2000 Malaysian GP

Two weeks after winning the Drivers’ title with Michael Schumacher at the Japanese Grand Prix, Scuderia Ferrari arrived at the Malaysian Grand Prix on 22 October for the last race on the calendar with a thirteen-point lead over McLaren in the Constructors’ Championship. For the Italian team, three points would be enough to give them the Constructors’ title, repeating the previous year’s feat.

The newly crowned champion Michael Schumacher dominated qualifying, just as he had all year, taking pole position by almost half a second over the two McLaren drivers, Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard, and his teammate Rubens Barrichello.

At the start, the two McLarens got away well with both Hakkinen and Coulthard overtaking Schumacher, putting themselves in first and second. However it became immediately clear that the Finn had jumped the start and a penalty saw the outgoing champion drop to last place. Coulthard made his first pit stop on lap 17 while Schumacher stayed out on track putting in a series of fast laps which allowed him, after his stop on the 24th lap, to come back out on track ahead of his rival. Coulthard kept right on Schumacher’s tail but was not able to overtake him.

Behind those two, Barrichello had a lonely race, staying in third until the end. Schumacher’s victory and Barrichello’s third place gave Scuderia Ferrari their tenth Constructors’ title, with an eighteen-point advantage over McLaren. The 2000 season, one of the best in Scuderia Ferrari’s history, ended with a double title win, something the Maranello team had not managed since 1979. It was the start of a winning streak.