealed the ruling, claiming that the "bottoming and vibration" of the bumpy Interlagos circuit had caused structural damage to the silver racer's body.
But until the appeal is heard in a date to be set in the future, Coulthard is officially excluded from the results of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
With Coulthard's disqualification, Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella moves up to second and Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen to third. British 20-year-old Jenson Button takes the first point of his Formula One career with a sixth place.
SCHUMACHER TAKES FIRM COMMAND

The 31-year-old Schumacher had taken the chequered flag 4.3 seconds ahead of Coulthard to secure Ferrari's first Brazilian Grand Prix win since Frenchman Alain Prost triumphed at Interlagos in 1990.
The German, a two-time world champion, always looked in command due to his Italian team's strategy of two pitstops to McLaren's one and took the lead from defending world champion Mika Hakkinen with a precise overtaking manoeuvre at the start of the second lap.
The Finn, who has been on pole position for both races so far this season, went out after 29 laps when his McLaren developed engine problems while he was leading.
Hakkinen had also retired from the season-opening Australian Grand Prix while in the lead due to an engine fault.
Schumacher's win gave him a maximum 20 points and lifted him to a 12-points lead over Fisichella. Schumacher's Brazilian team mate Rubens Barrichello and his brother at Williams, Ralf Schumacher, are tied for third with six points. But the winner was wary of the expectations being built up.
"People told me in Australia that the guy who wins that race will be the champion and now I have been asked the same question here," said Schumacher afterwards.
The last six winners of the Brazilian Grand Prix have gone on to win the title at the end of the season.
"Statistics can easily prove to be wrong," added Schumacher. "If they were right, I could go home now and watch the rest of the season on television, but I am not going to do that.
"This is going to be a very close season, a really close fight and I want to enjoy it all the way."

Schumacher's victory was the 37th of his career and his third in Brazil. Both of his previous Brazilian wins came in his title-winning years of 1994 and 1995 with Benetton.
"We are looking very competitive and the season could not have started better," he said. "Our development programme means we will have an improved car for Imola and I hope we can get the same result as last year for all the tifosi."

The San Marino Grand Prix is next on April 9.
Schumacher's team mate Brazilian Rubens Barrichello was out of luck after his second placed finish in Australia and was forced to retire with hydraulics trouble after leading briefly, for two laps, during the pit-stops.
"I am disappointed," he said. "Michael made a great start, better than mine, but I think I showed I could keep up with him thanks to a competitive car.
The retirements left the race wide open for Fisichella ahead of the Jordans driven by Frentzen and team mate Italian Jarno Trulli, who moves up to fourth with Coulthard's exit. Ralf Schumacher scored his second points of the season with a fifth place.

  Pit Report

Coulthard's McLaren disqualified

Formula One stewards disqualified the McLaren of Briton David Coulthard, who finished second in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, after it failed a post-race inspection.
"When checking the front bodywork height, it was noticed that the front wing was only 43mm instead of 50mm above the reference plane which is described in article 3.12.1 of the 2000 FIA Formula One technical regulations," the FIA stewards said in an official note.
The decision came five and a half hours after the race ended.
McLaren had one hour to appeal the decision. But until the appeal is heard in a date to be set in the future, Coulthard is officially excluded from the results of the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The top six finishers all had their cars checked and five of them were declared legal.
Coulthard, 29 on Monday, had taken McLaren's first points of the season, coming in behind winner Michael Schumacher of Ferrari.
With Coulthard's disqualification, Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella moves up to second and Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen to third. British 20-year-old Jenson Button will take the first point of his Formula One career after finishing seventh.
The last time Schumacher won the Brazilian Grand Prix -- with Benetton in 1995 -- he and second-placed Coulthard were both disqualified for fuel irregularities.
They were later reinstated on appeal but their teams -- Benetton and Williams, respectively -- were fined and lost the points in the constructors' championship.
Schumacher and Ferrari were also involved in a major controversy last season when the German and his then team mate Eddie Irvine were disqualified in the Malaysian Grand Prix for illegal aerodynamic barge boards.
They were also later reinstated on appeal.

  Pit Report

Briatore scores on return to Benetton

Flavio Briatore returned to the Benetton helm after a two-year absence on Sunday and racked up immediate points in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The flamboyant Italian's first week of work under new Benetton owner Renault saw the team on the podium with his compatriot Giancarlo Fisichella grabbing third on a one-stop strategy.
"We have done a very good job all weekend," said Briatore. "There was only one way to overtake Jordan and Jaguar and that was with a one-stop strategy. Fisichella did very well."

The man who presided over back-to-back world championships in 1994 and 1995 at Benetton with Michael Schumacher looked as if he had never been away.
"I know my people here," Briatore said. "It's a little bit of magic, but a lot of good organisation."

That organisation failed to help Austrian driver Alexander Wurz, who stalled in the warm-up lap, started in the pit lane and was the first to drop out of the race after only six laps.
"It was an engine problem," Briatore said. "It is not Alexander's problem. It is mine."

For all the confidence he exuded, Briatore doubted he will be able to reap better results until 2002, when French carmaker Renault takes full control of Benetton and introduces a new V10 engine.
"It is the best we can do with the car that we have."

While the car may have its limitations, Briatore has said he wants to make deep changes in how the team is run -- a key demand in his nine-month negotiations with Renault before they closed the $120 million purchase of Benetton last week.
He started off telling everyone on the team he wanted better grooming for all staff, including a daily shave.

  Pit Report

Verstappen frustrated by his own neck

Dutchman Jos Verstappen blamed himself on Sunday for failing to finish in the points or on the podium for the resurgent Arrows team in the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The driver, back in Formula One after an 18-months absence, drove superbly to pass 10 cars in the race and rise from 14th on the grid to fourth.
But as the contest progressed he said his neck and physical condition let him down and he was forced to ease off, allowing other drivers to move past him.
"We have a very good car and we were going very well," said Verstappen, once regarded as one of the fastest upcoming talents in the sport who has also had Formula One stints with Benetton, Simtek, Tyrrell and Stewart in the past.
"In the first half of the race, I was quick. But the team can blame me for what happened after that. I was completely gone. The steering was very heavy.
"We have to concentrate on power steering. But the basics are there, it's just a matter of getting it sorted out. I felt good but perhaps it wasn't enough.
"Perhaps it's this type of circuit. I'm going to go to the gym every day now. What suffered were my arms, my neck and my back - that was because of the seat.
"I've got blisters that I've never had before. The steering was very heavy. Obviously we have very good aerodynamics, our top speed was really good and I overtook about six people on the straight, but I couldn't keep it up."

Team chief Tom Walkinshaw said he was disappointed. "We could have scored points here and we had the potential to that."

  Pit Report

Jordan back in the points in Brazil

Eddie Jordan was a relieved man on Sunday after fourth and fifth place finishes in the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix eased doubts about the reliability of his cars.
"There had been a lot of concern about our reliability and today proved that we did indeed make a big step at Silverstone in testing last week," said the Irish team owner, celebrating his team's first points of the season.
German Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Italian Jarno Trulli both failed to finish in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne two weeks ago with mechanical problems.
That caused alarm for a team that took third place in the 1999 constructors championship, their best result ever, and had hoped to start the season by giving the dominant Ferrari and McLaren teams a run for their money.
But on Sunday, Frentzen finished fourth after starting seventh and nearly nipped Benetton's third-placed Giancarlo Fisichella with a one-stop strategy.
Trulli moved up from 12th on the grid to fifth as he ran a two-stop strategy and lightened his fuel load.
"We knew Fisichella would do a one-stop strategy, but just couldn't beat him today," said Frentzen, who started his Formula One career in Brazil in 1994 and was a surprise third-place finisher here one year ago.
Frentzen, in his second year at Jordan, said the team still has work to do to make the cars faster and tighten the reliability to ensure the team stays up with the front of the grid.
"It is as if we started the season in Brazil rather than in Melbourne, so we are bit behind in our rhythm," Frentzen said. "But we are a very strong team with a good atmosphere, I get along well with Jarno and everything is fine so far."

Trulli, who moved to Jordan this year from Prost, said he was pleasantly surprised with Sunday's result after what he called a "dreadful qualifying".
Trulli heads to Silverstone for more testing this week ahead of the next race at his home circuit of Imola.
Frentzen's arrival at Silverstone will depend on the birth of his first child.