Hockenheimring, 30th July
Ricardo was 6th throughout first part of Friday practice. His 10th lap was his fastest putting him momentarily in 2nd position. Second session started in rain and drivers were unable to better times until the very last minute, Ricardo failed to do so and fell to 7th.
Friday 1st practice: 6th, 1:44.906
Friday combined practice: 7th, 1:44.906, 35 laps
The rain started at the same moment as the qualifying. All drivers went out as soon as possible and Ricardo made a 1:48.665. He went back some 10 minutes later but aborted that attempt as sector times showed him to be 6 seconds off pace. With 8 minutes to go rain had stopped and Ricardo went out but failed to improve, ending up 12th fastest.
Saturday practice:13th, 1:43.534, 22 laps
Qualifying:12th, 1:48.665, 10 laps
With M Schumacher (Ferrari) and Fisichella (Benetton) crashing and Wurz (Benetton) making a bad start Ricardo was immediately up to 9th. But then came Barrichello like a rocket starting from 18th position with light fuel load and passed in the Clark Curve. Soon afterwards Barrichello passed Villeneuve as well and Ricardo then followed his teammate until both were passed by Frentzen (Jordan) on laps 7-8 the BAR drivers falling to 11th and 12th. On lap 11 R Schumacher (Williams) passed Ricardo but with Herbert (Jaguar) retiring on the next lap Ricardo held his position until lap 22 when pit stops started and Ricardo climbed to 7th. On lap 27 the "Anti Mercedes Man" appeared on the track and the safety car came out, Ricardo falling to 9th during the pit stops. Race restarted with drivers racing close together and Ricardo nudged the rear end of Ralf Schumacher's Williams in the chicane causing the latter to spin. On the same lap Diniz (Sauber) and Alesi (Prost) crashed creating a new safety car situation that lasted until lap 31. Two laps later rain started to fall but Ricardo decided to continue on dry weather tyres. On lap 34 Villeneuve made a mistake on the finish straight and Ricardo pulled up beside him. Villeneuve followed side by side round the corner trying to push himself back into the front by tightening the line - not the most clever maneuver in the rain as it forced Ricardo up on the slippery kerb. As Ricardo's car slid down again wheels came together and Villeneuve went for a 900 degree spin. Ricardo continued and was suddenly chasing the top trio, closing in on Coulthard and Frentzen fighting for 2nd position. On the following lap Ricardo lost a second to them in the heavy rain and on the next lap the team was ready for Ricardo, but for a stop and go penalty rather than for a tyre change. Coming in to the Sachs curve Coulthard almost lost it, Frentzen attacked him and Ricardo behind them went wide and ended up in the gravel.
"I'm very sorry for what happened with my team mate because we could both have scored points today. I had an opportunity to pass him at the first corner, but unfortunately my front wheel clipped his rear wheel, making him spin. The team told me I had a penalty and I lost concentration for a moment. I was on dry tyres in the wet conditions, I locked the brakes and skidded off the track."
Warmup: 12th, 1:45.692, 13 laps
Race: DNF 37 laps spun off
FL: 1:47.248 on lap 33, (+2.948, 16th) - One pit stop (lap 26: 29.9)
Winner: Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari)