The USGP got underway here at the Indianapolis Speedway this afternoon under continued beautiful weather conditions. McLaren driver, Mika Hakkinen lost his second placed grid position, the Finn forced to start from fourth place instead a pit lane violation in this morning's warm-up. Hakkinen left pit lane when the lights were still red after Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams left oil all over the circuit. Ralf Schumacher moved into second alongside his brother with teammate Juan Pablo Montoya in third.

Despite the recent tragic events in the States, the mood was upbeat here this afternoon, the fans have flocked in droves to see their heroes race. A prayer ceremony took place in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the terrorist attacks on the 11th of September with Marshals and fans alike standing and holding American flags. Hakkinen and McLaren are reportedly very angry at the penalty he is having to pay for his violation, but the big news of the day is that this Jordan driver Jean Alesi's, 200th grand prix.

Everyone is lined up on the grid and ready to start the formation lap. It gets underway without problems and they line up and eagerly await the start of the race. And it's go in the USA! Schumacher takes the lead, but Montoya flies up into second place, taking the spot from his teammate. Rubens Barrichello also takes the place away from the younger Schumacher, relegating him back to fourth place. Tomas Enge struggles to get away from the grid as Kimi Raikkonen gets nudged by Jarno Trulli's Jordan and his front wing is damaged.

Rubens Barrichello uses the draft to pass Montoya for second place while Jenson Button passes his teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella to take ninth place. The two Ferraris are killing the field and storming away and unfortunately, Kimi Raikkonen's first USGP comes to a close, the Sauber driver slowing down and crawling back to the pits. Michael lets his teammate past for first place and the Brazilian leads in America!

Lap eight and Rubens is already 3.5 seconds ahead of his Ferrari teammate, the Brazilian on a two-stop strategy. Nick Heidfeld is crawling all over Coulthard attempting to take the Scot's sixth place. The Arrows of Jos Verstappen is up into 13th place after starting in 20th, another show of the Dutchman's great overtaking skills. Trulli passes Button, pushing the British driver down into 9th place. He is now having problems from Alesi who is breathing down his back Alesi slipstreams Button and easily picks up the speed he needs and another place. He is now ninth. Verstappen is now challenging the Jaguar of Eddie Irvine for twelfth place. Montoya seems to have found the power in his Williams and he is now just 2.2 seconds behind second placed man Schumacher. Barrichello is 10 ahead of Schumacher and is flying Coulthard is hanging on to the back of his McLaren teammate, Hakkinen, but they just don't seem to have the power to challenge the Williams' or the Ferraris and are still down in fifth and sixth place Montoya and Ralf are catching Michael and will sooner or later make a challenge for second. Ralf comes in for a pitstop, but Montoya continues to push, Michael's Ferrari looming larger and larger in front of the Williams.

We await Montoya's pit stop, but the Colombian stays on the track as Rubens Barrichello comes in for his first stop on lap 27. Michael Schumacher leads with Montoya under a second behind! Rubens exit's the pits in fifth place just ahead of David Coulthard. Montoya continues to push Schumacher as the duo start to lap the back runners. Lap 33 and Montoya takes the lead from Schumacher! The crowd goes wild as the Williams pulls away from the Ferrari driver. Colombian flags are waving as Juan Pablo streams away. Michael loses a little bit of time after the pass and is 2.3 seconds ahead on lap 36, setting the fastest lap of the race with a 1:14.448.

38 laps remain and the Williams mechanics are out. Montoya comes in for his first and only stop, giving the lead back to Schumacher. 13.2 seconds and he blasts back onto the circuit in fifth place behind Rubens Barrichello. Ralf Schumacher is onto the gravel! The German driver is out of the race! He exits the car and begins the run back to the pits. Ferrari mechanics appear and Montoya slows! The Colombian is cruising down the pit straight and comes to a halt. Both Williams are out of the race! Disaster for the team and Juan Pablo who looked as if he could take his second victory here today.

Michael Schumacher pits and now it's Mika Hakkinen's turn at the front of the field, 3.6 seconds ahead of his Scottish teammate. The McLaren's haven't pitted and although Barrichello is up to third, the Brazilian still has to pit again. Juan Pablo Montoya walks back to the pits, smiling through his disappointment. McLaren mechanics appear and it's for David Coulthard. Pedro de la Rosa and Jacques Villeneuve have a coming together at turns nine and ten as the Jaguar drivers attempts to take the place. Both get going again and Villeneuve pits.

An eleven second difference between Hakkinen in first and Barrichello in second as the McLaren enters the pits. Barrichello reclaims the lid, but he has to pit one more time where Hakkinen doesn't. Hakkinen back out in front of Michael Schumacher, the Finn in second place. Fourth placed David Coulthard is four seconds behind Schumacher. Lap 50 and Barrichello pits for his second stop. 8.2 seconds and he rejoins in second, just ahead of his teammate and begins to hunt down leader Mika Hakkinen.

Great race for Hakkinen, especially after being knocked two places down the grid, he currently leads by just over 6 seconds. De la Rosa pits as Alex Yoong walks back after retiring the Minardi earlier. Jos Verstappen has also retired. Eddie Irvine is currently fifth with Jarno Trulli in sixth. Irvine peels off into the pits giving fifth to the Jordan driver. 15 drivers are still running, the Prost of Tomas Enge in last place.

20 laps remain as Barrichello takes four tenths out of Hakkinen's lead. Irvine has rejoined in seventh place, allowing the Sauber of Nick Heidfeld into the points behind Jarno Trulli.

Hakkinen responds to Barrichello's charge as the FIA goes down to the Jaguar pits to look at the heavily blistered Michelins that came of Eddie Irvine's car. Michelin are trying to hide the damage, their weekend is not going very well at all, but officials need to check that the rubber left on them isn't worn down to what they would call slicks. Irvine takes sixth from Heidfeld and begins to pull out a gap on the Sauber driver. The gap back from Hakkinen to Barrichello is visible, just three seconds between the two. David Coulthard closes up on third placed Michael Schumacher.

An incident with Enrique Bernoldi, the Arrows driver coming into contact with debris from Pedro de la Rosa's Jaguar on the pit straight. Nine laps remain as Barrichello continues to eat into Hakkinen's lead. Two seconds the difference now, the same gap between David Coulthard and Michael Schumacher. The fight looks as if it will go all the way to the wire, keeping the American fans on the edge of their seat as the final laps tick away.

Problems for Barrichello! The Ferrari driver begins to slow and there is smoke from the back of the car. Schumacher gains on his teammate, as the smoke from the number two Ferrari gets worse. Four laps remain and the Brazilian stays out, refusing to enter the pits, hoping the car will last until the end of the race. Michael passes him, and Coulthard now closes in. The Scot passes and moves into a podium finish. Game over for Rubens as the engine finally gives out. Jarno Trulli moves into fourth and Eddie Irvine is fifth! Last lap and Mika just needs to keep going for his second win of the season, his twentieth overall career victory. He crosses the line and wins in America! Michael Schumacher is second, David Coulthard third, Trulli fourth, Irvine fifth and Nick Heidfeld in sixth. Congratulations on a great drive Mika!!