The 2000 Belgian Grand Prix (formally, the LVIII Foster's Belgian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 27 August 2000 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium with a crowd of 83,000 spectators. It was the 13th race of the 2000 Formula One World Championship, and the 58th Belgian Grand Prix. McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen won the 44-lap race from pole position. Michael Schumacher finished second in a Ferrari, and Williams driver Ralf Schumacher was third.
Häkkinen went into the event as the World Drivers' Championship leader with his team McLaren leading the World Constructors' Championship. The race began behind the safety car due to overnight rainfall making the track wet and reducing visibility. When the safety car returned to the pit lane Häkkinen built a significant lead over Jarno Trulli. As the track dried and other drivers made pit stops, Häkkinen maintained his lead until a lap-13 spin gave Michael Schumacher the lead for most of the remainder of the race. By the 34th lap Schumacher's tyres began to degrade; he drove off the racing line to cool them, which allowed Häkkinen to close the gap. On lap 41 Häkkinen overtook Michael Schumacher for the lead while lapping BAR driver Ricardo Zonta and maintaining the lead to win. Although Rubens Barrichello set the fastest lap time in the other Ferrari, he was hampered by a poor qualifying performance and retired with a fuel-pressure problem thirteen laps from the finish.
Häkkinen's victory extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to six points over Michael Schumacher, with Coulthard a further seven points behind. Barrichello's retirement dropped him to twenty-five points behind Häkkinen. In the World Constructors' Championship, McLaren extended their lead to eight points over Ferrari with four races remaining in the season.
Background
The 2000 Belgian Grand Prix was the 13th of 17 races in the 2000 Formula One World Championship and took place at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium on 27 August 2000. Sole tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the soft and medium dry compounds as well as the hard and soft wet-weather compounds to the event; the intermediate had a curvy pattern and the full wet was designed for the track's common rainy conditions. The wet-weather tyres were introduced for the race in response to prospective new tyre supplier Michelin beginning their tyre-development program during the year, resulting in Bridgestone increasing their development rate to research advances.
Following his victory at the , McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen led the World Drivers' Championship with 64 points, ahead of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher (62 points) and McLaren's David Coulthard (58). Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello was fourth with 49 points, and Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella was fifth with 18. McLaren led the World Constructors' Championship with 112 points, one point ahead of second-placed Ferrari. Williams were third with 24 points, while Benetton (18 points) and Jordan (12) were fourth and fifth respectively.
After the race in Hungary, five teams conducted mid-season testing at the Silverstone Circuit from 15 to 17 August. McLaren test driver Olivier Panis was fastest on the first day, ahead of Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Williams test driver Bruno Junqueira's car had a water leak, resulting in repairs which limited his team's testing time. Panis remained the fastest on the second day. Jos Verstappen's Arrows car had a sensor failure, limiting his team's testing time; the car's floor had to be removed to install a new sensor. Panis was again fastest on the final day of testing. Ferrari opted to test the suspension and tyres of Michael Schumacher's car at the Fiorano Circuit. Schumacher later moved to the Mugello Circuit, with Barrichello conducting engine and setup tests, and Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer remained at Fiorano for development work on new car components. Prost opted to test at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on 17–18 August with driver Jean Alesi. Benetton conducted a five-day, one-car test at the Danielson Circuit, with test driver Mark Webber on aerodynamic development for the first four days and Alexander Wurz concentrating on practice starts the last day.