engine was losing oil pressure and he was retired on lap 17. Michael Schumacher continued to increase his lead to Trulli to 19.5 seconds by lap 19. Trulli was in turn 0.7 seconds ahead of Coulthard. Frentzen was a further 2.1 seconds behind Coulthard and continued to battle the latter's teammate Häkkinen for fifth. On the same lap Irvine overtook his teammate Herbert for tenth position. Wurz lost control of his car and crashed into the barriers at Sainte Devote corner, forcing his retirement from the Grand Prix. Gené retired his car on an escape road at Casino Square corner on lap 22 due to gearbox failure. His teammate Mazzacane collided with the barriers at Sainte Devote turn on the following lap and had to retire from the event. Herbert became the first driver to make a pit stop on lap 27 although his pit crew came unprepared and Herbert was stationary for half a minute before he exited in 17th position. On the 31st lap, Diniz hit the barriers at Sainte Devote corner, retiring due to damage to his left-rear wheel. The safety car was not deployed for Diniz's accident since marshals moved his car behind the barriers. By lap 36, Häkkinen slowed due to a brake pedal blockage and made an unscheduled pit stop. His team's mechanics opened his car's inspection hatch and rearranged radio cables. They removed a loose data transmitter which caused the blockage and Häkkinen rejoined in ninth. Trulli became the race's next retirement when he entered the garage with gearbox failure on the next lap. Ralf Schumacher, fourth, struck the Sainte Devote wall on the 38th lap, as the suspension arm penetrated the monocoque. He suffered a deep cut to his leg and was taken to hospital. Michael Schumacher held a 36-second lead over Coulthard by lap 38; Coulthard lapped consistently in the low 1:22 range to close the gap. Verstappen made the first scheduled pit stop on lap 41, five laps in front of Zonta and Heidfeld. Michael Schumacher made a pit stop at the end of lap 49 for a set of scrubbed tyres and 29 laps worth of fuel and retained the lead. Fisichella made a pit stop earlier than expected on lap 51 due to a slow puncture. Frentzen, Barrichello, Salo, and Villeneuve made pit stops over the following three laps. Due to Villeneuve slowing Coulthard, the gap between Michael