The first race of the season was in Australia, and the top five placings were similar to the previous year. The McLaren pair of world champion Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard started 1–2 ahead of the Ferrari pair of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. The Jordans of Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli were fifth and sixth. During the race, the McLarens kept their positions at the start, while Barrichello lost out to Frentzen. The McLarens pulled away from Michael Schumacher, but on lap ten, Coulthard retired with a misfire. Häkkinen's engine blew up nine laps later, giving the lead to Schumacher. Neither Jordan also lasted the race, Frentzen retiring with a hydraulic failure from second, and Trulli with an engine failure from fourth. All this gave Ferrari an easy 1–2 with Schumacher winning from Barrichello, with Ralf Schumacher, driving for Williams completing the podium.