Senna led for 20 laps until his slipping clutch cost him the top spot, and he was forced out for good a couple of laps later. Grosjean then led for the next 13 laps before his hydraulics failed, handing victory to new championship leader Giorgio Pantano.
"The clutch began to slip seven to eight laps before my pitstop," said Senna. "I tried to go easy on it, and not push too hard, but then Grosjean came past me on the straight while the engine was going 'woaaaah', and that was it."
Grosjean, who stood to profit most from Senna's problem, then hit a technical issue of his own, forcing him out.
"My hydraulic alarm was flashing since the third lap," said Grosjean. "I got into the lead with a good move on Senna, but then I had trouble clearing [Mike] Conway, so Pantano caught me. I pushed again, and got the gap to him stable, but then the hydraulics failed completely. I had no clutch, no gearbox, no everything!
"It's a shame, in front of all these French people too. It went from a really good day to a really bad one very quickly."
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