on the 18th lap when three drivers made their stops. Button made his first pit stop on the following lap and rejoined in front of Mazzacane. Villeneuve made his only pit stop on the 22nd lap; Frentzen was promoted to sixth. After rejoining the circuit, his car caught fire after telemetry recorded a decrease in fuel pressure, and he pulled off to the side of the track at the exit of the long right-hand Renault corner. Trulli's pit stop, which dropped him to 17th, proved problematic: he stalled his engine, which required his mechanics to restart it. Ralf Schumacher made a pit stop one lap later and re-emerged in fifth. On lap 24, Michael Schumacher made his pit stop. Mechanic Federico Ugozzoni raised the signboard before the fuel hose was removed from the Ferrari and Schumacher accelerated from his pit box. Two mechanics tried to remove the fuel hose that was lodged in the car's receptacle. This meant Schumacher's right rear wheel struck Ferrari's chief mechanic Nigel Stepney who was assisting the refueller. Stepney was dragged before being knocked over; he was taken to the circuit's medical center for observation, before a later X-ray examination in Paris found that he sustained a compound fracture of the tibia and stretched leg tendons. Stepney, who was replaced by reserve refuller Andrea Vacari, was ruled out for the following two . Coulthard made a pit stop on the same lap and experienced problems with leaving his pit box because he selected second gear. He re-emerged behind Ralf Schumacher. Häkkinen entered the pit lane for his first pit stop at the end of lap 26. He returned to the track behind Michael Schumacher. Verstappen retired in the pit lane with a gear selection fault on the next lap.All the leaders had made their stops by the start of lap 28. The top six in the running order were Michael Schumacher, Häkkinen, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Coulthard and Button. Häkkinen set the race's fastest lap on the same lap, a 1:24.470 as he started to gain on Michael Schumacher. Ralf Schumacher again was pressured by Coulthard in fourth. Häkkinen did not attempt to overtake the race leader. Twelve laps later, Coulthard entered the pit lane for seven-and-a-half seconds in his attempt to pass Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello. This triggered the second round of pit stops for the front-runners. Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello made a pit stop