clutch that was changed after the warm-up session though he held off Coultard on the first lap. Barrichello had a fast gateway, rising from eighth to fifth by the end of the first lap. Räikkönen moved up four positions over the same distance. Montoya passed Trulli and the manoeuvre caused the latter to lose momentum and allow Barrichello to overtake him. At the end of the first lap, Ralf Schumacher led by 0.3 seconds from Michael Schumacher, who was in turn was followed by Coulthard, Montoya, Barrichello, Trulli, Frentzen, Villeneuve, Räikkönen, Heidfeld, Irvine, Panis, Burti, Verstappen, Bernoldi, Fisichella, Button, Alesi, Marques and Alonso. Ralf Schumacher extended his advantage to three-tenths of a second from Michael Schumacher with Coulthard close behind. Further down the field Panis passed Irvine to take over eleventh position, while Fisichella was overtaken by teammate Button for 16th. Villeneuve in eighth became the Grand Prix's first retirement when his engine lost power and he went into the gravel trap at Estroil corner on lap six. At the front of the field, Ralf Schumacher, driving with an unbalanced car that caused him to lock his tyres into the Adelaide hairpin, increased his lead over Michael Schumacher to 1.8 seconds by the 17th lap, who in turn, was 1.7 seconds in front of Coulthard in third. Montoya was a further 1.7 seconds adrift in fourth and he maintained a consistent gap ahead of Barrichello in fifth. That lap, Bernoldi retired with an engine failure. Irvine was challenging Panis for ninth though he was not able to pass and he fell back slightly before the first round of pit stops. In the meantime, the top five drivers were covered by a gap of ten seconds as all of them lapped in the 1 minute and 16 second range and began to lap slower drivers for the first time. Barrichello was the first lead driver to make a pit stop on the 21st lap. He rejoined the track in seventh place. That lap, Irvine overtook Panis around the inside at Lycee corner for ninth. Three laps later, Ralf Schumacher made his first pit stop from the lead. His crew had trouble fitting the car's right-rear tyre because Ralf Schumacher engaged first gear before the mechanic fitted it. He lost 2.8 seconds and returned to the circuit in fourth. Michael Schumacher led the 26th lap and increased his pace before his own