French Grand Prix 2000
Magny-Cours, 30th June - 2nd July

Race

Jaguar-Racing, 2nd July 2000: The gremlins that ended Johnny Herbert’s race in Canada seemed to return this afternoon when he retired from the French Grand Prix after 20 laps. He ran behind Eddie in the early stages, but began to experience gearbox trouble and lost the use of several gears. Shortly after his first scheduled stop the problem became terminal and he had no choice but to pull into the pits and retire.

"We had another gearbox problem," said Johnny. "I didn't have any drive when I came off the power, then it would come back when I touched the throttle, and then I lost first and second gear. I came in on schedule for my first pit-stop and the team was able to reset the gearbox system, but when I rejoined the race I still didn't have first and second gear. I then lost sixth then fifth and, by the time I came into the pits again, I had lost all the gears completely." 

Autosport, 2nd July: Johnny Herbert’s disastrous season took another downturn when he retired from the French Grand Prix after just 20 laps. The Jaguar’s gearbox was again the culprit, just as it was when he dropped out in Montreal a fortnight ago.

"I lost first gear and second, then lost sixth and fifth, then fifth seemed to come back again but it was already falling apart by then, the race was lost for me," he said. "We’ve got a re-set button but it was no good this time. The gearbox was in too much trouble for it to be able to fix anything."

Prior to suffering the problem, Herbert had been running close behind team-mate Eddie Irvine in 11th position. It is the fourth time in nine races this season that he has retired due to a mechanical problem.

Race results from AtlasF1:

1. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1h 38:05.538 
2. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes + 14.748 
3. Barrichello Ferrari + 32.409 
4. Villeneuve BAR Honda + 1:01.322 
5. R Schumacher Williams BMW + 1:03.981 
6. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda + 1:15.604 
7. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda + 1 Lap 
8. Button Williams BMW + 1 Lap 
9. Fisichella Benetton Playlife + 1 Lap 
10. Salo Sauber Petronas + 1 Lap 
11. Diniz Sauber Petronas + 1 Lap 
12. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap 
13. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth + 2 Lap 
14. Alesi Prost Peugeot + 2 Lap 
15. Gene Minardi Fondmetal + 2 Lap

Johnny retired after 20 laps with gearbox problems.

Qualifying

Jaguar-Racing, 1st July 2000: Johnny Herbert took what has now become his customary 11th place, having started from the same position in Monaco and Canada. However, he was not happy with his performance.

"I'm disappointed. We never really got the set-up for the conditions. We had yesterday to try and it never felt right, and this morning was the same, and it changed again. So I never hit the sweet spot.

"Strangely enough for a lot of the run my high speed was where I was really struggling, and that's where I normally do very well. So basically we never got the set-up for the conditions. My last run was spoiled a bit by Fisichella. I caught him at the last quick chicane, and without that I might have been able to get Jenson Button."

Like everyone else Johnny and Eddie chose the super soft tyre, which loses performance very early on. That means the race will be hard work, as driver struggled to cope with decreasing grip levels.

"It'll be interesting!" said Johnny. "I'm not really looking forward to it, I have to say. The balance of the car is not good as it is, so it's going to be tough tomorrow. People will be sliding around very early. In qualifying they were sliding at the end of one lap!"

Qualifying times from AtlasF1:

1. M Schumacher Ferrari 1:15.632 202.343 km/h 
2. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:15.734 + 0.102 
3. Barrichello Ferrari 1:16.047 + 0.415 
4. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:16.050 + 0.418 
5. R Schumacher Williams BMW 1:16.291 + 0.659 
6. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth 1:16.399 + 0.767 
7. Villeneuve BAR Honda 1:16.653 + 1.021 
8. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:16.658 + 1.026 
9. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:16.669 + 1.037 
10. Button Williams BMW 1:16.905 + 1.273 
11. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth 1:17.176 + 1.544 
12. Salo Sauber Petronas 1:17.223 + 1.591 
13. de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1:17.279 + 1.647 
14. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:17.317 + 1.685 
15. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:17.361 + 1.729 
16. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1:17.374 + 1.742 
17. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:17.408 + 1.776 
18. Alesi Prost Peugeot 1:17.569 + 1.937 
19. Zonta BAR Honda 1:17.668 + 2.036 
20. Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1:17.933 + 2.301 
21. Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1:18.130 + 2.498 
22. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1:18.302 + 2.670

Friday practice

Jaguar-Racing, 30th June 2000: After a strong pre-race test last week, Johnny Herbert was disappointed with his performance in free practice today. Herbert was quick in the morning session, ending up seventh, but finished the day in 13th place after he failed to improve his time. Johnny was unhappy with the balance of his R1, which he believes is due to the change in weather conditions since the test. 

"The usual Friday fare in Magny-Cours, in that the track is different to what it was in the test," he said. "It's a lot warmer which increases the tyre degradation and makes it all react differently. The balance of the car has changed but everyone will have had that problem. We’ll have to see what we can come up with tonight in order to make the car more driveable as she’s not a nice car to drive at the moment."

However, Gary Anderson, Jaguar Racing’s technical director, was happier with the day’s work and said that preparations for Sunday’s race were going as planned. 

"The plan today was to complete the remainder of the test programme, which we did," said Gary. "We stuck rigidly to a game plan which was to run the same tyres and evaluate how they stood up to the heat and wear in preparaton for the race. Unlike Canada, where we lost our way a bit, we didn’t veer off the programme and completed everything we had planned. Based on the times we achieved at the test and the set-up we were running, we definitely made gains today. We’re relatively content at this stage."

Friday practice times from AtlasF1: 

1. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1:16.253 200.695 km/h 
2. M Schumacher Ferrari 1:16.474 + 0.221 
3. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1:16.687 + 0.434 
4. Barrichello Ferrari 1:16.757 + 0.504 
5. Salo Sauber Petronas 1:17.371 + 1.118 
6. Fisichella Benetton Playlife 1:18.032 + 1.779 
7. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:18.041 + 1.788 
8. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1:18.125 + 1.872 
9. R Schumacher Williams BMW 1:18.148 + 1.895 
10. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1:18.156 + 1.903 
11. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth 1:18.235 + 1.982 
12. Alesi Prost Peugeot 1:18.262 + 2.009 
13. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth 1:18.586 + 2.333 
14. Wurz Benetton Playlife 1:18.718 + 2.465 
15. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1:18.819 + 2.566 
16. de la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1:18.862 + 2.609 
17. Button Williams BMW 1:18.969 + 2.716 
18. Villeneuve BAR Honda 1:19.130 + 2.877 
19. Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1:19.550 + 3.297 
20. Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1:19.567 + 3.314 
21. Zonta BAR Honda 1:19.697 + 3.444 
22. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1:20.061 + 3.808 

Race preview

Jaguar Racing Press Release, 27th June 2000: Formula One returns to Europe this weekend for round nine of the 2000 FIA Formula One World Championship in Magny Cours, France. All of the teams had the opportunity to test at the Circuit de Nevers last week in preparation for the French Grand Prix The Jaguar Racing team concentrated on car set-up for the race along with aerodynamic modifications and practice starts.

The Jaguar Racing team has been working hard on solving recent difficulties and heads to France with a positive attitude. Technical Director, Gary Anderson explains:

“We have been in the news a little of late, mostly for the wrong reasons, but I’ve been in this sport long enough to realise that we were never going to be an overnight sensation. Sure the level of performance has not lived up to expectation so far this season but our development has gathered pace and we are striving for more performance from the package. 

"We made several improvements to the car’s overall handling and aerodynamics at last week’s test. Aerodynamics are crucial for Magny Cours as the circuit is characterised by fast corners and high-speed chicanes. Tyres are also a big issue. As a driver you are conscious of looking after tyres in a race by not throwing the car around too much."

Johnny Herbert enjoys racing at Magny Cours and, contrary to recent reports, is backing his team:

“I’ve been quoted as saying that, amongst other things, the team is not moving forward. I firmly deny that I said this and It is disappointing that I was misquoted in this way. I am 100% behind the Jaguar Racing team. We are all sticking together and working hard to find the solutions to our problems. 

"All of us were bitterly disappointed by the team’s performance in Canada, particularly after the success we had in Monaco. I was as frustrated as anyone but the comments which have been attributed to me are unfounded. The only way we are going to make progress and improve the competitiveness of the car is by putting our heads together and attacking the workload as a unit - and that’s precisely what we are doing. I’m really looking forward to Magny Cours. It usually proves to be an interesting race where the weather has a big part to play.”

Eddie Irvine’s best result in the French Grand Prix was in 1998 when he finished second behind his former Ferrari team-mate Michael Schumacher:

“I quite like Magny Cours, even if the place lacks some atmosphere. The circuit has the smoothest track surface of the year and on the safety side, the corners have generous run-off areas. It is a complex circuit which puts a premium on aerodynamics. There are some overtaking opportunities and a couple of challenging corners, although some sections are too tight. The weather plays an important role as the higher the temperatures - and it can get very hot, as we have seen in last week’s test - the slower the lap time. Changes in wind direction also seem to have more of an effect on the car than at some other circuits.”

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 Jaguar-Racing material used by kind permission
Last updated 2nd July 2000