At he start Michael Schumacher does not make a very good start and carves across in front of Mika Hakkinen to stop the Finn taking the lead on the run down to the first corner. Eddie Irvine takes third and a fast-starting Giancarlo Fisichella is able to get ahead of David Coulthard in fourth place. Further back there is carnage after Jarno Trulli loses control of his Prost and spins across the inside of the first corner and hits Rubens Barrichello and the two cars smash into Jean Alesi’s Sauber. Behind them various cars bum into one another trying to avoid the crash. Trulli and Alesi retire on the spot. At the end of the lap Alexander Wurz and Barrichello pit for repairs. Wurz retires. While this is happening Coulthard manages to overtake Fisichella for fourth place.

The Safety Car is despatched while the wreckage is cleared up and it stays up until the end of lap two. Almost immediately Ricardo Zonta crashes at the last corner and Alessandro Zanardi goes off at the hairpin and drops to the back of the field. With Zonta’s car stuck beside the track the Safety Car is send out again. It continues until the end of the seventh lap. For the 10 laps which follow Michael Schumacher tries to build up a lead but Hakkinen holds on grimly. Further back Damon Hill crashes into the wall at the final corner on lap 15.

On lap 20 Hakkinen begins to close the three second gap that the Ferrari star has built. The two leaders battle for the next eight laps but at the end of lap 30 Schumacher crashes into the wall at the final corner. Hakkinen takes the lead. Behind him are Irvine and Coulthard with Giancarlo Fisichella fourth, Heinz-Harald Frentzen fifth and Ralf Schumacher sixth. There are early pitstops from Johnny Herbert and the two Arrows. Pedro de la Rosa’s stop goes wrong and he is forced to retire.

On lap 33 Ralf Schumacher goes off at the chicane and loses sixth place to Pedro Diniz. Two laps later Jacques Villeneuve crashes heavily at the final corner. The Safety Car is despatched again. Most of the field take the opportunity to pit. David Coulthard has to stay out for an extra lap because Hakkinen comes in. Coulthard ignores the red light at the pitlane exit and lines up behind Irvine in the queue of cars. Later both he and Zanardi are given 10-second stop-go penalties for ignoring the red light.

The race restarts at the end of lap 40 and Coulthard challenges Irvine. The two collide but both are able to rejoin. At the same time Fisichella and Frentzen are stuck behind a battling Luca Badoer and Olivier Panis. On lap 43 Fisichella is held up and Frentzen is able to get ahead. Both Badoer and Panis are given 10-second stop-go penalties for ignoring blue flags.

Irvine charges up through the field, passing Zanardi and then Diniz. He then chases and catches Herbert and takes fifth place after an exciting braking battle at the end of lap 48. Both brake too late and go across the chicane. Eddie then chases after Ralf Schumacher and is able to pass the Williams driver on lap 58. Irvine then sets a string of fastest laps as he chases after Fisichella. Further back Herbert comes under pressure from Diniz for sixth place.

On lap 66 Frentzen suffers a rear brake disc failure and crashes heavily at the fast chicane. He remains in the car and the Safety Car is despatched again. The race thus ends behind the Safety Car – the first time it has happened in F1 history.