Summary

Damon Hill was by far the most impressive driver on the track today. He showed that the Arrows-Yamaha-Bridgestone combination can beat a Williams or Ferrari. But The Briton saw his first victory for Arrows slip away when his car developed a hydraulic pressure problem two laps before the finish. He had a margin over Jacques Villeneuve of 34 seconds, but this was not enough. He ended second.

Villeneuve took a victory, which took care of much of the gap to world champion leader Michael Schumacher.

Johnny Herbert completed the podium in his Sauber-Petronas.

Notes

• Morbidelli and Magnussen hit each other in the third bend, which results in the retirement of both drivers later on in the race. Diniz and Marques do the same but both drivers can continue.
• Hakkinen retires because of an hydraulic problem on lap 12
• Frentzen losses a part of the refuelling system on the start and finish straight and has to retire because there is simply no way to get any fuel in the car. (lap 29)
• Barrichello's Ford engine stops on lap 29.
• Fisichella spins of and retires after trying to overtake M. Schumacher. (lap 42)
• Diniz retires because of a dynamo failure on lap 53.
• Verstappen's gearbox gets stuck in fifth gear and he has to retire. (lap 61)
• Coulthard retires after a spin on lap 65.
  • Weather during race: Dry, Sunny (26 °C)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.   14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

Villeneuve (Williams-Renault) G Hill (Arrows-Yamaha) B Herbert (Sauber-Petronas) G M. Schumacher (Ferrari) G R. Schumacher (Jordan-Peugeot) G Nakano (Prost-Mugen) B Trulli (Prost-Mugen) B Berger (Benetton-Renault) G Irvine (Ferrari) G Katayama (Minardi-Hart) B Alesi (Benetton-Renault) G Marques (Minardi-Hart) B Salo (Tyrrell-Ford) G Not Classified Coulthard (McLaren-Mercedes) G Verstappen (Tyrrell-Ford) G Diniz (Arrows-Yamaha) B Fisichella (Jordan-Peugeot) G Frentzen (Williams-Renault) G Barrichello (Stewart-Ford) B Hakkinen (McLaren-Mercedes) G Morbidelli (Sauber-Petronas) G Magnussen (Stewart-Ford) B B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear

1h 45:47.149s + 9.079s + 20.445s + 30.501s + 30.715s + 41.512s + 1:15.552s + 1:16.409s 1 lap 1 lap 1 lap 2 laps 2 laps   12 laps 16 laps 24 laps 35 laps 48 laps 48 laps 65 laps 70 laps 72 laps

• Fastest lap: H.H. Frentzen 1:18.372

The Quotes

• Hill: "I'm very pleased for the team, although disappointed we didn't win it. I was getting to the point where I could think about winning the race, but whenever you think about that something happens. To be fair, second place is better than nothing, and we almost got nothing. The car was really coughing and spluttering towards the end. It was just too bad. Problems like that usually stop you within half a lap. I was amazed to finish. The car stopped altogether about three times."

• Berger: "There is not so much to say. The set-up changes we made after this morning's warm-up were good and, for the race, I had a well balanced car. But our problem was due to the tyres. I had a bad first set that blistered very fast, making the driving very difficult. The second and third sets wore more normally and I could control the car, but I could not push at all. Slowly, I caught up a lot as I was trying hard to get at least one point. Towards the end, I got stuck behind a Minardi for six or seven laps, but, at that point, it did not really matter."

• Alesi: "Today's two stop strategy was not the right one for us. I found it very hard to get the best out my car. On my last set of tyres, although conditions were still very difficult, I managed to set competitive lap times, but it was too late... The only consolation for me and for the team is that we have not lost any position in the Championship, remaining in third place."

• Frentzen: "It looked like I was going to be quite quick on a two-stop strategy and I could have pushed to the end."

• Herbert: "It is very good for morale."

• M. Schumacher: "I did not make the best of starts, but I managed to stay in the lead. After a few laps I began to have problems with my tyres, which we had not seen in practice. The front tyres should have been the ones to give trouble, so I was surprised to see blisters on the rears. The second set worked properly, but the next two had the same problems as the first one. I had to run at a slower pace in order to look after my tyres. I hoped Hill would win, as he deserved to and because it would have helped me in the Championship. I must congratulate him and the team on the good job they did. At the end of the race, my brother was quicker than me and if I had not been fighting for the title, I could have let him pass."

• Villeneuve: "It's amazing to see him (Hill) here. He was worth a win today. Damon was really flying. At the end of the race it was looking pretty grim. Then, with two laps to go, my pit crew told me he was slowing down. Then, when I got to him I saw he was going left and right."

• Katayama: "I am very happy with today's result and I would like to thank my engineers. There was a huge improvement to the engine's performance - in fact our times were similar to Benetton's throughout the race."

Drivers Championship table

M. Schumacher (Ferrari)	56
Villeneuve (Williams)	53
Alesi (Benetton)	22
Berger (Benetton)	20
Frentzen(Williams)	19
Irvine (Ferrari)	18
Panis (Prost)	15
Hakkinen (McLaren)	14
Coulthard (McLaren)	14
R. Schumacher (Jordan)	11
Herbert (Sauber)	11
Fisichella (Jordan)	8
Hill (Arrows)	7
Barrichello (Stewart)	6
Wurz (Benetton)	4
Trulli (Prost)	3
Salo (Tyrrell)	2
Nakano (Prost)	2
Larini (Sauber)	1

Constructors Championship table

Ferrari G	74
Williams-Renault G	72
Benetton-Renault G	46
McLaren-Mercedes G	28
Prost-Mugen B	20
Jordan-Peugeot G	19
Sauber-Petronas G	12
Arrows-Yamaha B	7
Stewart-Ford B	6
Tyrrell-Ford G	2
B: Bridgestone G: Goodyear