On the second lap, Irvine tried to pass Panis at the Abbey chicane, but spun in the process and dropped further back, shortly before his engine cut out, making him the first retirement of the race.
Ob koncu prvega kroga je imel Hill 1,1 sekunde prednosti pred Alesijem, ki so mu sledili Schumacher, Coulthard, Herbert, Häkkinen, Barrichello, Brundle, Berger, Frentzen, Blundell, Panis, Irvine, Martini, Katajama, Boullion, Salo, Papis, Inoue, Gachot, Badoer, Diniz, Montermini in Moreno.