It was the starkest of contrasts. On the plus side, McLaren, on their engine suppliers' home soil, at a circuit which rewards the kind of power Mercedes have provided, and which last year gave them a comprehensive one-two win, and with their lead driver sitting in his eighth pole position of the year.

On the negative side, Ferrari, missing their number one driver, racing at a circuit which hadn't provided them with a win since Michele Alboreto grabbed victory in 1985 and starting from fourth and fifth on the grid after a difficult qualifying session.

With pros and cons etched in such high relief only the truly foolhardy would have wagered against Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard bringing McLaren yet another metronomically efficient one-two. But as McLaren foundered in a sea of misfortune, Hockenheim turned into a fool's paradise.

With Eddie Irvine in fifth place on the grid, one spot behind his junior partner and Schumacher stand-in Mika Salo, Ferrari looked to be adrift. McLaren had coolly dominated qualification, the only spanner in the works being provided by Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen who split the silver arrows to give the Irish team their first front row start of the season.

But when Frenzten edged away from the start line and drifted wide to find cleaner track, Salo, the wizard's apprentice, weaved some magic and leapt forward to bypass Coulthard and Frentzen and claim second. With Hakkinen in his sights the Finn peeled away, with a disgruntled Coulthard in hot pursuit.

Irvine had fared less well. Boxed in by Coulthard, the Ferrrai number one went the wrong side of Frenzten and allowed Stewart's Rubens Barrichello to steal a march and fourth place. With Hakkinen stretching his lead over the opening laps, and Salo battling to keep Coulthard at bay, it again seemed like Hockenheim would do Ferrari no favours.

But then on lap 10 home soil began to turn barren for the Mercedes-powered team. Rashly pushing at Salo, Coulthard clipped the Finn's rear right tyre and dislocated part of his McLaren's front wing, damage that necessitated an unscheduled stop for a nose cone and which dropped the Scot to 10th.

The McLaren number two screamed through the pack to fifth but a stop for fuel further wrecked his chances of a comeback and then the ultimate insult, a 10-second stop and go penalty for another rash overtaking manoeuvre, this time on Prost's Olivier Panis.

"I had no intention of overtaking Mika Salo at the point where we collided," Coulthard insisted afterwards, "but he braked quite early in front of me and I went to the inside to avoid hitting him. However, we touched and I lost part of my front wing, which meant I had to pit. This dropped me down the order and then I was trying to overtake Panis as we went into the chicane. I wanted to avoid another incident so I cut across the inside of the chicane. I was really surprised to get the penalty."

With Coulthard removed from the equation, Ferrari had only Hakkinen's hold of a 10-second lead weighing against them. The Finn led comfortably until his pit stop. Stranded in the pits for nearly 25 seconds as a fuel nozzle locked on, Hakkinen emerged behind a third-placed Frenzten, who had pitted three laps earlier. Hakkinen, chasing the Ferarris who had made their stops and inherited the lead, passed the Jordan on the following lap but seconds later, bad luck turned worse as screaming towards the third chicane, the McLaren's left rear tyre seemed to explode sending debris flying across the track and Hakkinen into a terminal spin.

"Mika had a commanding lead which was eliminated by a jammed refuelling nozzle," said managing director Ron Dennis. "He had the speed to catch and possibly overtake the Ferraris but suffered an instantaneous rear tyre delamination, which spun him into the barriers. He was very fortunate not to suffer any injuries. It was a difficult day for the team but there's still a long way to go and this has never been sport for the faint-hearted."

With the counterweights removed the race rocked on its axis and the twin Ferraris assumed total control. Depsite determined drives from Coulthard, to come back to fifth, and Frentzen, who pushed Salo until the closing laps, there was little to suggest that it would be anything other than a Ferrari one-two.

"Today was really our day," said Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt. "Mika Salo was absolutely fantastic and displayed great team spirit. Eddie drove a perfect race. There are six races remaining in the championship. We always believed we could win the championship and it's still possible."