Driving on a brand new Bridgestone tyre, the Ferrari duo moved into the top two positions early in the race - on a two-stop strategy, Rubens went ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya at the start of lap five; a lap later Michael, who stopped just once, pulled the same manoeuvre going into the first corner. Rubens, who set a new lap record and finished 52 seconds ahead of 3rd place driver Eddie Irvine, now has a 17-point advantage for second place in the championship with just two races to go.

Other cars on Bridgestone survived well what became a race of attrition. Olivier Panis scored his first point for Lucky Strike B.A.R. Honda since the British Grand Prix two months ago, in 6th place, and Giancarlo Fisichella was 8th for DHL Jordan Honda. In total, Bridgestone had six cars in the top ten.