The 2000 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the XLII Gran Premio Marlboro de España) was a Formula One motor race held on 7 May 2000 at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain with approximately 79,000 spectators. It was the fifth round of the 2000 Formula One World Championship and the 42nd Spanish Grand Prix. Mika Häkkinen of McLaren won the 65-lap race after starting second. His teammate David Coulthard finished second, with Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello third.
Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship from Häkkinen, and Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship from McLaren entering the race. He set the fastest qualifying lap to start on pole position and held off Häkkinen on the first lap. Schumacher led until his first pit stop on lap 24, when Ferrari chief mechanic Nigel Stepney was injured by Schumacher's right-rear tyre after Schumacher was incorrectly instructed to leave his box before the stop was completed. This moved Häkkinen to the race lead, which he held until his pit stop two laps later. Michael Schumacher led for the next 22 laps as he and Häkkinen made their second pit stops together, with Häkkinen taking the lead after a refuelling error slowed Schumacher's pit stop. Häkkinen led the final 22 laps to achieve his first win of the season and 15th of his career.
The victory moved Häkkinen into second place in the World Drivers' Championship, fourteen points behind Michael Schumacher. Coulthard dropped to third after finishing second, and Barrichello's third place put him one point ahead of Ralf Schumacher. McLaren's one-two finish in the World Constructors' Championship brought them within seven points of leaders Ferrari. With 12 races remaining in the season, Williams remained third with 15 points.
Background
The 2000 Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth of seventeen races in the 2000 Formula One World Championship, held on 7 May 2000, at the clockwise Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain, following a two-week break from the preceding . The Grand Prix featured eleven teams of two drivers each (each representing a different constructor), with no changes from the season entry list. Sole tyre supplier Bridgestone brought the soft and medium dry compound tyres to the event.
Before the race, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 34 points, ahead of McLaren teammates David Coulthard (14 points) and Mika Häkkinen (12 points). Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello and Williams' Ralf Schumacher were tied for fourth with nine points. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 43 points, 17 more than second-placed McLaren. Williams were third with twelve points, while Benetton and Jordan were fourth with eight points each.
Following the British Grand Prix on 23 April, all teams conducted in-season testing at the circuit from 25 to 28 April in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix. Despite spinning into the gravel early in the session, Jos Verstappen was the fastest for Arrows on the first day of testing, ahead of McLaren test driver Olivier Panis. Michael Schumacher was the quickest on the second and third days. The third day was hampered by several drivers stopping on the circuit due to car problems. On the final day, which was held in wet weather in the morning and during the end of the session, Michael Schumacher again remained quickest.
Coulthard was leasing his friend David Murray's Learjet the week before the race when it developed engine trouble en route to Côte d'Azur International Airport in Nice and crashed while attempting an emergency landing at Lyon-Satolas Airport in France. Coulthard, his then-girlfriend American model Heidi Wichlinski and personal trainer/bodyguard Andy Matthews survived; Murray's personal pilot David Saunders and co-pilot Dan Worley died. Coulthard sustained bruises to his right rib cage and severe grazed elbows in the crash. FIA Formula One Safety and Medical Delegate Sid Watkins declared Coulthard fit to race. Coulthard's survival from the accident was the main focus of comment in the motorsport media before the Grand Prix.
British American Racing (BAR) driver Jacques Villeneuve was passed fit prior to the event. At the , Villeneuve sustained a back injury after his seat became loose during the race, and the worsening effects caused him to withdraw from testing in Barcelona. He also had to go through physiotherapy. Darren Manning, BAR's official test driver, was on standby to replace Villeneuve if necessary.
