The 2000 Malaysian Grand Prix took place at the 5.543 km (3.444 mi) Sepang International Circuit. Prior to the event, Michael Schumacher had already secured the season’s World Drivers’ Championship at the Japanese Grand Prix. He led the championship with 98 points, while McLaren’s Mika Häkkinen was second with 86. With only 10 championship points available at the final race, Häkkinen was unable to catch Schumacher. David Coulthard was third in the Drivers’ Championship with 67 points, 58 ahead of Barrichello. If Barrichello won and Coulthard finished outside the top six, he could still finish third.
The World Constructors’ Championship was still undecided. Ferrari led with 156 points, and McLaren were second with 143. McLaren needed to finish first and second to win the Constructors’ Championship, while Ferrari needed one of its drivers to finish second, or fourth to collect three championship points. Protests regarding the imprisonment of Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim threatened to disrupt the race, though campaign director Raja Petra Kamarudin later announced the event would proceed uninterrupted.
During Friday practice, Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap at 1 minute and 40.290 seconds. Häkkinen was quickest in the second practice session with a time of 1:40.262. Saturday’s practice sessions saw Wurz set the fastest time in the third session, and Coulthard the fastest in the final session, at 1:38.109. Several teams reported poor radio reception during the Friday sessions.
Michael Schumacher took pole position with a lap time of 1:37.397. Häkkinen qualified second, 0.463 seconds behind. Coulthard qualified third, but briefly received petrol in his left eye during a refueling pit stop when a loose fuel line caused a fire. Barrichello qualified fourth, and Alexander Wurz qualified fifth, his best qualifying result of the season.
The race began with Häkkinen jumping the start, and Coulthard taking the lead. Häkkinen received a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for the jump start. During their second pit stops, Michael Schumacher and teammate Rubens Barrichello traded the lead, with the former retaining it. The race saw a chaotic start, with Pedro Diniz attempting to pass Nick Heidfeld while alongside Jean Alesi at the second turn, resulting in a collision that also involved Alesi and Heidfeld. Diniz crashed into the rear of Alesi’s car, spinning him around and making contact with Heidfeld, causing the first retirements of the race. Further incidents on the first lap included Ralf Schumacher being forced onto the grass while attempting to pass Eddie Irvine, and Jarno Trulli damaging his front wing in a collision. Later in the race, Johnny Herbert crashed on lap 50, retiring from Formula One after 161 race starts with a broken right driveshaft causing a rear suspension failure. Michael Schumacher took the lead after Coulthard pitted, and held it to win the race in a time of 1'35:54.235. Coulthard finished second, and Barrichello third. Ferrari’s result secured them the 2000 World Constructors’ Championship.
Michael Schumacher expressed delight at winning the race and the Constructors’ Championship. Coulthard apologised to Schumacher for previous comments. Ron Dennis, McLaren’s team principal, congratulated Ferrari on their success. Herbert was uninjured in his crash, but expressed disappointment at ending his Formula One career in that manner. He later participated in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series.
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