the safety car as carbon fibre was scattered across the grass and needed removing by marshals. At the conclusion of the 31st lap, the safety car was withdrawn and the race resumed with Häkkinen leading. Salo avoided making contact with the slow to react Wurz on the start/finish straight, sending Wurz spinning onto the grass. Although Wurz stopped at the side of the circuit with gearbox failure, his car was able to be moved away by marshals and racing continued without the need for a third safety car period due to the Hockenheimring's long length. Light rain began to fall in the stadium on lap 32 and on other parts of the circuit a lap later. Button was the first driver to make a pit stop on the following lap and his Williams pit crew changed his dry tyres to wets. On lap 34, Gené became the race's seventh retirement with a failed engine and laid oil on the circuit. The rain had intensified during the same lap and became a downpour in the stadium section on lap 35. Villeneuve spun after his teammate Zonta made minor contact with the rear of his car exiting the first corner on that lap but managed to continue. All drivers, apart from Barrichello, Coulthard, Frentzen and Zonta, made pit stops for wet-weather tyres. After technical director Ross Brawn informed Barrichello of Häkkinen's final pit stop, Barrichello and Ferrari agreed he could remain on the circuit. They believed the rain had not reached the track's outer edge and that grooved tyres could still allow for fast laps. Information received by Brawn determined Barrichello could lap faster than wet-weather shod cars. Barrichello was circumspect through the wet stadium section, where Häkkinen lapped approximately three seconds quicker than him. Häkkinen lost most of the gained advantage through the dry chicanes and provided little grip to his wet-weather tyres. Trulli was imposed a ten-second stop-go penalty on lap 37 because marshals reported him for passing Barrichello who had just exited the pit lane after the first turn. He took the penalty immediately and fell to 11th. Zonta was also given a penalty but crashed into the tyre wall at the Sachs hairpin because he was distracted by a radio message informing him of the penalty. Frentzen pressured Coulthard who cut the Jim Clark chicane on lap 38. Coulthard became the final driver to make a pit stop