At the front of the pack, Hill was in control, extending his lead over Alesi to 6.2 seconds by lap 5 and to 12 seconds by lap 12.
V drugem krogu je Irvine poskušal prehiteti Panisa v šikani Abbey, toda pri tem se je zavrtel in padel daleč nazaj, kmalu za tem pa je kot prvi dirkač na dirki odstopil zaradi okvare motorja.