The result did not reflect the optimism created by a very encouraging qualifying session and cars that, otherwise, proved very competitive and well-balanced throughout the weekend.

A slow getaway meant Frentzen had dropped to eighth place at the end of the first lap. A battle with the Sauber of Nick Heidfeld kept him busy, Frentzen rising to sixth place before the first of two scheduled stops on lap 24. Heinz-Harald was back in sixth place again by the time of his second stop on lap 41 but a broken air deflector behind one of the front wheels meant he did not have the pace to continue the fight with Heidfeld.

'Unfortunately, I made a poor start,'said Frentzen. 'I enjoyed a good battle with Heidfeld (who eventually finished fifth), but then I felt a bargeboard suddenly break. That resulted in heavy understeer which was reflected in my lap times towards the end of the race, when I couldn't keep pace. I just had to do the best I could and, naturally, it's disappointing not to have been able to score points after a really encouraging and promising weekend. All we can do is to try again next time. That, of course, will be my home Grand Prix at Hockenheim, so a good result there would be very timely for me as well as the team.'

Trulli made a good start from fourth on the grid to challenge David Coulthard's McLaren going into the first corner. Trulli had the inside line for the right-hander but the two cars touched. Trulli spun into the gravel trap on the outside of the corner and retired instantly.

'To be out of the race at such an early stage is incredibly disappointing for me and the team,' said Trulli. 'The car has been running so well all weekend and, with my strong grid position, we were looking in very good shape to finish in the points today, with even a podium being possible. I had a very good start and was next to David on the inside by the first corner. I don't know whether he just didn't see me or didn't want to give up the fight but, either way, he closed the door, leaving me with no more room to brake or avoid an accident. So our cars touched. It was a racing incident and David and I will talk about it although, generally, I think the car on the outside should leave enough room for the inside car.'

After 11 races, Benson and Hedges Jordan Honda continue to hold fifth place in the Constructors' Championship.

'I can't begin to say how disappointed I am,' said Eddie Jordan. 'Especially after the superb promise of qualifying and, of course, because we are racing at Silverstone. I'm sorry we could not give the fantastic number of Jordan supporters and our sponsors and their guests a better result than this on what is our home circuit. The thing which really hurts is that the team is capable of it; our qualifying performances proved that we have the pace - but it is just not coming together in the races. Obviously we are going to spare no effort to turn things around because,
quite honestly, this is simply not good enough.'

The clash with Trulli led to Coulthard's retirement a few laps later with broken rear suspension, effectively closing down the Scotsman's championship hopes for this year after Michael Schumacher claimed another six points by finishing second. On the day, however, Schumacher and Ferrari had no answer to Mika Hakkinen as the McLaren driver took the fight to the World Champion and went on to win his first race since last August. Rubens Barrichello strengthened Ferrari's lead of the Constructors' Championship by finishing third ahead of the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya. Five of the 21 starters failed to finish the 60-lap race.

The 12th round of the FIA Formula One World Championship will be the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on 29 July.

Jordan Grand Prix