Schumacher steals win

Michael Schumacher was the leader for nearly 50 laps

Spanish Grand Prix

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Michael Schumacher won the Spanish Grand Prix after Mika Hakkinen's car cruelly broke down during the final lap.

The Finn, who had worked so hard to take the lead during the final 15 laps, was stunned as his McLaren suddenly slowed to a cycle's pace with clutch failure.

The former world champion had been set to celebrate his first win of the season and his fourth successive triumph in Barcelona, before his car failed.

Schumacher now takes the outright lead at the top of the driver's championship, with an eight-point advantage over David Coulthard in second place.

Rival

The stunning ending was out of keeping with a race which had never been any better than tedious.

Hakkinen's failure to complete the race allowed Columbian sensation Juan Pablo Montoya up to second place. That means his first F1 finish was on the podium.

Canada's Jacques Villeneuve finished third to score his BAR team's first podium finish in its three-year history, while Italy's Jarno Trulli came fourth for fellow Honda-powered team Jordan.

McLaren driver Coulthard suffered after his car stalled on the warm-up lap. To compound his woe, he had to go into the pits on the first lap after a collision damaged the nose of his car.

Coulthard's race was thrilling from the start

He battled his way back up the field to finish fifth, gaining a place after his team-mate's retirement.

The Scot in the McLaren found himself 55 seconds behind Schumacher at such an early stage of the race.

Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jaguar debutant Pedro de la Rosa both retired on the sixth lap after a collision.

Schumacher broke the lap record on the 14th lap with a time of 1.22.224.

Ralf Schumacher's race ended on the 20th lap when he spun onto the gravel after making a mistake under braking at the end of the back straight.

Coulthard's battle to rise through the pack continued as he moved into eighth place.

Michael Schumacher made his first pit stop on the 23th lap, which lasted just 8.7 seconds.

That allowed Hakkinen the chance to take the lead and put himself in position for some much needed points.

Montoya's brilliant start to F1 continues

The Finn very quickly established a 24-second gap between him and much-vaunted rival Schumacher.

But that did not prove enough when he decided to make his own stop, coming out of the pits some three seconds behind the reigning world champion.

The positions stayed that way until Schumacher's next stop, which saw Hakkinen once again take the lead.

Requiring a 25-second advantage to give himself any chance when he went for his final stop, the Finn really started to push.

The push worked, as Hakkinen came from his second stop with a two second advantage, whilst Schumacher struggled to get past Jos Verstappen's Arrows.

Schumacher's loss of the lead was bad enough for the Ferrari team, but seconds later, Rubens Barrichello, who had held third place for much of the race, retired with suspension failure

The German seemed unable to mount a challenge to Hakkinen during the final 15 laps. Schumacher later complained of problems with his tires vibrating.

But he would never have believed that fate would allow him the chance to snatch the lead and take an outright lead at the top of the driver's championship.

Despite the incredible disappointment that he must have felt, Hakkinen still found the composure to wave to the crowd and not show his obvious frustration.

Barcelona GP result (after 65 laps):
1. Michael Schumacher (Ger) Ferrari) 1hr 31min 03.305sec,
2. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col) Williams-BMW at 40.738sec,
3. Jacques Villeneuve (Can) BAR-Honda 49.626,
4. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Jordan-Honda 51.223,
5. David Coulthard (Gbr) McLaren-Mercedes 51.616,
6. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Sauber-Petronas 1:01.893,
7. Olivier Panis (Fra) BAR-Honda 1:04.977,
8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Sauber-Petronas 1:19.808,
9. Mika Hakkinen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes at one lap,
10. Jean Alesi (Fra) Prost-Acer one lap,
11. Luciano Burti (Bra) Prost-Acer one lap,
12. Jos Verstappen (Ned) Arrows-Asiatech two laps,
13. Fernando Alonso (Spa) European Minardi two laps,
14. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Benetton-Renault two laps,
15. Jenson Button (Gbr) Benetton-Renault three laps,
16. Tarso Marques (Bra) European Minardi three laps

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