the entry to Copse, allowing Häkkinen to take advantage and move into the lead at the start of lap 5; the Finn then started to pull away. Burti became the third retirement of the race when his engine blew on lap 6 and dropped oil on the track, causing the marshals to display the red and yellow striped warning flag. As Häkkinen continued to extend his lead, Montoya closed the gap to Michael Schumacher to 1.6 seconds by lap 10. Villeneuve overtook Alesi at Stowe corner and moved into tenth position on lap 11. By lap 15, Montoya had further closed the gap to Michael Schumacher and passed the Ferrari driver to take over second position as he drove down the start/finish straight heading towards Stowe. By lap 20, Häkkinen had a lead of 25.2 seconds over Montoya, who in turn was 4.5 seconds in front of Michael Schumacher and was pulling away from the Ferrari driver. Barrichello was a further 10.9 seconds behind his teammate and was being caught by Ralf Schumacher in fifth. Räikkönen was the first driver to make a pit stop on lap 20, rejoining in tenth place. The McLaren and Ferrari teams were employing different strategies – the McLaren team were planning a two-stop strategy whereas the Ferrari team were planning to make pit stop. Häkkinen made his pit stop from the lead on the following lap and came out behind Montoya. Heideld also had a pit stop on the same lap, coming out in tenth position. Montoya took over the lead of the race for four laps before taking his pit stop on lap 25 having been placed under pressure by Häkkinen who moved back into first place. Montoya re-emerged in fourth position, behind the duel between Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher for position. With a clear road ahead of him, Häkkinen increased his lead to ten seconds over Michael Schumacher by lap 27 as he set two consecutive fastest laps. Further back, Montoya was being held up by teammate Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello. Seven laps later, the Williams team showed Ralf Schumacher a switch sign on his pit board, asking him to let Montoya through. Ralf Schumacher did not let Montoya past as he felt he was driving quickly to be able to overtake Barrichello but was unable to pass the Brazilian driver. Ralf Schumacher made his pit stop on the 35th lap, allowing