2000 Grand Prix de Monaco
The Streets of Monte Carlo

  Pit Report

Jaguar celebrate first points in Formula One

Jaguar celebrated their first points in Formula One with a mixture of jubilation and relief on Sunday after Eddie Irvine finished fourth in the Monaco Grand Prix.
"We badly needed the points," said former world champion Jackie Stewart, who founded the team that carried his name and won one race last season before carmaker Ford rebranded it as Jaguar from the start of 2000.
Stewart also had the satisfaction of seeing his former protegee David Coulthard triumph for McLaren 27 years after he had won on the same track.
Coulthard was the first Briton to win at Monaco since fellow-Scot Stewart in 1973.
"It's a race of attrition here," said Stewart. "You have to finish and that's what Eddie did. It's really what the team desperately needed."

Irvine, who concentrated on avoiding mistakes and keeping his car out of the barriers in soaring temperatures, said it was one of the hardest races of his life.
"There have been races this year when we deserved points -- today we got them," he said. "I'm really pleased for the guys. Together we've all been slogging away and not getting any payback.

HEAVY STEERING

"The steering was getting very heavy towards the end. I was suffering from dehydration because my drink bottle wasn't working and my foot is badly blistered, but I'll worry about that tomorrow," he added.
The Northern Irishman joined Jaguar this season after four years alongside double world champion Michael Schumacher of Germany at Ferrari and had finished runner-up to him in last year's race.
Like everyone associated with the Jaguar team, he was as relieved as he was delighted after enduring a difficult start to the season.

"It's very gratifying for all our efforts to be rewarded at last with the team's first points," said Jaguar chief Neil Ressler, who took over as chief executive when Stewart's son Paul began a course of treatment for cancer earlier this year.
The three points helped Jaguar, who arrived in Formula One after considerable success in Le Mans sportscar racing, move to seventh equal in the constructors' championship while Irvine moved up to 10th equal in the drivers' title race.
Briton Johnny Herbert, who gave the Stewart team their only victory last year, was ninth in the other Jaguar after a difficult race that showed the team still have much to do.
Herbert felt he could have secured a top six placing but a communications breakdown meant he lost time on an unscheduled pit stop.
For the team and their owners, Ford, the result may end some of the criticism they have suffered after an extravagant and expensive launch at the start of the year.
They arrived promising that 'the cat is back!' but the high-profile public relations exercise was followed by a run of dismal results and problems in testing.
On Sunday, the roar could be heard again.

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"I felt a few laps before that something was wrong but there was nothing I could do about it," he said.
Schumacher took some comfort from the fact that world champion Mika Hakkinen, his McLaren rival, came only sixth.
"I could have picked up 10 points today but the driver I consider my main rival could also have done so," he said.
Minutes before that, Ralf had slid off and banged his Williams heavily into the barriers at the Ste Devote curve. It was his fourth failure to finish in Monte Carlo in as many races there.
He was taken to hospital to have stitches in an eight centimetre cut to his left leg but escaped without more serious injury.
"I don't actually know where this injury came from," Schumacher said afterwards. "After crashing into the barrier I jumped out and did not look at the damaged car and therefore did not realise that my leg was hurt."

  Pit Report

Monaco Grand Prix team-by-team

Team-by-team analysis of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix:

FERRARI (Rubens Barrichello 2, Michael Schumacher retired)

Barrichello ended second despite a poor start which saw the Brazilian drop down to eighth at the first corner.
Schumacher led for 55 laps until he was forced to retire with a left-rear suspension failure. "We had an exhaust failure, one of the pipes broke and basically cooked the suspension."

MCLAREN (David Coulthard 1, Mika Hakkinen 6)

Coulthard was held up by the Jordan of Jarno Trulli in the opening laps but won following the retirement of runaway leader Michael Schumacher.
World champion Mika Hakkinen overcame gearbox problems to take sixth place and a vital championship point.


JORDAN (Heinz-Harald Frentzen 10, Jarno Trulli retired)

An unnecessary error by German Frentzen cost him second place as he clipped the barrier at Ste Devote and damaged his suspension eight laps from the chequered flag.
Trulli's race ended after 36 laps when an engine problem forced him out while running in second position.


JAGUAR (Eddie Irvine 4, Johny Herbert 9)

Eddie Irvine steered Jaguar to their first points in Formula One as he drove what he called one of the hardest races of his life. "There have been races this year when we deserved points -- today we got them".
An unscheduled pit-stop, compounded by a communications problem, put fellow Briton Johnny Herbert to the back of the field where he finished two laps down.


WILLIAMS (Ralf Schumacher and Jenson Button retired)

A heavy collision with the tyre wall at Ste Devote forced Schumacher out with a cut leg.
Briton Button was involved in the shunt that forced the first start to be aborted and was then unable to continue after 17 laps following a problem with his BMW engine.


BENETTON (Giancarlo Fisichella 3, Alex Wurz retired)

Fisichella earned his second podium finish of the season. The Italian closed on Ferrari's Barrichello in the closing stages but had to settle for third.
After stalling on the grid and then starting from the pit-lane in the spare car, Austrian Wurz hit the wall at Ste Devote and was forced to retire on lap 17.


SAUBER (Mika Salo 5, Pedro Diniz retired)

Finn Salo held off a determined late challenge from Hakkinen to claim two points for the Swiss team.
Brazilian Diniz's race ended on lap 30 when he hit the tyre wall on the Beau Rivage hill and bent his left-rear wheel.


PROST (Nick Heidfeld 8, Jean Alesi retired)

Young German Heidfeld failed to make any impact on the race but completed the race distance, one lap down on winner Coulthard.
Frenchman Alesi suffered mechanical problems in the tunnel when in seventh place and steered his car down the escape route on lap 29.


ARROWS (Jos Verstappen and Pedro de la Rosa retired)

Dutchman Verstappen made a mistake and spun at le Tabac on lap 62 and a collision with the wall ended his race.
Spanish team-mate De la Rosa failed to take to the grid for the restart after colliding with the Williams of Jenson Button on the opening lap of the original start.


MINARDI (Marc Gene and Gaston Mazzacane retired)

Argentine Mazzacane was another victim of the Ste Devote corner as he damaged a wheel in a collision with the tyre wall on lap 21.
Spaniard Gene guided his car off the track on lap 20 after suffering mechanical problems.


BAR (Jacques Villeneuve 7, Ricardo Zonta retired)

Villeneuve completed the full race distance but was never in contention for a points finish.
Brazilian Zonta was one of the many victims of the Ste Devote corner, entering the right-hander too quickly and hitting the tyre wall on lap 48.

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Hakkinen fights back to make his point

A single point was world champion Mika Hakkinen's reward for determination in the face of adversity at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Finn had started the race with his McLaren in an unusually low fifth position after a tough time in Saturday's qualifying session.
That left him with the task of trying to get past four cars on the notoriously narrow and winding Monaco circuit, where overtaking is next to impossible.
Then, halfway through the race and still in fifth place, Hakkinen suffered a setback that almost left him out of the running altogether.
"Let's just say I'm glad it's over," the two times world champion said while his team mate David Coulthard, who lapped the Finn, was celebrating his first Monaco win.
"It could have been worse in the circumstances... I was running all right in fifth, quite comfortable with that and just looking for the right moment to overtake.
"Then I went into a corner and the brake didn't work," Hakkinen said.
He made a pit stop that took him out for 53.2 seconds and rejoined the race well down the field.
But he was 12th after 41 laps and showed his mettle by setting the fastest time of the race at that stage.
A gearbox problem then slowed him again on the 74th lap when he had made it back into the points and he had to settle for sixth behind compatriot and big rival Mika Salo who steered his Sauber to fifth place.
Coulthard had started from third on the grid and took the lead after Ferrari's Michael Schumacher limped back to the pits with his suspension broken after 55 laps.
It was McLaren's 11th victory on the streets of Monte Carlo, reinforcing their dominant record in the streets of the Mediterranean principality.
The result meant that Coulthard overtook Hakkinen in the drivers championship with 34 points to the Finn's 29, still trailing Schumacher on 46.
Ferrari stay ahead in the constructors' competition, with Rubens Barichello's second place taking their score to 68 ahead of McLaren on 63.
McLaren chief Ron Dennis said he was reasonably happy with the result however.
"It edges us closer to having a crack at the world championship. It closes the gap on Michael and it closes the gap on the constructors. And with 10 races to go anything can happen," he said.
Dennis said he was disappointed with the mechanical problems that plagued Hakkinen during the race:

"At least we got a point. Of course we try to have 100 percent reliability but he certainly didn't with his car. We were lucky to get him out again at all."

  Pit Report

Coulthard wins in Monaco

David Coulthard became the first Briton since Jackie Stewart in 1973 to win the Monaco Grand Prix when he drove his McLaren to victory in a race of dramatic twists on Sunday.
German Michael Schumacher, Ferrari's championship leader, dominated for 55 laps before suffering a rear suspension problem that put him out of the race.
That allowed Coulthard, who had moved up to second place after Italian Jarno Trulli's Jordan went out, to take the lead and win comfortably by 15.8 seconds ahead of Brazilian Rubens Barichello in the second Ferrari.
Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was third in a Benetton.
Coulthard's win was the eighth of his career and also hoisted him up to second place in the drivers' world championship.
"Okay, I've benefitted today with problems to Michael and Jarno but that's Monaco," said Coulthard.
"I've had my fair share of bad luck over the years so I'm quite happy to take this win today."
The McLaren driver, a Scot like Stewart, now has 34 points and is 12 behind Schumacher, who has 46.
He also lapped his team mate and world champion Mika Hakkinen who had to claw his way back through the field to sixth after an unscheduled pitstop.
"Michael had a big lead but obviously that took a toll on his car," said Coulthard, who survived a fatal plane crash in southern France little more than a month ago.
"You've got to have a reliable car and keep away from the barriers. Today I was able to do that."

"It means a lot," he said. "Silverstone and the British Grand Prix is my home event, there is nothing like the Italian Grand Prix for enthusiasm for Formula One and the Monaco race is the most technically challenging of the lot for a driver."

IRVINE PUTS JAGUAR IN THE POINTS
Barrichello, sixth on the grid, said he was blocked at the start and lost time as a result.
"I was conserving the tyres and fuel for much of the time. It was a good race, catching up the whole time and just proving that qualifying just went wrong."

Another Briton Eddie Irvine finished fourth to give Jaguar their first points in Formula One.
"It's really what the team desperately needed," commented Jackie Stewart, the former Jaguar team chairman.
"It's a race of attrition here but you have to finish and that is what Eddie did."

Finland's Mika Salo was fifth in a Sauber, fighting off intense pressure in the closing laps from defending world champion and fellow Finn Hakkinen.
The 78-laps race was mostly a processional affair, punctuated by unexpected retirements and plenty of incidents which included one aborted start, a red-flagged first "race" and four drivers starting from the pit lane.
Both the Schumacher brothers then went out, with Ralf crashing before Michael had a suspension problem.
"We had an exhaust failure, one of the pipes broke and basically cooked the suspension," said Michael.
The two times world champion had led from pole and, following a pit stop, was 4.2 seconds ahead of Coulthard when the front right side of his car lifted at the start of lap 56.
The German, winner at Monaco four times in the past six years, nursed his Ferrari around the circuit before pulling into the pits and stepping out of the car after mechanics struggled for a minute to repair the problem.
His retirement extended the jinx on the pole position to 12 races. Hakkinen, in Hungary last August, was the last driver to win a race after starting on pole.
Coulthard admitted he had felt as if he had little chance when Schumacher pitted and then kept the lead.
But Trulli retired after 38 laps and that left Coulthard with a clear run in pursuit of Schumacher.
Ralf, the younger of the two Schumachers, cut his left leg in an accident in his Williams which saw him crash out from sixth place after 38 laps. His brother Michael said Ralf needed stitches on a deep cut but had not broken anything.

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Formula one world championship standings

Formula one world championship standings after Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix:

Drivers' championship:
1. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 46 points
2. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 34
3. Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren 29
4. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 22
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton 14
6. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 12
7= Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR 5
7= Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Jordan 5
9. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Jordan 4
10= Jenson Button (Britain) Williams 3
10= Mika Salo (Finland) Sauber 3
10= Eddie Irvine (Britain) Jaguar 3
13= Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) BAR 1
13= Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) Arrows 1

Constructors' championship:
1. Ferrari 68 points
2. McLaren 63
3. Williams 15
4. Benetton 14
5. Jordan 9
6. BAR 6
7= Sauber 3
7= Jaguar 3
9= Arrows 1

  Pit Report

Monaco Grand Prix result

Result of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix motor race:
1. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 1 hour 49 minutes 28.213 seconds (average speed 144.072 kph)
2. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 15.889 seconds behind
3. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton 18.522
4. Eddie Irvine (Britain) Jaguar 1:05.924
5. Mika Salo (Finland) Sauber 1:20.774
6. Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren 1 lap
7. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR 1 lap
8. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Prost 1 lap
9. Johnny Herbert (Britain) Jaguaa 2 laps
10. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Jordan 8 laps

Did not finish (not classified):
11. Jos Verstappen (Netherlands) Arrows 60 laps complated
12. Michael Schumacher (German) Ferrari 55 laps
13. Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) BAR 48 laps
14. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 37 laps
15. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Jordan 36 laps
16. Pedro Diniz (Brazil) Sauber 30 laps
17. Jeam Alesi (France) Peugeot 29 laps
18. Gaston Mazzacane (Argentina) Minardi 22 laps
19. Marc Gene (Spain) Minardi 21 laps
20. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Benetton 18 laps
21. Jenson Button (Britain) Williams 16 laps

Did not start (failed to complete one lap):
22. Pedro De La Rosa (Spain) Arrows 0 laps

Fastest lap: Hakinnen, 1:21.571 (average speed 148.729 kph)

  Pit Report

Ralf Schumacher hurts leg in crash

Ralf Schumacher, brother of Ferrari's championship leader Michael, was taken to hospital with a cut leg after crashing his Williams at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.
Schumacher, whose young British team mate Jenson Button had been an early retirement, ran into the crash barriers on lap 38 at the St Devote corner while he was in sixth place.
He limped off the track after clambering out of the car.
The left ankle of his flame-proof overalls was bloodstained and he received medical assistance on the spot before being taken to hospital clutching his forehead with pain.
"He has quite a deep cut into his leg but nothing more than that," said brother Michael, after he had retired from the race when his Ferrari suffered a suspension problem.
"He has to have stitches but nothing is broken and no further problems."

Ralf Schumacher has never yet finished a Monaco Grand Prix in four career attempts.

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Trulli shows potential with front row spot

Jarno Trulli produced he performance expected of him for the past two years on Saturday when he claimed second place on the grid for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.
The Italian drove his Jordan with the enthusiasm and elan which marked him out as a great prospect when he took pole position on the street circuit in a Formula Three race four years ago.
His excellent effort was not quite enough to stop world championship leader Michael Schumacher from taking the 25th pole of his career, but it earned him a front row spot.
"It's great for me, because I didn't expect it at all," Trulli said. "I struggled really badly in practice on Thursday and it is only thanks to a lot of hard work by the mechanics and the engineers that we have made such a big difference."

The former world karting champion reached Formula One by winning the German Formula Three title with Benetton in 1996 before joining the Minardi team the following year.
When Frenchman Olivier Pannis broke his legs in a bad accident at the 1997 Canadian Grand Prix, Trulli replaced him at Prost. He switched to Jordan this year.
"I wanted to be in a team with British discipline which makes progress and gets on with things," he said. "I am not a typical kind of Italian guy, you see. I prefer a more straightforward life than some people and I don't even like football.
"Monaco is a track I really enjoy and, of course, I live here so it is my home race, too. I like that. The car is also developing a lot and Mugen-Honda is pushing very hard which is encouraging for the future races. We had a new specification engine today, too, and that is a real step forward."

Asked about the advice given to him by former boss Alain Prost, Trulli said: "He was a big help to me as a driver and I owe him a lot. He really helped me to make progress. Maybe this year I did not have a great start, but I am sure the team will help me to move forward a lot now.
"The atmosphere is good for me and it is very open and equal. There is a lot of fun, but a lot of serious work too. One of the best things is that I have a very good relationship with (team mate) Heinz-Harald Frentzen. I feel we are treated the same and that matters a lot to me."

Trulli's best result this season was fourth in the Brazilian Grand Prix. His highest finish was second in the rainswept European Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring last year.

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Schumacher has new helmet for Monaco

World championship leader Michael Schumacher is wearing a new helmet to make him stand out in a crowd at Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.
The 31-year-old German grabbed pole position in his Ferrari on Saturday, but clearly felt he needed a little extra assistance to make sure he avoided trouble with the back-markers.
"It has a wider visor which gives me a better field of vision, especially at the sides," he said. "And the slightly different colour scheme will help make it easier to spot me and not to confuse me with Rubens (Barrichello)," he said.

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Villeneuve sprints for the pits -- on foot

Canadian driver Jacques Villeneuve took up a different kind of road racing on Saturday when his car packed in during qualifying and he had to run half way round the circuit to get back to the pit.
The crowds gave a standing ovation as Villeneuve dodged obstacles along the circuit, skirting past yachts in the harbour and hurdling crash barriers to get back pick up the spare car.
Perhaps drained by his exertions, Villeneuve clocked only the 17th fastest time, leaving him near the back of the grid for Sunday's race.
But the 1997 world champion who drives for the BAR team was still in fighting spirit. "It was no problem," he said, commenting on his unscheduled run.
"Quite honestly, whether it's 17th or 14th position makes very little difference. We can afford to take risks in the race tomorrow and just see what happens," he said.

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Hakkinen makes last minute dash to fifth on grid

Defending world champion Mika Hakkinen made a last gasp recovery on Saturday to jump from 17th to fifth place on the grid for the Monaco Grand Prix.
Hakkinen scored his fastest lap just minutes before the end of the session. The best of his earlier laps was two seconds off the pace, offering the twice world champion the prospect of fighting his way up from the back of the grid on Monaco's narrow and twisting street track.
"Yes, I'm a bit relieved," a sweating Hakkinen said after Saturday's qualifying session in which arch-rival Michael Schumacher took pole position, with Jarno Trulli of Jordan in second and Hakkinen's team mate David Coulthard in third.
Hakkinen who won in Monaco in 1998 said he had been slowed down by accidents and stoppages in front of him.
"When I think about the situation it could be much worse because it was just the last run I was able to get a proper lap done and even that was a struggle because there was something on the last corner," Hakkinen said.
"So it was very, very difficult. Nevertheless the performance we had with the car today wasn't good enough for pole position today. There were too many problems in the mid section and we were losing times so I'm very happy to finish in fifth," he said.
"You always have a chance to do something in Monaco, even from fifth."

McLaren chief Ron Dennis admitted nerves had been frayed in the pit.
"There wase no problem with the car. The only problems were other people's accidents slowing our laps," Dennis said. "Three times we had three accidents in front of us."

"We're all feeling a bit of pressure but that's the sport. He just had to be carfeul on this last run," Dennis added.
McLaren technical director Adrian Newey said he was pleased to have two in the top five and was philosophical about Hakkinen's position.
"He just had bad luck," Newey said. "It's not a very good grid position but there you go."

  Pit Report

Schumacher takes Monaco grand prix pole

Ferrari's Michael Schumacher wore a broad smile after securing the 25th pole position of his career for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix.
In front of a huge crowd, the 31-year-old German drove with great precision on Saturday to clock a best time of one minute 19.475 seconds on the twisting street track.
Defending world champion Mika Hakkinen could do no better than qualify in fifth place in his McLaren.
Italian Jarno Trulli was second fastest in a Jordan and Briton David Coulthard, in the other McLaren, was third.

German Heinz-Harald Frentzen was fourth in the second Jordan and Brazilian Rubens Barrichello secured sixth spot with a late, fast lap in the second Ferrari.
Hakkinen was down in 17th place with a quarter of an hour of the one-hour session left before pulling himself back into contention with just seconds remaining.
"It could have been a lot worse than this," said Hakkinen. "You always have a chance at Monaco. Anything can happen, even from fifth place."

Schumacher grinned in the post-session news conference as he said: "Fifth? That is good. I hope he is still there at this time tomorrow -- after the race. That would be good for me, I think. That would be more important."

Schumacher will seek to be the first driver to win a Formula One world championship race from pole position in 12 attempts since Hakkinen triumphed in his McLaren at the Hungaroring in last year's Hungarian Grand Prix.
"For me, it is as near to a perfect session and a perfect day as you could hope to have," he said.
Schumacher traded fastest times with Coulthard and Trulli before landing pole position and enhancing his prospects of lifting Ferrari's first drivers' world title for 21 years and the third of his career.
The tight Monte Carlo circuit is notoriously difficult for overtaking and with Hakkinen fifth Schumacher knows that only a poor start, a bad error or mechanical failure could upset his hopes of claiming the 40th victory of his career.

  Pit Report

Grid Positions for Monaco Grand Prix

Grid positions for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix:
1. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 1 minute 19.475 seconds (average speed 152.652 kp/h)
2. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Jordan 1:19.746
3. David Coulthard (Great Britain) McLaren 1:19.888
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Germany) Jordan 1:19.961
5. Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren 1:20.241
6. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 1:20.416
7. Jean Alesi (France) Prost 1:20.494
8. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton 1:20.703
9. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 1:20.742
10. Eddie Irvine (Great Britain) Jaguar 1:20.743
11. Johnny Herbert (Great Britain) Jaguar 1:20.792
12. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Benetton 1:20.871
13. Mika Salo (Finland) Sauber 1:21.561
14. Jenson Button (Great Britain) Williams 1:21.605
15. Jos Verstappen (Netherlands) Arrows 1:21.738
16. Pedro De La Rosa (Spain) Arrows 1:21.832
17. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR 1:21.848
18. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Prost 1:22.017
19. Pedro Diniz (Brazil) Sauber 1:22.136
20. Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) BAR 1:22.324
21. Marc Gene (Spain) Minardi 1:23.721
22. Gaston Mazzacane (Argentina) Minardi 1:23.794

  Pit Report

Schumacher works while rivals play

Michael Schumacher shunned the warm Mediterranean sunshine bathing Monaco on Friday to return to Italy for a Ferrari test session.
The team decided to make use of the traditional rest day ahead of Sunday's grand prix with a shakedown session on a reserve car.
Schumacher completed 42 laps in the car at Ferrari's Fiorano test track to ensure that the team are totally prepared for a race that could lift the German even further ahead of closest rival Mika Hakkinen in the world championship.
With the session completed, the car will be transported to Monaco and parked ready for Schumacher's team mate Rubens Barrichello to use as a spare if necessary. Schumacher has one on stand-by already.
Hakkinen, fastest in Thursday's free practice, was not to be seen on Friday. Like the vast majority of the Formula One circus, he took the day off.
"I don't mind working at all because it is my job to do all I can to have the fastest car and to win races," said Schumacher, back in the principality by mid-afternoon.
After his excellent start to the season, when he reeled off three successive victories, Schumacher let two races slip to the McLaren duo of Hakkinen and David Coulthard before winning the recent European Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring.
He now has 46 points in the title race to Hakkinen's 28 while Ferrari lead the constructors' title race with 62 points ahead of McLaren on 52.

"There is a long way to go," said McLaren chief Ron Dennis. "So, don't by any means think this race is going to be decisive."

But Hakkinen knows he has to score points and remain competitive to keep his chances alive after winning only twice in 11 outings since he drove from pole position to first place in the Hungarian Grand Prix last August.
Prior to that Hakkinen had not won in four races, a sequence of just three triumphs in 16 attempts.

  Pit Report

Briatore cool on Wurz's Benetton future

Benetton boss Flavio Briatore said on Thursday he was a firm believer in young talent but failed to offer much public support to his struggling Austrian driver Alexander Wurz.
With speculation still surrounding Wurz's Formula One future, Briatore was asked ahead of Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix about future changes.
Asked specifically about 26-year-old Wurz's future with the team, Briatore replied with a curt "I don't know."

Pressed several times to say whether Wurz would finish the season with Benetton, Briatore said "I have no idea about that."

Paddock rumours have suggested that Benetton were interested in signing the unsettled former world champion Jacques Villeneuve from BAR and Briatore made no secret of his admiration of the Canadian driver.
"A driver like Villeneuve, everybody wants... If you want to win you need a winning driver," he said.
But he said Benetton needed to get a lot better before they could think of securing someone like him.
"I don't think we are ready with the car to have a driver like Jacques Villeneuve. We need to have the technical situation under control."

Briatore, who returned to Benetton in March after French carmaker Renault bought out the team, said he had not yet had time to make all the changes he wanted to make.
"It's not something you do in an hour or two months," the Italian said.
Benetton are fourth in the constructors championships, but Wurz has yet to score a point while his Italian team mate Giancarlo Fisichella has scored 10.
"I'm very happy with Giancarlo. He had a very good race in Germany and he's motivated," Briatore said.
Benetton, without an official test driver, have also been trying out two youngsters recently.
"I still always believe in young talent," said Briatore, adding that Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia had done a good test drive in Spain recently and would be testing for Benetton again at Monza shortly with Italian Giorgio Pantano.

  Pit Report

Schumacher says Senna will always be king

Michael Schumacher could win the Monaco Grand Prix for the fifth time in seven years on Sunday but he says nobody will ever dethrone the late Ayrton Senna as "King of Monte Carlo".
The Brazilian won a record six times, with five in a row from 1989 to 1993.
Schumacher won his first Monaco Grand Prix for Benetton the following year, just weeks after Senna was killed at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in a Williams.
"Senna is the king," Schumacher said after the first day's free practice on Thursday.
"I don't think I ever will be. It's not a challenge I'm aiming for, you can't compare the two of us. You never know what he would have done in the future."

The 31-year-old German who leads this year's championship was second fastest on Thursday, pipped at the very end of the session by world champion Mika Hakkinen of McLaren.
"I'm confident but not over confident," said a relaxed Schumacher presiding over the Ferrari stand overlooking the harbour packed with sumptious yachts.
"I know the competition is tight as we have seen today. I have to get a good start in order to win the race."

Schumacher's last three wins on the Monaco circuit renowned for its hairpin corners have come from second place on the grid, and no pole position driver has won a Formula One race in 11 attempts since Hakkinen's victory in Hungary last August.
But Schumacher brushed off talk of a jinx on the pole.
"You know how many times these statistics get broken, sooner or later somebody is going to win from the front," he said.
The Monaco circuit weaves around the narrow streets that leave little room for overtaking so a good position on the grid is vital.
"It's important here to be in the front row, whether you're first or second I think it doesn't matter very much," said Schumacher.
He has 18 points in hand over nearest rival Hakkinen after winning at the Nuerburgring two weeks ago but Schumacher was also watching out for other rivals.
"I would not discount Coulthard honestly. And my team mate (Brazilian Rubens Barichello). He had a problem today with the car but I'm sure that will be fixed."

He also tipped Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the Jordan, Giancarlo Fisichella at Benetton and his brother Ralf Schumacher who drives for Williams and has never finished a race at Monte Carlo yet.
"Any of those guys could do something special here," he said.
A fifth victory at Monaco would bring Schumacher level with Briton Graham Hill who won five times between 1963 and 1969.

  Pit Report

Irvine and Jaguar shine in Monte Carlo

Eddie Irvine was fourth fastest in free practice for Sunday's Monte Carlo Grand Prix and then headed for his luxury yacht in the harbour.
As he sat back in the afternoon sunshine, it looked as if he had not a care in the world.
But for both the Briton and his new Jaguar team, it was the most promising day's work of a debut season in which they have yet to score a point.
Jaguar chairman and team chief Neil Ressler, drafted in to boost the flagging outfit's form after a poor start to the year following their takeover of the former Stewart team, was suitably impressed.
"I think some of the mechanical and aerodynamic work on the chassis and the improvements on the engine mapping which we tested recently are beginning to show through at last," he said.
Irvine, back on the track where he finished runner-up to German Michael Schumacher last year in Ferrari's first one-two on the streets of the Mediterranean principality, was a little less enthusiastic.
He expressed surprise at doing well. "I'm pretty happy to be fourth, I didn't expect to be that well-placed," he laughed. "But having said that, Thursday is Friday here, but it's Saturday that matters -- if that's not too Irish!"

Free practice is normally on Friday in Formula One but in Monaco it happens on Thursday with a rest day before the all-important official qualifying session on Saturday.
"Today we concentrated on making the car sensible. We made a good step forward initially and a surprisingly big step towards the end," added Irvine.
"I also got a tip off Jackie (Stewart) on how to handle Casino Square - it's a pity it's not going to make me any money."

Irvine's team-mate and fellow-Briton Johnny Herbert struggled to take 15th place with a troublesome engine.
"It affected me throughout the sessions and made the car difficult to drive," he said. "All in all, it was another problematic day which is becoming tiresome."

Technical director Gary Anderson said: "We are reasonably content at this stage and the cars are as well-balanced as you can hope for -- to hold fourth is encouraging.
"Johnny, I think, is heading in the right direction too."

  Pit Report

Hakkinen quickest in Monaco GP practice

Michael Schumacher was unruffled on Thursday after world champion Mika Hakkinen topped the times in opening practice for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix with a late fast lap.
Schumacher, in his Ferrari, had been quickest through most of a session run in dry, warm and sunny conditions on the tight Mediterranean street circuit when Hakkinen, in his McLaren, outpaced him with only a few minutes remaining.
"No, I was not worried by it," Ferrari's championship leader said afterwards.
"Today is just a practice session and I am satisfied. The car seems to be working quite well here, but the track feels a lot more slippery than last year. That is even though some parts of the track have been resurfaced," added the German.
"We have put together a very special aerodynamic package for this race and this has given us more downforce and there are some other special features for this circuit.
"Tomorrow, I expect I will go to Fiorano (Ferrari's home track) to shake down our fourth car for the weekend."

Hakkinen, who had looked competitive throughout the day before bursting through with his best time, said he was also satisfied with his performance and his car's handling ahead of Saturday's qualifying session.
Because of the difficulty in overtaking on the twisty street circuit, qualifying is more influential and decisive than any other race on the calendar.
"We had a trouble-free day where we made various adjustments to the car to ensure that we have a good set-up for Saturday and Sunday," said Hakkinen, world champion in 1998 and 1999.

INCIDENTS AT LA RASCASSE
"The various incidents at La Rascasse in both sessions didn't effect our progress badly, but I have to say that it is curious that there have been so many this year.
"I know it is a difficult corner, but we have had more accidents this year than we have had previously."

At the end of the day, Hakkinen was quickest with a lap time of one minute and 21.387 seconds, a time that left him just one- tenth of a second ahead of Schumacher.
Hakkinen's McLaren team-mate Briton David Coulthard was third-fastest, a further six-tenths adrift, ahead of fellow-Briton Eddie Irvine in a Jaguar.
The two drivers who suffered the most indignity at the sharp Rascasse hairpin were Argentine Gaston Mazzacane, in his Minardi, in the morning hour and German Nick Heidfeld, in his Prost, in the afternoon.
Both, like Briton Jenson Button, 20, were experiencing the circuit for the first time in a Formula One car.
Button, in a Williams, took to the challenge of the principality very easily and earned admiring comments from many seasoned experts as he wound up in 13th place, just 2.19 seconds away from Hakkinen.
"The car felt pretty good, but I had too much oversteer from the apex to the exit of the corners," he said.
"But I really enjoyed it. It is not as fast as Macau, but a lot bumpier than I expected.
"And the traffic at the end of the session was a nightmare, otherwise I am sure I would have been much faster."

  Pit Report

Monaco Grand Prix practice times

Times from Thursday's opening practice session for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix motor race:
1. Mika Hakkinen (Finland) McLaren 1 minute 21.387 seconds (average speed 149.065 kph)
2. Michael Schumacher (Germany) Ferrari 1:21.486
3. David Coulthard (Britain) McLaren 1:22.098
4. Eddie Irvine (Britain) Jaguar 1:22.260
5. Heinz-Harald FRentzen (Germany) Jordan 1:22.497
6. Ralf Schumacher (Germany) Williams 1:22.700
7. Jean Alesi (France) Prost 1:22.708
8. Pedro de la Rosa (Spain) Arows 1:22.944
9. Jarno Trulli (Italy) Jordan 1:23.066
10. Rubens Barrichello (Brazil) Ferrari 1:23.095
11. Mika Salo (Finland) Sauber 1:23.356
12. Jacques Villeneuve (Canada) BAR 1:23.438
13. Jenson Button (Britain) Williams 1:23.578
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Italy) Benetton 1:23.783
15. Johnny Herbert (Britain) Jaguar 1:23.828
16. Pedro Diniz (Brazil) Sauber 1:23.872
17. Ricardo Zonta (Brazil) BAR 1:23.976
18. Marc Gene (Spain) Minardi 1:24.552
19. Jos Verstappen (Netherlands) Arrows 1:24.587
20. Alexander Wurz (Austria) Benetton 1:25.325
21. Nick Heidfeld (Germany) Prost 1:25.462
22. Gaston Mazzacane (Argentina) Minardi 1:27.031

  Pit Report

Hakkinen brushes off Lauda comments

World champion Mika Hakkinen on Wednesday dismissed suggestions from former champion Niki Lauda that he should quit McLaren to find fresh motivation in Formula One.
Hakkinen said he was entirely happy with his team and that he felt bemused by the Austrian's comments in Germany's Die Welt newspaper on Tuesday.
"Really, honestly, I have got no problems with my motivation and I think McLaren are doing a very good job at the moment," said Hakkinen.

"What Niki Lauda has said, they are his personal views -- but I don't know why he thinks that.
"I am confident with the team and about myself and I don't know why he is talking like this."

Two weeks ago Hakkinen and his team chief Ron Dennis had to convince reporters at the European Grand Prix at the Nuerburgring that he was not considering retirement.
Hakkinen also refused to discuss reports in his native Finland that his wife Erja was expecting their first child.
He added: "The second thing is that we are all here for a Grand Prix and not for anything else. Let's not talk any more about my wife's stomach."

  Pit Report

Ferrari say they let down Barichello

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn admitted on Wednesday that the team had messed up Rubens Barrichello's last race but said their Formula One championship hopes looked better than ever.
Speaking on the eve of opening practice for Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix, Brawn rejected suggestions that Ferrari had deliberately tried to spoil world champion Mika Hakkinen's tactics at the European Grand Prix two weeks ago.
"In fact, we just screwed up the race for Rubens by keeping him out on dry tyres for too long," he said. "There was no attempt at all to spoil Mika's race."

Barrichello, who fought back to fourth place at the Nuerburgring, was left battling down the field for much of the race and some had suggested the tactic was deliberate to hold up Hakkinen's McLaren when the Finn tried to lap him.
Brawn said Ferrari's development programme and the use of their own test track was paying dividends and the team looked "in the best shape we have been in in my time at Ferrari."

"So, it is fair to say I am feeling quietly confident without getting complacent I think," said the Briton, mastermind of the F1-2000 car which has set the pace this season.
He said one of the team's strengths in recent years had been their pace of development.
"Last year, everyone in the team worked very hard and we showed we could develop the car quickly from race to race when required. I think it has been a great part of our overall team performance.
"Having our own test circuit at Fiorano has also been an important factor for us.
Brawn said he was delighted at the form of the team and in particular the drivers -- Brazilian Barrichello in his first season and double world champion German Michael Schumacher.
"Rubens has settled in very well and Michael is driving as well as ever," he said.
Brawn expected the team would travel back to their Maranello headquarters on Friday, Monaco's traditional rest day, to shake down their fourth car in readiness for the weekend.

  Pit Report

Schumacher may avoid pole for Monte Carlo win

Michael Schumacher is looking for his fifth win in seven years at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday, but he may prefer not to start in pole position.
The championship leader's last three wins on the notoriously tight and unforgiving Monte Carlo circuit have come from second place on the grid, despite the difficulties of overtaking through the narrow streets of the principality.
The 31-year-old German, who led his erstwhile team mate Briton Eddie Irvine home in a glorious Ferrari one-two last season, knows that a similar performance would put him in a commanding position in the title chase with 10 races to go.
Following his return to winning form at the Nuerburgring in the European Grand Prix two weeks ago, Schumacher has 46 points and an 18-point lead over nearest rival and defending world champion Finn Mika Hakkinen of McLaren.
He knows, too, that like Ayrton Senna before him, he has the opportunity to prove that he is the finest driver of his generation by dominating the famous Mediterranean street circuit that tests a driver's ability more thoroughly than any other.
Senna, widely regarded as the best of his era before his death at Imola in 1994, had in turn succeeded Briton Graham Hill as motor racing's 'king of Monte Carlo' by reeling off five successive wins from 1989 to 1993.
Schumacher won at Monaco for the first time with Benetton in 1994 and repeated the feat a year later on the way to his second successive title with the Anglo-Italian team.
In 1996, however, having joined Ferrari, he started from pole and was swept aside by the heavy rain as Frenchman Olivier Panis delivered the Ligier team a famous win.

NEAR-PERFECT WIN
Schumacher resumed normal service in 1997 by claiming Ferrari's first win at Monaco for many years, but he fell by the wayside in 1998 when Hakkinen, on the way to his first title, claimed a near-perfect win for the McLaren team.
Last year, Hakkinen -- starting from pole -- could do no better than finish third behind the two Ferrari men.
As no pole-sitting driver has won a Formula One race in 11 attempts since Hakkinen's triumph at the Hungarian contest last August, the Finn may also be excused for aiming only for second spot on the grid this weekend.
After their recent overall improvement in form and reliability, the McLaren team will be confident they can win.
Schumacher remains equally sure that, after all the improvements to his car in the last month, he can secure the 40th victory of his career in front of a huge crowd packed around the hillsides of the 'millionaires playground'.
"Monaco has been very good for me in the past and I feel sure we will be just as competitive this year. The car is good and strong, the team are ready for it and I feel very good," he said.
Among the rest, Hakkinen's McLaren team mate Briton David Coulthard, who was third on the grid last year, could mount a challenge to the leading duo. And Schumacher's Ferrari partner Brazilian Rubens Barrichello, one of the smoothest and most technical drivers, should also be competitive.
For Briton Jenson Button, 20, it will be his first Formula One race on the twisting streets, but he intends to be well- prepared.

"I'm planning to do a few laps of the streets in a BMW road car with Gerhard Berger," said the Williams driver. "His advice has always proved to be invaluable to me and this is where I will probably need it most."

  Pit Report

Lauda says Hakkinen should leave McLaren

World champion Mika Hakkinen should quit McLaren at the end of this season to find fresh motivation in Formula One, former world champion Niki Lauda was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
"If he wants to carry on racing with full motivation, then he has to leave McLaren," the Austrian told Germany's Die Welt daily newspaper in an interview.
"I can speak from my own experience: I left Ferrari after four years because I got fed up," said Lauda, who won the Formula One title in 1975 and 1977 with Ferrari and 1984 after moving to McLaren.
Finland's Hakkinen, who has driven for McLaren since 1993, has denied persistent rumours he would quit the team at the end of the season.
But Lauda said there could be a grain of truth behind the paddock gossip: "It would certainly match the impression he has created," he said.
Lauda also said that Hakkinen and Ferrari's championship leader Michael Schumacher, as well as the cars they were driving, were equal in performance -- but the German had "sharper elbows" and greater mental toughness.
"When someone being lapped sees him (Schumacher) in his rear-view mirror, then he makes room," he said.
"With Hakkinen that is less the case...And when the cars are equal that can make all the difference.

  Pit Report

Montoya's sights set on Williams

Juan Pablo Montoya's day was full of back-slapping that threatened to slip a few discs and ruin his fledgeling career. Late on Sunday, he became the first rookie to win the Indianapolis 500 since Graham Hill in 1966 and, as he recovered from his marathon three-hour drive, the Colombian was enjoying the congratulations yesterday like a man who has taken on a near mythical status in the United States.
He did not just win the Indy 500, he dominated the race for more than 130 of the 200 laps, easing his way past the man on pole, Greg Ray, within 26 laps and then almost cruising his way to cross the famous yard of bricks for the last time comfortably ahead of the experienced Buddy Lazier and Eliseo Salazar.
But the only reward Montoya wants for his historic victory lies 3,000 miles away from Indiana, amid the quiet lanes of Oxfordshire. Montoya wants Jenson Button's job in Formula One next season in the BMW-Williams team and his Indy win has strengthened his case immeasurably.
Montoya, 25, is on a long-term contract with Williams and Sir Frank Williams will get a full briefing on his protégé's weekend performance this morning. It will be another impressive report on a driver who not only won America's most famous race at his first attempt, but also took fourth place in a Champ Car series race a day earlier.
The victory will have rattled Button, who knows that he must add to his own impressive list of performances if he is to hang on to his job. While Montoya was racing on a predictable 2.5-mile oval at Indianapolis, next weekend Button will have to contend with the narrow, winding streets of Monaco for potentially his most difficult race of the season.
He is not taking any chances and will arrive early to drive around the circuit while it buzzes with traffic with Gerhard Berger, the BMW Motorsport director. Berger is a Monaco veteran, taking four podium places on the street circuit in a 14-season career.

Button has shown a remarkable ability to learn new circuits rapidly, but Monaco is a tough proposition with its unpredictable road surfaces, tight corners and barriers that loom into view at 180mph.
"Of all the races, this is where I'll probably need Gerhard's advice most," Button said. "I have studied on-board footage from last year's race and I have to admit the circuit looks very tight. There doesn't appear to be any scope for overtaking, which makes a good qualifying position more important than ever."
Berger has taken Button under his wing, aware that the distractions of the sport's glamour and riches can be as difficult to cope with as driving at high speed in the world's fastest cars. Button's drive with Berger will at least be at a somewhat more sedate speed than the 141mph he clocked on a French motorway last week, earning him a substantial fine.
"Monaco is the most unpredictable race of the calendar," Berger said. "Almost every driver error ends up against the guard rail. This will make it particularly difficult for a newcomer like Jenson. And as a driver, you are aware of the added pressure as this race is attended by a large number of special guests and VIPs."
Button will have no trouble charming BMW VIPs next week, as he charmed the French traffic policemen who ended up asking for autographs after writing out his speeding ticket, but whether he can charm the formidable Sir Frank remains to be seen.
The man who famously fired two British drivers while they were world champions - Nigel Mansell and then Damon Hill - is too pragmatic to allow Button's undoubted charisma to interfere with his decision on who partners Ralf Schumacher in the team.