The 2000 British Grand Prix (formally the LIII Foster's British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 23 April 2000 at Silverstone Circuit, England. It was the fourth race of the 2000 Formula One season and the 55th British Grand Prix. The 60-lap race was won by McLaren driver David Coulthard after starting from fourth position. His teammate Mika Häkkinen finished second with Michael Schumacher third for the Ferrari team.
Background
The Grand Prix was contested by eleven teams, each of two drivers. The teams, also known as constructors were, McLaren, Ferrari, Jordan, Jaguar, Williams, Benetton, Prost, Sauber, Arrows, Minardi and BAR. Tyre supplier Bridgestone brought four different tyre compounds to the race: two dry compounds, soft and medium, and two wet-weather compounds, soft and hard.
Going into the race Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 30 points, ahead of Rubens Barrichello on 9 points and Giancarlo Fisichella on 8. Mika Häkkinen in fourth and Ralf Schumacher in fifth were tied on 6 points. In the Constructors' Championship Ferrari were leading with 39 points, McLaren and Benetton were second and third with 10 and 8 points, respectively, whilst Jordan and Williams were tied in fourth place with 7 points each. Ferrari and Michael Schumacher had so far dominated the championship, winning the previous three races. Championship competitors Barrichello, Fisichella and Häkkinen had gained one second-place finish each, and Ralf Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and David Coulthard had achieved one third-place podium finish each.
Following the San Marino Grand Prix on 9 April the teams conducted testing sessions at the Silverstone Circuit from 11–14 April to prepare for the upcoming Grand Prix at the track. The sessions were marked with intermittent rain making the track slippery. Barrichello set the quickest times on the first day, ahead of Jordan driver Jarno Trulli. Ralf Schumacher was quickest on the second day. BAR driver Jacques Villeneuve hit a fox at the back of the circuit, limiting his testing time. Michael Schumacher was fastest on the third day. Villeneuve's teammate Ricardo Zonta crashed into a spectator enclosure at the Stowe corner suffering a cut to his right middle finger. BAR later revealed Zonta's crash was caused by a front suspension failure and withdrew from testing. Michael Schumacher was fastest on the final day of testing. As a result of Zonta's crash, the tyre wall at Stowe corner was extended by one tyre in height and two tyres in depth. The gravel trap around the area was also made smoother.
In a controversial move the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)—Formula One's governing body—decided to stage the British Grand Prix in April instead of the event's traditional mid-July date, with the race taking place on Easter Sunday. No specific reason was given for the move, though the reinstatement of the Belgian Grand Prix—initially excluded from the calendar due to problems concerning the country's tobacco advertising laws—and the return of the United States Grand Prix were suggested as possible reasons. The owner of Formula One's commercial rights Bernie Ecclestone had scheduled the French Grand Prix to be held in the month of April with the British Grand Prix in July though "internal politics" in France prevented the change.
Much of the discussion heading into the event was a revision to allow teams to use modified pit lane speed limiters. The FIA allowed them to be used provided they were "hard-coded" below a limit of , thus preventing teams from modifying them. It was in response to preventing driver aids like traction control and launch control from being secretly implemented. Most of the drivers agreed that the change would reduce the risk of drivers entering and exiting the pit lane. However, they expressed concern that they would not drive safely at a slow speed and the possibility that mechanics or other cars could be hit would be increased.