Schumacher makes it three-in-a-row

It was the 38th career win for Schumacher who is sitting on a perfect 30 points in the title race. With nearly 100,000 fans – many dressed in Ferrari red with the factory in nearby Maranello – Schumacher delighted the crowd with the victory with some patient driving. Hakkinen had pole and held the lead, even through the first pit stops as he and Schumacher came in together at the end of the 27th lap.

The top six positions only varied during the pit stops between the 25th and 30th lap and essentially it was Hakkinen and Schumacher having their own battle with Barrichello and Coulthard well behind having their duel. Hakkinen had a lead as large at 4.8 seconds after the 39th lap but Schumacher started cutting it down in preparation for the second pit stop.

Hakkinen went in again at the end of the 44th lap giving Schumacher a 20.5 second lead. Schumacher added another second to it and then went in for fuel and tires at the end of the 48th lap and had a super fast stop of 6.2 seconds, compared to Hakkinen’s 8.3. That allowed Schumacher to return to the race well ahead of Hakkinen and hold a 3.7-second advantage by the 50th lap. Although Hakkinen cut into the gap a little, Schumacher held on.

The next race is the British Grand Prix in two weeks.