Barrichello wins German Grand Prix

Nesha Starcevic

Sunday, July 30, 2000 | 2:13 a.m.

HOCKENHEIM, Germany - With season leader Michael Schumacher crashing on the first lap, Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello captured his first Formula One victory Sunday in a wild German Grand Prix.

Barrichello battled back from 18th place on the starting grid with a daring display of driving skill in a race that was nearly stopped when a man crossed the track.

Barrichello, a Brazilian in his 123rd Grand Prix, slowly worked his way up the field after Schumacher's collision in the first corner of the 45-lap race.

Two-time defending champion Mika Hakkinen was second, ahead of McLaren-Mercedes teammate David Coulthard.

Barrichello crossed the line 7.5 seconds ahead of Hakkinen, moments before a heavy shower drenched the circuit.

Hugging a Brazilian flag, Barrichello broke into tears on the podium.

"I can't believe it, I can't believe it," Barrichello said. "The last lap was the longest lap in my life."

By beating the two McLaren drivers, Barrichello protected Schumacher's lead in the Formula One championship.

Schumacher leads with 56 points, while Coulthard and Hakkinen now share second place with 54.

Schumacher and Giancarlo Fisichella collided in the first corner, knocking both drivers out of the race.

It was a bitter outcome for Schumacher before tens of thousands of home fans and the fourth time in the last five races he has failed to finish.

Schumacher started from the second position on the starting grid, on the front row behind Coulthard. Coulthard, imitating Schumacher's driving style at the start, swerved hard from outside to the inside to prevent Schumacher from moving ahead.

Schumacher then swerved to the outside in his Ferrari, coming out ahead of Fisichella's Benetton, but the two cars touched sides and spun out. Fisichella crashed into a tire wall and Schumacher stopped in the gravel.

Hakkinen, who started from the fourth position behind Fisichella, used the maneuvering at the start to take the early lead.

With the rain starting to fall, Hakkinen went in for new tires on lap 35. Barrichello chose not to come in and held on with dry tires to capture the victory, with Schumacher watching from the Ferrari box.

"It was tricky, it was raining on different sections of the track," Barrichello said.

With 20 laps remaining got over safety barriers and walked along the track. Wearing a white plastic rain jacket, the man then crossed the track before security officials managed to bundle him into a car.

Jenson Button in a BMW-Williams was fourth, Mika Salo in a Sauber was fifth and Pedro de La Rosa was sixth in an Arrows.

Barrichello covered the 45 laps on the 4.240-mile in 1 hour, 25 minutes, 34.418 seconds.