On the same lap Irvine overtook his teammate Herbert for tenth position. Wurz crashed into the barriers at turn 1 and was forced to retire. Gené retired on lap 22 with a gearbox issue as his teammate Mazzacane subsequently collided with the barriers at turn one on the same lap and had to retire from the event. Herbert became the first driver to make a pit stop on lap 27 although his pit crew came unprepared and Herbert was stationary for half a minute before he exited in 17th position. On the 31st lap, Diniz made contact with the barriers at turn one and he damaged his left rear wheel, causing him to retire. Häkkinen's pace was reduced by lap 36 as he slowed with an blockage on his brake pedal and made an unscheduled pit stop. His team's mechanics opened his car's inspection hatch and rearranged radio cables. They subsequently removed a data transmitter which was the cause the blockage and Häkkinen rejoined in 9th. Trulli became the next retirement of the race when he pulled to the side of the track with a gearbox problem on the following lap.