Monaco Grand Prix 2000
Monaco, 1st-4th June

TV Screenshots

Race

Jaguar-Racing press release, 4th June: The 2000 Monaco Grand Prix saw the Jaguar Racing team score its first World Championship points after Eddie Irvine secured fourth place. The result also chalks up the first World Championship points in the history of the Jaguar marque. Team-mate Johnny Herbert finished in ninth place after an unexpectedly long pit-stop. The original race was red flagged on the first lap and had to be restarted. Both Jaguar Racing drivers stayed out of trouble in an incident-packed race which featured numerous accidents and mechanical failures.

Johnny's comments:

"I'm very disappointed as we could have had both cars in the top six today. I made a good start both times, the car felt good at the beginning of the race and I was able to keep the pace without any problem, After about ten laps the steering started getting heavy and the car was getting harder and harder to drive. I radioed to the pits that I was coming in because I needed tyres but there was a problem with the radio which gave the pit crew a bit of a surprise and lost me a lot of time. 

"I stopped a second time to get my power steering reset to try to get the handling problem sorted out but it didn’t help. It’s a shame because things could have been a lot different if it hadn’t been for that first costly stop."

Eddie Irvine's comments:

"There have been races this year when we deserved points - today we got them. I'm really pleased for the team. Together we’ve all been slogging away and not getting any payback but the car has been good all weekend and I had a good feeling about the race if I kept it clean. 

"It was a big struggle, one of the hardest races of my life. The steering was getting very heavy towards the end. I was suffering from dehydration because my drink bottle wasn’t working and my foot is badly blistered but I'll worry about that tomorrow! It’s great to put Jaguar’s name on the scoreboard. If we continue to put all the jigsaw pieces in place on a regular basis, the points will come our way again for sure."

Neil Ressler - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jaguar Racing

"It’s very gratifying for all our efforts to be rewarded with the team’s first world championship points. Eddie drove a smart race and didn’t put a wheel wrong on a circuit that is widely acknowledged as the ultimate challenge for a driver. 

"Due to a radio miscommunication Johnny came in for his first stop unexpectedly which resulted in a big loss of time. He came in a second time to have the power steering reset and for new tyres in the hope that we could send him out arid capitalize on what was ultimately a high-attrition race. While it’s a big relief to put points on the board we will continue to work hard and hope that this is the beginning of a trend."

Jaguar-Racing, 4th June: Eddie Irvine took the first-ever points finish for Jaguar Racing with fourth place in the Monaco Grand Prix today. Irvine drove brilliantly to finish ahead of Mika Salo and world champion Mika Hakkinen. Team-mates Johnny Herbert also finished the race, but was two laps down in ninth place.

Irvine had qualified 10th, but lost a place to Herbert into the first corner after Giancarlo Fisichella blocked him on the narrow run down to Ste Devote. He re-took the position a quarter of the way into the race and then steadily picked up places as the front runners ran into trouble. 

The three points Eddie collects for fourth place puts him 10th equal in the world championship table alongside Jenson Button. But more importantly it is a fantastic boost for the team. There were no reliabilty problems, and Jaguar Racing will head to Monza testing next week to prepare for the Canadian Grand Prix in confident mood.

Race results:

1. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1h 49:28.213 
2. Barrichello Ferrari + 17.889 
3. Fisichella Benetton Playlife + 18.522 
4. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth + 1:05.924 
5. Salo Sauber Petronas + 1:20.774 
6. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes + 1 lap 
7. Villeneuve BAR Honda + 1 Lap 
8. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot + 1 Lap 
9. Herbert Jaguar Cosworth + 2 Laps

Qualifying

Jaguar-Racing, 3rd June: It was a slightly disappointing session for Jaguar Racing after its performances over the rest of the weekend. Irvine, who held pole early in the session, was 10th with a lap of 1m20.743 after struggling with traffic and a power steering failure on his last run. Team-mate Johnny Herbert was just four hundredths slower in 11th place with a time of 1m20.792s. Nevertheless, the Jaguars will be hoping to pick up some points in the race tomorrow.

Johnny's best qualifying of the year

For Johnny Herbert, 11th place represented his best result of the season, and it is also the closest he's been to his team-mate on the grid. However, he still wasn't really satisfied with the outcome of the day.

"We worked on it and made it a lot better," said Johnny. "I probably got two good runs. One of the others was clear, but I made a big mistake, then on the last one I got held up by David Coulthard and then a Minardi at Rascasse. There were yellow flags as well, so it didn't really matter. I'm happy with the way it's gone, but there are still a lot of things to be sorted. It was nice to be close to Eddie, but at the end of the day we should both be higher up the grid than we are. It's unusual to see someone like Alesi in front, and Trulli as high up as he is."

Team manager Dave Stubbs says the team was disappointed on what had been a promising day. 

"I think they both did a very good job really," said Dave. "They could have been a bit higher up I guess. Eddie put it into the tyres at the end of the morning session, but there was no real damage. Johnny is a lot happier with the car than he was on Thursday. Tomorrow is all about a good start, keeping it on the road, and hopefully we can pick up the odd couple of points."

That is the secret at Monaco, and both drivers are experienced enough to bring their cars home - although the middle of the field is not always the safest place to be on the first lap, as Johnny admits.

"Where we are is not the best place to be - around that position is where things seem to happen."

The start is everything, and the last thing either driver wants is a repeat of the problems they've experienced at other races this year. However, the team has been working on a solution.

"We have a new clutch," says Johnny. "It feels better, but we haven't really done a proper start with that clutch with a full fuel load in the car. So it's a mystery at the moment - hopefully we can get it right..."

Qualifying times:

1. Michael Schumacher, Ferrari - 1.19.475
2. Jarno Trulli, Jordan-Mugen Honda - 1.19.746
3. David Coulthard, McLaren-Mercedes - 1.19.888
4. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jordan-Mugen Honda - 1.19.961
5. Mika Hakkinen, McLaren-Mercedes - 1.20.241
6. Rubens Barrichello, Ferrari - 1.20.416
7. Jean Alesi, Prost-Peugeot - 1.20.494
8. Giancarlo Fisichella, Benetton-Playlife - 1.20.703
9. Ralf Schumacher, Williams-BMW - 1.20.742
10. Eddie Irvine, Jaguar - 1.20.743
11. Johnny Herbert, Jaguar - 1.20.792
12. Alexander Wurz, Benetton-Playlife - 1.20.871
13. Mika Salo, Sauber-Petronas - 1.21.561
14. Jenson Button, Williams-BMW - 1.21.605
15. Jos Verstappen, Arrows-Supertec - 1.21.738
16. Pedro de la Rosa, Arrows-Supertec - 1.21.832
17. Jacques Villeneuve, BAR-Honda - 1.21.848
18. Nick Heidfeld, Prost-Peugeot - 1.22.017
19. Pedro Diniz, Sauber-Petronas - 1.22.136
20. Ricardo Zonta, BAR-Honda - 1.22.324
21. Marc Gene, Minardi-Fondmetal - 1.23.721
22. Gaston Mazzacane, Minardi-Fondmetal - 1.23.794 

Thursday Practice

Engine problems make it another difficult day for Johnny

Jaguar-Racing, 1st June: The streets of Monte Carlo are a notorious car breaker, but the problems started early for Johnny Herbert. He only ran for five laps in the morning, and ended up 15th. Once again the first day gremlins had struck car number eight. 

"We had a problem with the engine today that affected me throughout the practice sessions by making the car difficult to drive," said Johnny. "Generally, though, once we can get the engine sorted it will make things a lot easier. All in all, it's been yet another problematic day, which is becoming tiresome."

Nevertheless, technical boss Gary Anderson was confident things would be different when it comes to qualifying on Saturday. 

"Johnny had engine problems this morning," said Gary, "and we thought it wasn't worth running until the track was little bit better. It's something we thought we'd traced between the two sessions, but we hadn't. He's heading in the right direction on set-up and we'll have a full day tomorrow, Monaco's 'official rest day', to sift through the data and find further improvements.

"Eddie's doing alright, but it's Saturday that counts. He did a good job, really. We worked on the car, and hopefully we're going in the right direction."

There is no practice on Friday, so the team will have more time than usual to prepare for Saturday's crucial session.

Practice details:

Jaguar-Racing, 1st June: Mika Hakkinen emerged at the top of the timesheets after an incident-packed second practice session at Monaco today. The World Champion set his quickest time in the dying seconds to displace Michael Schumacher, who had held the top spot for most of the session. 

Practice took place in perfect conditions with an ambient temperature of 22 degrees centigrade and a track temperature of 44 degrees. Unsurprisingly, the times from the morning session were quickly beaten, with both Hakkinen and Schumacher setting quicker laps early on. Schumacher was the first driver to break the 1m22s barrier with a lap of 1m21.486s, only to see the Finn better his time with less than a minute left on the clock. Hakkinen's team-mate David Coulthard was third fastest with a time of 1m22.098, over half a second down. 

Jaguar Racing's Eddie Irvine had a very promising session. Eddie was quick throughout the session and held third place for a while. In the end, he had to settle for 4th place, with a time of 1m22.260s. Team-mate Johnny Herbert suffered an engine problem during both sessions and finished down in 15th with a time of 1m23.828s. 

Times from Autosport:

1. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes 1'21"387
2. M Schumacher Ferrari 1'21"486
3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes 1'22"098
4. Irvine Jaguar Ford 1'22"260
5. Frentzen Jordan Mugen-Honda 1'22"497
6. R Schumacher Williams BMW 1'22"700
7. Alesi Prost Peugeot 1'22"708
8. De la Rosa Arrows Supertec 1'22"944
9. Trulli Jordan Mugen-Honda 1'23"066
10. Barrichello Ferrari 1'23"095
11. Salo Sauber Petronas 1'23"356
12. Villeneuve BAR Honda 1'23"438
13. Button Williams BMW 1'23"578
14. Fisichella Benetton Supertec 1'23"783
16. Herbert Jaguar Ford 1'23"828
15. Diniz Sauber Petronas 1'23"872
17. Zonta BAR Honda 1'23"976
18. Gene Minardi Fondmetal 1'24"552
19. Verstappen Arrows Supertec 1'24"587
20. Wurz Benetton Supertec 1'25"325
21. Heidfeld Prost Peugeot 1'25"462
22. Mazzacane Minardi Fondmetal 1'27"031

Race preview

Jaguar Press Release, 30th May 2000:  

The Monaco Grand Prix is by no means just another race in the Formula One calendar. It’s a tradition, it’s the 'Jewel in Formula One’s crown'. Once a year, for over eight decades, man and machine have descended upon the tiny principality of Monaco to compete in the race that everyone wants to win.

The most famous street race in the world doesn’t have the large run-off areas and gravel traps like today’s modern F1 tracks so it's a stern test of the driver’s skill and bravery. There is no margin for error. The event is also tough for the teams of mechanics and engineers who have to work in areas many times smaller than the large pit garages and close-at-hand race trucks they have become accustomed to. Also, unique to Monaco, Free practice will take place on Thursday instead of its usual time on Friday.

In preparation for Monaco, the Jaguar Racing team ran a three day test last week at the newly FIA-accredited Valencia Circuit. With its twists and turns it’s an ideal track for simulating the mean streets of Monaco. Gary Anderson explains...

"We learned a few bits and pieces in Valencia last week and will go to Monaco with high expectations. We haven’t been able to do it yet but we need to pull the results together we feel we deserve. Eddie and Johnny both have a lot of experience of Monaco - they know that the crash barriers bite back so they have to keep away from them!"

After a more positive performance at the European Grand Prix, Johnny Herbert is looking forward to Monaco...

"I always enjoy Monaco so it would be great to have a good race there. I especially enjoy the challenge of qualifying which is so important as it's difficult to overtake anywhere these days but at Monaco it is almost impossible. I’ve only finished on the podium there once (in 1996), all the other times I’ve retired, usually due to reliability problems so I hope our test in Valencia last week will stand us in good stead for a better result."

Eddie Irvine has achieved a podium position in the last three Monaco Grands Prix. 

"It’s difficult to talk about this race without using clichés or sounding like a holiday brochure! It is unique, it is a great challenge and it is also a lot of hard work. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out there is no room for error here, so you need a car which is very precise and goes where you point it. The race is pretty much decided by two o’clock on Saturday as a good grid position is vital to finishing in the points on Sunday, Last year I got a great start off the second row and finished second. That might be a bit optimistic this time, but our first points finish of the season could be on the cards."

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Last updated 3rd June 2000