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Heinz Harald Frentzen's return to the cockpit with Prost ended on lap 64 - the German spinning into the gravel. "Basically, I put too much power in a corner and went off the track," explained Frentzen. "Obviously, we struggled quite a lot here, but I am still optimistic and I am confident we will clearly improve for the next races." His mechanics having failed to give him enough fuel to the flag, Hakkinen was in for a third stop on lap 71. The 'splash and dash' stoppage resulted in the Finn dropping further behind Ralf Schumacher and subsequently, any hopes of 4th place gone.
Incident free, the closing stages of the race consisted of awaiting Schumacher's 7th win of the season and his date with destiny. Having driven impeccably throughout the weekend, the German duly took the flag on lap 77 to rapturous applause and in doing so, claimed his fourth world championship. "I came here with a not so optimistic view for the weekend," announced the new champion. "I was pretty relaxed all weekend, thinking somehow it wasn't going to happen here, so because of that, I wasn't putting any pressure on myself. Not purposefully, it was just like that. So the last three laps I only started to think 'well, it's supposed to be this weekend.' And that's when you get even more nervous, when you can make a mistake." Praising the efforts of his team, the Ferrari pilot was quick to recognise the efforts of the Maranello concern: "You can't believe how wonderful the guys are," Schumacher said. "How much we stick together, in good times, in bad times. We have such a great crew, such a good team that I'm really in love with all of them and it's so much fun to work with them. It's their achievement and I'm more than thankful to all of them."
Rubbing salt into the wounds of their rivals, it was a double celebration for Ferrari. Courtesy of Barrichello maintaining his impressive record for podium finishes with second place, the results of both drivers handed the team its third consecutive Constructors title. "This year's results speak for themselves and I am delighted for the team that Ferrari has reaped the rewards for all its hard work," declared Jean Todt. "This year's success is particularly sweet as we were up against two very strong rivals in Williams and McLaren. There are still four races to go and we will do all we can to live up to our title in the races to come."
