Frentzen went off the track and subsequently made a pit stop for repairs on the same lap. Verstappen overtook Ralf Schumacher for 14th position. Coulthard set a new fastest lap of the race, a 1:40.679 on lap seven and extended his lead over Michael Schumacher to 3.6 seconds, who in turn was 2.6 seconds ahead of teammate Barrichello. Wurz was a further 4.2 seconds behind Barrichello but was gradually drawing ahead of Villeneuve in fifth. Verstappen overtook Fisichella for eleventh before Frentzen entered the garage with a power steering failure on lap seven and retired after an exploratory lap. Trulli passed Mazzacane for 16th place on the following lap. Salo overtook Herbert for eighth position on lap nine, while Ralf Schumacher's car began to develop mechanical issues. On the tenth lap, Coulthard ran off the track at turn six, with debris penetrating his left-hand radiator inlet. This caused the engine temperature in Coulthard's car to increase, and McLaren were required to amend his race strategy when his engine overheated too much. Further down the field, Gené lost 13th position to Alesi, as Trulli made a pit stop for further repairs to his car. By the start of lap twelve, Coulthard had built a 5.6-second gap over Michael Schumacher, with Verstappen taking Button for tenth position. Häkkinen moved into 14th place after passing Ralf Schumacher and Gené within the following three laps. Salo and Alesi became the first drivers to make scheduled pit stops on lap 16. Coulthard made a pit stop one lap later to remove the debris from his radiator which eliminated his overheating issue. He rejoined the circuit in sixth position. The McLaren duo were on different strategies, with Coulthard making two pit stops and Häkkinen one. Button became the race's next retirement when his engine failed on lap 19. Michael Schumacher continued to set consecutive fastest laps, as he built an 8.8-second gap to Barrichello by his first pit stop on lap 24. Barrichello took over the lead for one lap before his pit stop on the following lap saw first place return to Michael Schumacher. By the end of lap 26, all of the leading drivers on two-stop strategies had taken their pit stops. The race order was Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Barrichello, Herbert, Verstappen, and Villeneuve. Häkkinen passed Villeneuve on lap 28 although he went off the track in the process and relinquished the position to