The 2000 United States Grand Prix (formally the 2000 SAP United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on September 24, 2000, at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana before 250,000 spectators. It was the 15th round of the 2000 Formula One World Championship and Indianapolis held its first United States Grand Prix. Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the 73-lap race from pole position. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second with Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen third.
Before the race, McLaren's Mika Häkkinen led Michael Schumacher by two championship points in the World Drivers' Championship while McLaren led Ferrari by four championship points in the World Constructors' Championship. Michael Schumacher took pole position by setting the best lap in the one-hour qualifying session. McLaren's David Coulthard started second, with Michael Schumacher. However, Coulthard had to serve a ten-second stop-go penalty on lap eight because he jumped the start. Häkkinen started third, but retired on lap 26 with a blown engine due to a pneumatic valve system failure. Michael Schumacher thus had an uncontested lead after passing Coulthard on lap seven, and despite losing control of his Ferrari in the final five circuits of the race, he went on to win his seventh race of the season and 42nd overall. Barrichello finished second, 12.1 seconds behind, and Frentzen finished third, holding off British American Racing's Jacques Villeneuve in the final laps.
Michael Schumacher retook the lead in the World Drivers' Championship by eight championship points over Häkkinen following the race. Coulthard's fifth-place finish in the Grand Prix eliminated any mathematical chance of winning the Drivers' Championship, reducing his advantage over fourth-placed Barrichello to eight championship points. Ferrari retook the World Constructors' Championship lead from McLaren, establishing a ten-point lead with two races left in the season.
Background
The 2000 United States Grand Prix, officially the SAP United States Grand Prix, was the 15th race of 17 in the 2000 Formula One World Championship. Held at the clockwise Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) road course on 24 September 2000, it was the first Formula One World Championship event staged in Indianapolis since the Indianapolis 500 was part of the World Championship from to . The event was held under the auspices of the United States Auto Club (USAC), the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA; Formula One's governing body) member for the United States, and the Porsche Supercup and the Ferrari Challenge series held support races during the weekend. There were eleven teams of two drivers (each representing a different constructor), and all but one had never raced at Indianapolis, with no changes to the season entry list.
The event marked the United States' return to Formula One after a hiatus since . It was ended because of low attendance at its old venue on the streets of Phoenix, Arizona and it was replaced by the South African Grand Prix in the 1992 season. It was reintroduced in December 1998 after IMS president Tony George's seven-year campaign. The road circuit was built between 2 December 1998 and 10 September 2000, ending two weeks before the Grand Prix. To celebrate the race's return, Jaguar drivers Eddie Irvine and Johnny Herbert did a demonstration lap in a Jaguar R1 and a Taxicab along Broadway in New York City on Tuesday afternoon.
Going into the race, McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen led the World Drivers' Championship with 80 championship points, ahead of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher on 78 championship points, Häkkinen's teammate David Coulthard on 61 championship points, Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello on 49 championship points and Williams' Ralf Schumacher on 24 championship points. McLaren led the World Constructors' Championship with 131 championship points, four ahead of Ferrari. Williams were third with 34 championship points, Benetton fourth on 20 and Jordan fifth with 17.
Following the on 10 September, the teams largely tested aerodynamics, chassis setups and a new tyre compound from Bridgestone at on European racing circuits between 11 and 15 September to prepare for the race. Ferrari, McLaren and Sauber tested at the Mugello Circuit with one day moved to let marshals attend the funeral of fire marshal Paolo Ghislimberti, who died during the race in Italy. Olivier Panis, McLaren's test driver, led on the first day, ahead of Sauber's Pedro Diniz. Panis remained fastest on the second and final days. Williams and Benetton tested at the Autódromo do Estoril circuit, with Ralf Schumacher setting fastest laps on the first and second days, and Benetton's test driver Mark Webber leading on the third day. Jaguar and British American Racing (BAR) tested for two days at the Silverstone Circuit, led by BAR's test driver Darren Manning and Jaguar's test driver Luciano Burti. Luca Badoer, Ferrari's test driver, tested aerodynamic and mechanical components and shook down four F1-2000 cars at Ferrari's private Fiorano Circuit. Minardi tested with drivers Matteo Bobbi and Giorgio Vinella at Vairano while the Arrows and Prost teams did no testing and instead readied their cars at their respective factories for the race at Indianapolis.
At the previous race in Italy, Häkkinen's lead over Michael Schumacher was reduced to two points after Schumacher won and Häkkinen finished second. Häkkinen had won three of the previous five races to Michael Schumacher's one. Bookmakers put both drivers as joint favourites to win the race. With three races left in the season, Häkkinen believed that the remaining races, including the United States Grand Prix, were equally vital, and that the championship battle may last until the season-ending . Michael Schumacher stated that Ferrari's dominance shifted to McLaren and vice versa because their cars and drivers were evenly matched, and that winning at Indianapolis would not be more difficult than at any other track, despite drivers' unfamiliarity with the layout. Coulthard was told by McLaren team owner Ron Dennis to help Häkkinen win the championship, saying, "I'm now 19 points behind and although there are still 30 to be won and theoretically there's a chance I might win the title, with just three races left it makes no sense for me to be taking points away from Mika only to allow Michael to win the championship. We will just not let that happen." Barrichello spoke with his team Ferrari and said his job was to help his teammate and hinder McLaren, "The objectives are clear. We have to tighten ourselves around Michael and help bring the title back in Italy after 21 years of absence."
The track garnered largely excellent feedback, but most drivers were disappointed by the lack of challenge on the banked turn 13. Häkkinen called the track "great, really enjoyable to drive and quite difficult in some parts", and Michael Schumacher said he did not find it hard to adapt to the circuit. Willams' Jenson Button described the track as a "great circuit". Irvine was surprised by its layout, "It has a good mix of high speed and tight turns. It's tricky and tight – a lot of fun." However, BAR's Jacques Villeneuve was critical, claiming that it would be "very difficult to get a good lap" and found the infield section "very slow". Sauber's Mika Salo disliked the first three hairpins but was satisfied with the rest of the circuit. World Champion Mario Andretti tested a car on the track and said it "keeps your attention and, believe it or not, it's got a good rhythm. It's the kind of course that you start feeling good about as you get more laps. It invites you to shave all the little things and improve your way." Concerns over a driver error leading to a collision at turn 13 prompted the relocation of the pit lane entry line.
Tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the Hard and the Extra Hard dry compound tyres to the event. Bridgestone created the extra hard tyre compound to help drivers cope with the additional demands of the Indianapolis road course. It advised teams to increase air pressures to withstand the higher cornering load through the final two corners after concerns were raised about a mechanical failure in turn 13 with a concrete barrier lining it following Ghisliberti's death. The company and the FIA agreed to provide teams with two extra sets of tyres for Friday's two free practice sessions in order to collect additional data and ensure that drivers were better acclimatised to the circuit.
Teams concentrated on improving their car setups for the Indianapolis track, as well as reviewing suspension loads because cars would be stressed going through the banking. The Williams team brought a new front wing and a Ferrari-inspired sweep main profile. Arrows' car used a low-downforce layout similar to that seen at the Italian Grand Prix to gain speed on the main straight. Sauber and Williams used similar designs, but most teams eventually settled on a compromise configuration seen at the .
Practice There were four practice sessions preceding Sunday's race, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. It was warm and dry for the first practice session. All drivers entered the circuit to familiarise themselves with it, with lap times gradually decreasing, which were around two seconds slower than predicted by computer simulations. Michael Schumacher led early in the first practice session, with the quickest time of 1:14.927 seconds, ahead of teammate Barrichello. Häkkinen was third although his car's gearbox was changed. Button, Villeneuve, Benetton's Alexander Wurz, the Jordan duo of Trulli and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Irvine and Prost's Nick Heidfeld were in fourth through tenth. After ten minutes, an electrical fault prevented Coulthard from establishing a fast lap time as marshals pulled him onto the circuit from the pit lane entry, preventing him from participating in the rest of practice under series regulations. Giancarlo Fisichella removed his Benetton's left-front wheel in a crash at the turn 11 tyre barrier. Ralf Schumacher slowed on course with a front-left wheel bearing failure.
It remained sunny for the second session, during which drivers experimented with car setups as teams became more familiar with the track. Coulthard set the day's fastest lap at 1:14.561, one tenth of a second faster than teammate Häkkinen 27 minutes in. Michael Schumacher and Barrichello fell to third and fourth fastest, respectively, after failing to better their lap times, even though both drivers expressed satisfaction with their performance. Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, Trulli, Button, Minardi's Marc Gené and Villeneuve followed in the top ten. Herbert crashed, losing control of his Jaguar when braking and veering left into the outside turn one tyre barrier, damaging his car's left-rear wheel and ending his practice early. His car went down an escape road and marshals moved him off the circuit. Jean Alesi lost control of his Prost car at turn four, getting stuck in a gravel trap near the barriers.
The Saturday morning sessions were run in cloudy conditions on a damp track with patches of standing water from overnight rain, resulting in minimal grip and some drivers going off the circuit. Warm weather improved conditions gradually throughout practice, but lap times were generally slower than the previous day. Häkkinen set the third session's fastest lap, a 1:15.802; Coulthard was third. Button ran quicker and was second. Both Ferrari drivers were fourth and fifth–Barrichello ahead of Michael Schumacher. Fisichella, Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, Verstappen and Diniz followed in the top ten. Frentzen, Ralf Schumacher, and Wurz all left the track at various points in the session, but all three were able to resume driving.