At the , Räikkönen took pole, and controlled the race from the start until his engine failed on lap 25. Title rival Michael Schumacher finished fifth taking 4 points advantage from Räikkönen. Räikkönen finished fourth in France behind Schumacher, but finished one point ahead of him with a third place finish at the . Räikkönen failed to finish the after being involved in an accident at the first corner with Ralf Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Räikkönen finished second at the next race, the .