* Lap 1: At the start Michael Schumacher, David Coulthard and Heinz-Harald Frentzen all make poor starts and so Mika Hakkinen takes the lead. Eddie Irvine gets away well but almost runs into Coulthard and Frentzen. He jinks left and manages to pass both of them, while Olivier Panis threads his way past on the right to get into the first corner third, behind Hakkinen and Schumacher. Irvine is fourth with Coulthard on his tail and Frentzen in sixth. Then comes Ralf Schumacher, Jean Alesi and Jarno Trulli. Alessandro Zanardi retires with an electrical problem.

* Lap 4: Hakkinen builds a 2.5 seconds lead in the first four laps while the gap between Michael Schumacher and Panis builds rapidly to five seconds. Irvine is under pressure from Coulthard. Further back Trulli retires with a mechanical problem, while Giancarlo Fisichella spins from 16th to the back of the field.

* Lap 6: Hakkinen's lead is 4.0 seconds while Schumacher is seven seconds clear of Panis. There is a small gap back to Irvine, who remains under pressure from Coulthard. At the back Fisichella passes Badoer as he races to recover.

* Lap 9: Hakkinen's lead is up to 5.5 seconds while the gap between Schumacher and Panis has grown to 10 seconds. At the back Fisichella makes a mistake but stays ahead of Badoer. He chases after Tora Takagi and passes him on lap 12.

* Lap 15: The first pit stops begin with Alexander Wurz coming in. Damon Hill goes off but is able to rejoin. He pits to retire, complaining of bad handling.

* Lap 16: Hakkinen's lead is 7.4 seconds. Panis pits and rejoins in 10th place.

* Lap 17: Johnny Herbert and Jacques Villeneuve pit dropping from eighth and ninth places to 11th and 12th.

* Lap 19: Hakkinen pits. Michael Schumacher goes into the lead. Frentzen and Alesi also pit, dropping from fifth and seventh places to sixth and ninth. Panis pits for a second time to retire with gearbox problems. Hakkinen rejoins in second place.

* Lap 20: Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello both pit. The German drops from fifth to sixth and the Brazilian from seventh to 10th.

* Lap 22: Michael Schumacher pits and rejoins in second place. Coulthard also pits in an effort to pass Irvine during the pit stops.

* Lap 23: Irvine is the last major player to pit. He drops behind Coulthard.

* Lap 25: Michael Schumacher sets the fastest lap as he chases after Hakkinen but the Finn's lead remains steady at 6.5 seconds.

* Lap 31: The second round of pit stops begins with Frentzen trying to get ahead of Coulthard and Irvine who are holding him up. Heinz-Harald rejoins in seventh.

* Lap 32: Irvine and Ralf Schumacher both pit. Irvine rejoins in fifth but Ralf drops to eighth place.

* Lap 34: Coulthard spins and damages the nose of his car against a barrier. He is able to keep going but is a lap down and out of contention when he rejoined.

* Lap 36: Fourth-placed Herbert and fifth-placed Alesi pit. They drop to sixth and seventh.

* Lap 37: Michael Schumacher - who is 10 seconds behind Hakkinen - pits for the second time. When he rejoins he is stuck behind a struggling Coulthard for a short period.

* Lap 38: Hakkinen pits. When he rejoins his lead over Schumacher is 12 seconds.

* Lap 39: Coulthard retires, his car handling too badly to continue.

* Lap 43: Local hero Tora Takagi retires with mechanical trouble. Badoer retires at the same time with an engine failure.

* Lap 48: Fisichella retires with an engine failure.

* Lap 53: Mika Hakkinen wins his second consecutive World Championship. Schumacher and Irvine finish second and third to give Ferrari the Constructors' title. Frentzen finishes fourth just ahead of Ralf Schumacher and the last point goes to a lapped Jean Alesi.