At the start Mika Hakkinen makes the best start and takes the lead as the cars dive into the first corner. He is followed by a fast-starting Michael Schumacher and poleman Giancarlo Fisichella. Jean Alesi makes a bad start and is fifth behind Rubens Barrichello. Further back Olivier Panis is left on the grid causing those behind him to take dramatic avoidance. As the midfield dives into the first corner Tora Takagi loses control of his Tyrrell and spins and a slow-starting Johnny Herbert and the two Minardis go off in avoidance.

At the second corner there is further chaos as Pedro Diniz spins and collides with his own team-mate Mika Salo. David Coulthard spins in avoidance and his front wing is removed by Salo's car. He is forced to pit at the end of the lap for a new nose. Salo retires with a broken rear suspension.

The Safety Car is sent out and during the Safety Car period Esteban Tuero pits twice while Diniz also pits for repairs. The race is restarted at the end of lap two and Hakkinen tries to get away from Schumacher, setting two fastest laps but the Ferrari stays with him. Further back in the field Alexander Wurz and Jos Verstappen have a minor collision but both continue.

On lap 4 Schumacher challenges Hakkinen on the outside at the Gosser Kurve. The following lap he tries again but makes a mistake and Fisichella is able to get ahead for a lap before Schumacher takes the place again and sets off after Hakkinen. Further back Coulthard begins to work his way through the backmarkers.

On lap 7 Schumacher is back on Hakkinen's tail and he taps the rear of Hakkinen's McLaren in the Gosser Kurve. A lap later Rubens Barrichello goes into the pits with a brake problem and retires.

In the next few laps Hakkinen and Schumacher trade fastest laps but gradually the Finn is able to pull away from the Ferrari and create a gap of around a second. Further back the order remains static except that Coulthard carves his way through the field. He gets up to seventh by lap 16.

At the final corner on lap 17 Schumacher goes wide and bounces over the sand trap, ripping off the front wing of the Ferrari. He is forced to do a complete lap before pitting for repairs. The Ferrari mechanics replace the wing and send him out with new tyres and more fuel. At the same time Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Williams blows its engine.

Damon Hill is the first driver to stop on schedule on lap 19. At the same time Coulthard passes Alesi to grab fourth place. The next man to stop is second-placed Fisichella on lap 21 and when he rejoins he is alongside Alesi. The two run side-by-side up to the Remus Kurve but then collide. This puts Coulthard in third behind Irvine.

There are no changes in the next few laps and then the remaining two-stoppers pit. This drops Irvine behind Coulthard but Ralf Schumacher is able maintain his fourth place as no-one is close enough to challenge him.

The two McLarens - which are running on a one-stop strategy - stop on laps 34 and 36 with Coulthard leading for two laps when Mika stops first. Further back Michael Schumacher is charging back through the field. The two-stop runners have to stop again but the stops do little for the order. Michael Schumacher closes up on his brother Ralf and after one abortive attempt at Remus he passes him on lap 55 and sets off after his Ferrari team mate Eddie Irvine.

Irvine immediately begins to slow. His lap times increase by a second a half and Schumacher easily catches him. He passes his team mate on lap 68.

The McLarens finish 1-2 with Schumacher third giving Hakkinen a lead of eight points in the World Championship.