The first European race of the season was in San Marino, and even though the 'tifosi' were out in full force for Ferrari, McLaren locked out the front row of the grid for the third successive race, and the Ferraris of Schumacher and Irvine were confined to the second row. Häkkinen, who was on a two-stopper, raced away from the field early on, only to lose control and crash on the 18th lap. This left Coulthard and Schumacher to battle it out, and the German jumped his rival in the stops to win, sending the tifosi wild. Coulthard was second, and after Irvine retired with an engine failure, Barrichello took third.