of his car due to a loss of engine hydraulic pressure. That elevated Fisichella to sixth. As Coulthard allowed Barrichello to lap him on lap 32, he sought to use the opportunity to pass Bernoldi but he could not do so. Two laps later, Fisichella entered Sainte Devote corner too fast, and struck a barrier with his rear wheel. He nonetheless continued in sixth, ahead of Alesi, because his car's suspension was undamaged. Michael Schumacher set a new official lap record of 1 minute and 20.770 seconds on the 38th lap. He further improved it to a time of 1 minute and 20.422 seconds four laps later, extending his lead over his teammate Barrichello to 18.3 seconds. On lap 43, Fisichella had an hydraulic failure that caused his gearbox to fail, and he crashed into the tyre wall at Sainte Devote, removing the front left wheel from his car. Bernoldi made a pit stop at the end of the following lap, allowing Coulthard to lap 4.5 seconds faster than before. He took advantage of Alonso being lapped by Villeneuve to pass the latter for ninth on lap 48. Two laps later, Frentzen in seventh understeered at the apex and he drifted into a left-hand Armco metal barrier exiting the tunnel at . He slid along the barrier before stopping at the Novelle Chicane and clambered out of his car unhurt. Alesi entered the pit lane on lap 51, and returned to the race still in sixth. Four laps later, Michael Schumacher made his pit stop from the lead, promoting his teammate Barrichello into first. Further down the order, Alonso retired with a failed gearbox on lap 57. Ralf Schumacher retired from third position in the pit lane on the next lap with an electrical fault that switched off his engine. Irvine was promoted to third, Villeneuve fourth, Alesi fifth and Coulthard sixth. Barrichello made his pit stop from first position on lap 60, returning the lead to his teammate Michael Schumacher. That lap, Irvine made his pit stop and retained third place. Then, Marques' driveshaft broke and he drove onto the run-off area at the Novelle Chicane to retire. Six laps later, Coulthard made his pit stop and emerged in front of Button in sixth. He then set the race's overall fastest lap at 1 minute and 19.424 seconds on the 68th lap as he drew closer to Alesi in