malfunction on lap three. On the same lap, Frentzen ignored a red light instructing drivers to remain in the pit lane until further notice and entered the circuit. The safety car was withdrawn at the fifth lap's conclusion and Coulthard led Trulli and Montoya. Going into Whiteford turn, Montoya drew close to Trulli and slid wide on oil laid on the circuit. This meant Michael Schumacher overtook Montoya for third place. Further back, Räikkönen moved from eleventh to ninth position. Coulthard began to pull away from the rest of the field, increasing his lead to four-and-a-half seconds by lap seven. That same lap, Sato overtook de la Rosa for sixth place, as Webber lost seventh position to Räikkönen. At the back, Bernoldi rejoined the race after switching from his race car to the spare Arrows vehicle. Trulli blocked Michael Schumacher from passing him for second into Brabham corner on the eighth lap, allowing Montoya to gain on Schumacher; he was not close enough to affect a pass. There were overtakes further down the field: Räikkönen passed de la Rosa and Sato as Villeneuve overtook Webber for ninth. During lap nine, Trulli lost control of the rear of his Renault on oil at the exit to Jones turn, and broke his suspension in a collision with the inside barrier. Because Trulli was stopped on the centre of the track, the safety car was deployed for the second time to allow marshals to move his car. When the safety car was withdrawn at the end of the 11th lap, an electrical fault distracted Coulthard, causing him to miss a gear change, lock his brakes, and understeer wide onto the grass entering Prost turn. He fell to fifth. Michael Schumacher took the lead with Montoya second and Irvine third. Approaching Brabham corner Montoya's higher straightline speed allowed him to overtake Michael Schumacher on the outside at the end of the main straight for the lead. Montoya then steered onto the inside to maintain the lead from Schumacher at Jones corner. By the 13th lap, Michael Schumacher had closed to within eight-tenths of a second to affect a pass on Montoya, which he was unable to do due to slower traffic. On lap 14, Sato retired in the pit lane with an unrectifiable electronics issue limiting his gear selection. Michael Schumacher continued to pressure Montoya into an error, and caused the latter to drive