Ralf Schumacher, who was running fourth, crashed heavily into the turn one barriers on the 38th lap. He suffered a deep cut to his leg and was taken to hospital. Michael Schumacher held a 36-second lead over Coulthard by lap 38 and the latter lapped consistently in the low 1:22 range to close the gap. Verstappen made the first scheduled pit stop on lap 41, five laps in front of Zonta and Heidfeld. Michael Schumacher made a pit stop on lap 49 and retained the first position. Fisichella made a pit stop earlier than expected on lap 51 as he had a slow developing. Frentzen, Barrichello, Salo, Villeneuve and Coulthard made pit stops over the following six laps. After Coulthard emerged from the pit lane, Michael Schumacher's car suffered a broken exhaust which broke his left rear suspension and Schumacher was forced to retire.