track temperature ; humidity was at 60 per cent. Tyre wear was not a major concern for the race. Cockpit temperatures were at their highest of the season due to the warm and humid climate. Häkkinen, who began alongside Michael Schumacher, jumped the start by moving early before appearing to stop before the start and then taking the lead. Coulthard accelerated faster off the line and passed Michael Schumacher on the outside for second position heading into the first corner. Further down the field at the second turn, Diniz attempted to pass Heidfeld who was alongside de la Rosa but he overshot the entry and crashed into the rear of Alesi's car, who was spun around and made contact with Heidfeld. De La Rosa was pushed into by Heidfeld; De la Rosa, Diniz and Heidfeld became the race's first retirements whilst Alesi managed to continue. Both Minardi drivers were forced wide in avoidance. On the same lap, Ralf Schumacher was forced onto the grass while attempting to pass Irvine, with Trulli damaging his front wing after making contact with the Jaguar. Trulli made a pit stop for a new front wing, whilst Verstappen spun off. These incidents prompted the safety car's deployment. The safety car was withdrawn at the end of the second lap when it entered the pit lane and the race resumed with Häkkinen leading. Häkkinen allowed teammate Coulthard past for the lead on lap three and he was later overtaken by both Ferrari drivers after running wide at a corner during the same lap. At the competition of the third lap, Coulthard led from Michael Schumacher, Barrichello, Häkkinen, Wurz, and Villeneuve. Coulthard began to immediately pull clear of Michael Schumacher as he began setting consecutive fastest laps due to him driving a car with a light fuel load. On lap four, Häkkinen was given a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for jumping the start. Zonta moved into ninth position after overtaking Button and Herbert. Button lost a further position to Salo on the same lap. Meanwhile, Verstappen started to make up positions when he took 16th place from Gené. Häkkinen took his penalty on lap five, which lost him about 23.8 seconds due to the pit lane entry that is located on the outside of the final turn requiring drivers to take a longer line than those on the circuit, and he re-emerged on the circuit in 19th place.