2000 F1 Season
17 races · Ferrari F1-2000
The year 2000 opened Ferrari's golden era and capped five seasons of obsessive work by Michael Schumacher alongside Jean Todt, Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne. The Scuderia had been chasing its first drivers' title since 1979, and the pressure was immense.
The championship was a long tug-of-war with Mika Häkkinen, who produced moments for the ages such as his double overtake on Schumacher and Zonta at Spa, rated among the finest ever. The McLaren was blisteringly fast, but Ferrari's reliability and determination eventually tipped the scales.
Schumacher clinched the title at Suzuka by beating Häkkinen head to head, and broke down in tears over the radio as he confirmed Ferrari was back on top. It was the start of a dominance that would last half a decade.
Drivers’ Champion
Michael Schumacher
Ferrari F1-2000
Constructors’ Champion
Ferrari
17 races
Key moment
«Schumacher breaks down in tears on the radio when confirming his first Ferrari title in Japan.»
The 2000 grid, car by car
The 11 teams that raced in 2000, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.
| # | Team | Our rating | Drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ferrari | 98 | Michael Schumacher · Rubens Barrichello |
| 2 | McLaren | 97 | Mika Häkkinen · David Coulthard |
| 3 | Williams | 90 | Jenson Button · Ralf Schumacher |
| 4 | Benetton | 87 | Giancarlo Fisichella · Alexander Wurz |
| 5 | Jordan | 86 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen · Jarno Trulli |
| 6 | BAR | 83 | Jacques Villeneuve · Ricardo Zonta |
| 7 | Jaguar | 82 | Eddie Irvine · Johnny Herbert |
| 8 | Sauber | 81 | Mika Salo · Pedro Diniz |
| 9 | Prost | 78 | Jean Alesi · Nick Heidfeld |
| 10 | Arrows | 78 | Jos Verstappen · Pedro de la Rosa |
| 11 | Minardi | 70 | Marc Gene · Gaston Mazzacane |
How 2000 actually ended
The official final standings, from the Australian Grand Prix to the Malaysian Grand Prix. This is the real result; the simulation is further down.
| Driver | Points | Wins | Podiums | Poles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Michael SchumacherFerrari | 108 | 9 | 12 | 9 |
| 2Mika HäkkinenMcLaren | 89 | 4 | 11 | 5 |
| 3David CoulthardMcLaren | 73 | 3 | 11 | 2 |
| 4Rubens BarrichelloFerrari | 62 | 1 | 9 | 1 |
| 5Ralf SchumacherWilliams | 24 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6Giancarlo FisichellaBenetton | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 7Jacques VilleneuveBAR | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8Jenson ButtonWilliams | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Schumacher took it by 19 points with 9 wins and 9 poles across 17 races. 4 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Michael Schumacher.
Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).
2000, race by race
All 17 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.
4different drivers won: Schumacher 9 · Häkkinen 4 · Coulthard 3 · Barrichello 1.
2different teams won: Ferrari 10 · McLaren 7.
4different drivers took pole: Schumacher 9 · Häkkinen 5 · Coulthard 2 · Barrichello 1.
7different drivers stood on the podium.
7one-twos for a single team: McLaren 4 · Ferrari 3.
7 of 17races were won from pole position.
1first-ever win: Rubens Barrichello (German Grand Prix).
From 18ththe win from furthest back: Rubens Barrichello, German Grand Prix.
28 years, 68 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Rubens Barrichello, German Grand Prix.
59%of starts reached the flag (219 of 370).
9 of 22cars finished the Australian Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.
| # | Grand Prix | Winner | Started |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australian Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 3rd |
| 2 | Brazilian Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 3rd |
| 3 | San Marino Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 2nd |
| 4 | British Grand Prix | David CoulthardMcLaren | 4th |
| 5 | Spanish Grand Prix | Mika HäkkinenMcLaren | 2nd |
| 6 | European Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 2nd |
| 7 | Monaco Grand Prix | David CoulthardMcLaren | 3rd |
| 8 | Canadian Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 1st |
| 9 | French Grand Prix | David CoulthardMcLaren | 2nd |
| 10 | Austrian Grand Prix | Mika HäkkinenMcLaren | 1st |
| 11 | German Grand Prix | Rubens BarrichelloFerrari | 18th |
| 12 | Hungarian Grand Prix | Mika HäkkinenMcLaren | 3rd |
| 13 | Belgian Grand Prix | Mika HäkkinenMcLaren | 1st |
| 14 | Italian Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 1st |
| 15 | United States Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 1st |
| 16 | Japanese Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 1st |
| 17 | Malaysian Grand Prix | Michael SchumacherFerrari | 1st |
Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Our source has no fastest laps before 2004.
What if 2000 had been raced 100 times?
We took the real 2000 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 17-race championship 100 times.
| Driver | Avg. finish | Titles |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Schumacherreal championFerrari | P1 | 96% |
| Mika HäkkinenMcLaren | P2.1 | 4% |
| David CoulthardMcLaren | P3.3 | 0% |
| Rubens BarrichelloFerrari | P3.6 | 0% |
| Jenson ButtonWilliams | P5.3 | 0% |
| Ralf SchumacherWilliams | P5.7 | 0% |
Michael Schumacher wins 96% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Mika Häkkinen manages 4%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.
What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2000 championship-winning car?
Build your own hypothesisHypotheses from 2000
Drivers of 2000
Keep reading
What we have measured about 2000 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.
- 8 min readTalent or car? We simulated 2,000 driver careers to find outTwo thousand complete careers, from karting to retirement, measured one by one. Junior titles barely predict anything; the car decides almost every…
- 6 min readIn 1982, eleven different drivers won. In 2023, threeWe counted the winners of every season since 1950. Variety has fallen decade after decade, and the years with fewest different winners are exactly…
- 6 min readWhere Grand Prix wins come from: 1,164 races since 1950Four in five races are won by someone starting in the top three, and only 28 times in history has anyone won from outside the top ten. But the tren…