The one-hour qualifying session was held in dry weather under the 107% rule, which required drivers to set a time within 107% of the fastest lap to qualify for the race. Schumacher and Häkkinen battled for the top grid position throughout the session. Schumacher’s pole-winning lap was set with three minutes remaining after Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn sent him into a gap in traffic. Häkkinen, who joined him on the front row, was nine thousandths of a second slower than Schumacher and lost time after a slow exit from the final turn.
David Coulthard qualified third for McLaren, noting that despite car adjustments, he lacked the speed to challenge for pole. Williams drivers Jenson Button and Ralf Schumacher secured the third row in fifth and sixth, respectively. Button achieved his fastest time on his third attempt after being hampered by traffic from Häkkinen and Jarno Trulli on earlier laps, while Ralf Schumacher struggled with car setup changes. Eddie Irvine qualified seventh despite braking issues, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen took eighth in a Jordan he described as difficult to handle.
The top ten was completed by Jacques Villeneuve in ninth, who reported excess oversteer, and Johnny Herbert in tenth. Further down the grid, Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella started 12th after a loss of performance following morning practice. Ricardo Zonta qualified 18th for BAR following an engine change that reduced his track time. The Minardi drivers, Marc Gené and Gastón Mazzacane, qualified 21st and 22nd; Gené utilized a spare car due to rising gear oil temperatures, while Mazzacane made an error on his first lap.
Prior to qualifying, Michael Schumacher led three of the four practice sessions. In the second Friday session, he set a time of 1:37.728, which was six-tenths of a second faster than Häkkinen. During this session, a magnitude 6.7 earthquake was felt at the circuit, though no injuries or structural damage occurred. In the final Saturday morning practice, Häkkinen led the field with a 1:37.037, one-tenth of a second ahead of Schumacher.
The event featured a revised pit lane entry, moved from the 130R corner to the exit of the Casio chicane to improve safety. Additionally, FIA Race Director Charlie Whiting introduced a new rule for the weekend: any driver found blocking a championship contender would face a black-and-white unsportsmanlike conduct flag, potentially followed by a black flag for disqualification or a three-race ban. This followed an incident at the 1997 European Grand Prix where Norberto Fontana was found to have impeded Jacques Villeneuve.
In the 53-lap race held on 8 October, Häkkinen overtook Schumacher at the start. Schumacher regained the lead during the second round of pit stops on lap 40, utilizing an "undercut" strategy managed by Ross Brawn. Schumacher won the race by 1.8 seconds over Häkkinen, with Coulthard finishing third. This victory confirmed Schumacher as the 2000 World Drivers' Champion, making him Ferrari's first champion since Jody Scheckter in 1979. Ferrari left the event with a 13-point lead over McLaren in the World Constructors' Championship with one race remaining in the season.
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