Giancarlo Fisichella's race ended after 20 laps when he pulled his Jordan Honda EJ12 off the circuit.  The Italian was battling with the Toyota of Mika Salo at the time, only 0.4s behind the Finn, when his car suddenly slowed and he was forced to pull off the track.  Reports from the team's telemetry system showed a hydraulic pressure problem, similar to that which ruined Fisichella's qualifying.  As with Sato's retirement, however, the exact reason for the retirement will not be firmly established until the cars have been retrieved after the race and examined by the team's technicians.

The retirement comes as a blow to DHL Jordan Honda, ending a weekend when the cars suffered both speed and reliability problems.  Next week's three-day test at Silverstone takes on an even more important role as the team aims to regroup after a difficult San Marino weekend.

"I made a good start but then Heinz-Harald closed the door and I went off onto the gravel and lost a lot of places," said Giancarlo.  "Then I was doing my race and had overtaken Eddie Irvine, when the car suddenly lost drive.  It appears to have been due to a loss of hydraulic pressure, possibly the same problem that I had in qualifying yesterday.  Naturally I am very disappointed."