2000 French GP: Coulthard beats Schumacher and makes a statement

At the 2000 French GP at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, David Coulthard claimed one of the most important wins of his career. He finished ahead of his team-mate Mika Häkkinen, making it a one-two for McLaren. Rubens Barrichello was third in the Ferrari. The race was decided on lap 40 at the Adelaide hairpin, where Coulthard got past polesitter Michael Schumacher. Schumacher later retired with an engine failure and left without points.

It was a sunny, dry summer's day, and the forecast rain never came. Coulthard got away better than Schumacher from the second grid position, but the Ferrari driver immediately moved to the inside and shut the door. Coulthard had to lift and switched to the other side. There Barrichello appeared, and Coulthard had to lift a second time. So two red cars led into the first lap, followed by Coulthard and Häkkinen.

Schumacher pulled away in the early stages, while Barrichello held up the two McLarens, which were stuck behind him. In the midfield there was trouble at Prost. Nick Heidfeld braked too late against Giancarlo Fisichella at the Adelaide hairpin and spun his own team-mate Jean Alesi around.

On lap 22 Coulthard got past Barrichello, again at the Adelaide hairpin. He took the corner wide, got a better exit and completed the move in the fast right-hander that followed. That cleared the way to Schumacher. According to the lap-leader data, Coulthard had already led for a single lap on lap 25 before Schumacher took the lead back.

On lap 34 Coulthard attacked around the outside. Schumacher let his car drift wide, and Coulthard once again had to lift to avoid a collision. His response was an obscene gesture towards the Ferrari, for which he later apologised. According to AP, he said: “I have to apologise for my gestures.” He added, however, that although Schumacher had pushed him wide, he had stayed within the rules.

On lap 40 it finally worked. Coulthard dived up the inside at the same spot and was ahead on the exit. Schumacher refused to give way, and his right front wheel touched the McLaren's left rear. Coulthard's car stepped out briefly, but he stayed on course and had taken the lead. After the race Schumacher said it was “natural” that he wanted to defend his position.

In the second half of the race the McLarens were the faster package. Schumacher complained that his tyres degraded earlier than his rivals', especially after his first stop. Coulthard, by contrast, got quicker the lighter his car became. Barrichello lost a lot of time at his second stop because the front-right wheel nut stuck, which took him out of the fight for victory. After his final stop Coulthard rejoined in the lead.

Häkkinen then closed in on Schumacher too. The Ferrari driver locked up into the Adelaide hairpin, ran wide and had to let the second McLaren through. Shortly afterwards smoke poured from his Ferrari: the engine was gone. Schumacher's race ended after 58 laps. Coulthard won by 14.748 seconds from Häkkinen, with Barrichello salvaging third place.

Seven drivers failed to finish:

• Ricardo Zonta (BAR): went off after 16 laps. Following a brake problem, he ended up in a tyre barrier.
• Johnny Herbert (Jaguar): gearbox failure after 20 laps.
• Jos Verstappen (Arrows): transmission failure after 25 laps.
• Gastón Mazzacane (Minardi): went off after 31 laps.
• Alexander Wurz (Benetton): went off after 34 laps. He locked his brakes in the final corner and slid into the gravel.
• Pedro de la Rosa (Arrows): transmission failure after 45 laps, meaning both Arrows retired with gearbox problems.
• Michael Schumacher (Ferrari): engine failure after 58 laps. It was the costliest retirement of the day.

Marc Gené gained the most places in the Minardi. He started 21st and finished 15th, six places up. Fisichella went from 14th on the grid to ninth. Jacques Villeneuve gained three places in the BAR from seventh on the grid to finish fourth, the best result of the day behind the top teams. Jarno Trulli moved up from ninth to sixth thanks to quick stops and took the final point for Jordan. Team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen narrowly missed out in seventh. Ralf Schumacher brought the Williams home in fifth, and Jenson Button was eighth. For Sauber, Mika Salo and Pedro Diniz finished tenth and eleventh.

The biggest loser was Michael Schumacher, who came away from pole without points. Jaguar also had a poor day: Herbert retired, and Eddie Irvine dropped from sixth on the grid to 13th after problems with a wheel nut.

The leader's retirement brought the championship back to life. According to the 2000 standings, Michael Schumacher still led with 56 points, but Coulthard had closed to within twelve (44). Behind them came Häkkinen on 38 and Barrichello on 32 points. In the constructors' standings, Ferrari's lead shrank to six points, 88 to 82 over McLaren.

After wins at the British GP and the Monaco GP, this was already Coulthard's third win of the season, just two months after he had survived a plane crash in early May. He had beaten Schumacher on track, not through luck, and was suddenly seen as a genuine title contender.