Barrichello overtook Zanardi on lap 26; Salo did the same at the start of lap 28. At this point, Häkkinen led Frentzen by eight seconds, with Schumacher a further two-and-a-half seconds back. But on lap 30, going into the Rettifilo, Häkkinen made a mistake changing gear – selecting first instead of second – and spun off, in a virtual repeat of his unforced error at San Marino earlier in the year. In a rare show of emotion, the Finn burst into tears at the side of the track.