2003 Formula One World Championship
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The 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 56th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2003 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 2003 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contested concurrently over a sixteen-race series that commenced on 9 March and ended on 12 October.
Defending champions Michael Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari were again awarded the World Drivers' Championship and World Constructors' Championship, respectively.[1] Schumacher's closest competitors were Kimi Räikkönen, driving for McLaren, and Juan Pablo Montoya, driving for Williams. It was Schumacher's sixth World Drivers' title overall, breaking Juan Manuel Fangio's 46-year-old record.
Teams and drivers
The following
Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine† | Tyre | No. | Driver | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Marlboro
|
Ferrari | F2002B F2003-GA |
Ferrari 051B Ferrari 052 |
B | 1 | Michael Schumacher | All |
2 | Rubens Barrichello | All | |||||
BMW WilliamsF1 Team | Williams-BMW | FW25 | BMW P83 | M | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | All |
4 | Ralf Schumacher[a] | 1-13, 15-16 | |||||
Marc Gené | 14 | ||||||
West McLaren Mercedes | McLaren-Mercedes | MP4-17D | Mercedes FO110M Mercedes FO110P |
M | 5 | David Coulthard | All |
6 | Kimi Räikkönen | All | |||||
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team
|
Renault | R23 R23B |
Renault RS23 | M | 7 | Jarno Trulli | All |
8 | Fernando Alonso | All | |||||
Sauber Petronas | Sauber-Petronas
|
C22 | Petronas 03A | B | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | All |
10 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | All | |||||
Benson & Hedges Jordan Ford | Jordan-Ford | EJ13 | Ford RS1 | B | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | All |
12 | Ralph Firman[b] | 1–13, 15–16 | |||||
Zsolt Baumgartner | 13–14 | ||||||
HSBC Jaguar Racing | Jaguar-Cosworth | R4 | Cosworth CR-5 | M | 14 | Mark Webber | All |
15 | Antônio Pizzonia | 1–11 | |||||
Justin Wilson | 12–16 | ||||||
Lucky Strike BAR Honda | BAR-Honda | 005 | Honda RA003E | B | 16 | Jacques Villeneuve | 1–15 |
Takuma Sato | 16 | ||||||
17 | Jenson Button | All | |||||
Trust Minardi Cosworth[c] | Minardi-Cosworth | PS03 | Cosworth CR-3 | B | 18 | Justin Wilson | 1–11 |
Nicolas Kiesa | 12–16 | ||||||
19 | Jos Verstappen | All | |||||
Panasonic Toyota Racing | Toyota
|
TF103 | Toyota RVX-03
|
M | 20 | Olivier Panis | All |
21 | Cristiano da Matta | All | |||||
Sources:[3][4][5] |
† All engines were required to have ten cylinders and an engine capacity not exceeding 3000 cc,[6] and all were of V10 configuration.[7]
Free practice drivers
Three constructors entered free-practice-only drivers over the course of the season.
Constructor | Practice drivers | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Driver name | Rounds | ||
Renault | 34 | Allan McNish | 1–9, 11–16 | |
44 | Franck Montagny | 10 | ||
Jordan–Ford | 36 | Zsolt Baumgartner Björn Wirdheim Satoshi Motoyama |
12 15 16 | |
Minardi–Cosworth | 39 | Matteo Bobbi Gianmaria Bruni |
4 12–16 |
Team changes
- After failing to complete the .
- Jordan switched to Ford engines for 2003, after their previous suppliers, Honda, opted to focus on their partnership with BAR. Jordan's contract with the Japanese engine manufacturer was due to expire at the end of the 2003 season, but Honda were no longer willing to provide Jordan with free engines. A link-up with, and possible buy-out by, Asiatech was rumoured,[8] although this did not prove to be the case, and, when funding was withdrawn from the company, Asiatech was wound down. Minardi, who had been using Asiatech engines in 2002, switched to Cosworth units for 2003.
Driver changes
- Toyota-bound Olivier Panis. Panis joined Formula One debutant, and reigning CART champion, Cristiano da Matta at the Japanese team, in an all-new lineup for 2003. Allan McNish, one of the drivers replaced at Toyota, signed with Renault as a test driver, while his teammate from 2002, Mika Salo, left Formula One altogether.
- Sauber drive to assume the duties of test driver for Ferrari. His place at Sauber was taken by Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who had replaced Massa on a one-off basis for the United States Grand Prix (by which time Frentzen was already confirmed as a Sauber driver for 2003), after having driven for Arrowsbefore the team's collapse.
- 2002 Formula Nippon champion Ralph Firman.
- 2001. Alex Yoong's Minardi contract from 2002 was not renewed and he moved to the CART series, albeit only for a brief stint, in 2003. He was replaced at Minardi by Jos Verstappen, who had spent a season on the sidelines after losing his Arrows drive to Heinz-Harald Frentzen in 2002.
Mid-season changes
- Minardi's Justin Wilson joined Jaguar from the German Grand Prix onwards, filling in for the under-performing Antônio Pizzonia, who was offered a test driving role at the team but turned it down. He would later resurface as a test driver at Williams. Wilson's seat at Minardi was taken by the Danish driver Nicolas Kiesa, who joined Formula One from the International Formula 3000 series.
- Ralph Firman suffered injuries as a result of a crash during practice in Hungary. He was replaced by Zsolt Baumgartner for the Italian Grand Prix before returning to finish the season for Jordan. Baumgartner, another driver who had been competing in the International Formula 3000 series, was the first Hungarian driver to race in Formula One.
- Ralf Schumacher was unable to race in Italy, due to concussion. He was replaced at Williams by Marc Gené, the team's test driver, for that particular race, before returning for the following Grand Prix.
- After a string of disappointing results in 2003, Jacques Villeneuve elected to end his season one race early, and was replaced at BAR by test driver Takuma Sato for the Japanese Grand Prix. Villeneuve would later drive for Renault in 2004 as a replacement driver, and sign a multi-year contract at Sauber for 2005 (though he was replaced in 2006).
Season calendar
The 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship was contested over the following sixteen races:
The Belgian Grand Prix scheduled for 31 August was cancelled due to a row over tobacco advertising, despite multiple races taking place without such advertising. [11]
Regulation changes
Technical regulations
- On 26 June 2002, the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) declared that the HANS ('Head and Neck Support') device would be made compulsory in Formula 1. This was not without controversy, as many drivers voiced their complaints, including Rubens Barrichello, Jacques Villeneuve, Justin Wilson and Nick Heidfeld.[12][13]
- On 26 February 2003, the FIA decided that no fuel could be added to or removed from the cars between qualifying and race. This was decided based on safety grounds, as it would avoid the danger that, in a search for extra performance in qualifying, teams would run their cars in a manner which might be unsuitable or even dangerous at the start of the race.[14]
The 2003 season is notable for being the third and last season that
Sporting regulations
- After Ferrari's infamous decision during the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix, ordering Rubens Barrichello to let Michael Schumacher by, any team orders which interfered with a race result were prohibited from the 2003 season onwards.
- Only one type of wet weather tyre was allowed to be used in wet weather races. This immediately raised concerns with the tyre suppliers.[16] And after the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix, in which drivers tried to call off the first qualifying session[17] and which saw six drivers crash in the same corner, this rule was scrapped.
Furthermore, the 2003 season saw the introduction of new regulations intended to increase F1's excitement, to halt falling global television audiences that had occurred during the previous season, and to help alleviate the financial difficulties of the smaller teams:
- One-lap qualifying was introduced as a way for smaller teams to get more television exposure. In the qualifying session on Friday, drivers would go out in current championship order, to determine the running order on Saturday. A faster lap time on Friday would mean a later starting time for them on Saturday. On Saturday, drivers contested for their starting position in the race on Sunday, with the fastest driver awarded pole position. In both sessions, drivers could only do one timed lap.[18]
- Optional Friday testing at Grand Prix events was introduced in exchange for fewer miles on stand-alone test days. This was intended to give smaller teams a cheaper alternative to these test days, which were to be banned in 2004.
- The points system for both the Constructors' and Drivers' titles was changed from 10–6–4–3–2–1 for the first six finishers at each round to 10–8–6–5–4–3–2–1 for the first eight finishers[19] in an attempt to make the title contests closer.
Season summary
Rounds 1 to 3
Going into the season, Ferrari was the team to beat, having won the previous four Constructors' Championships. There was a lot of speculation about the effect of the new regulations on their dominance and overall form.
In
At the
Practice for the
After three eventful races, Räikkonen (McLaren) was leading the championship with 24 points, ahead of his teammate Coulthard (15 points) and Alonso (Renault, 14 points). Reigning champion Michael Schumacher was down in sixth place.
Rounds 4 to 8
For the San Marino Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher achieved pole position. His brother Ralf and his teammate Rubens Barrichello started behind him. At the start, Ralf overtook Michael but eventually fell back to fourth position. The Ferrari driver won the race, ahead of championship leader Räikkönen and Barrichello.
The next race in
In Austria, Michael Schumacher started on pole and won the race. It was the third consecutive weekend that he achieved this. He did have to cope with a slow pit stop and small fire, but he was unchallenged by his rivals, as Räikkönen slowed down with engine-related performance problems and Montoya retired with a blown engine. The Finn held on to second, ahead of Barrichello in third.
The twisty track of
In Canada, Ralf Schumacher started on pole again, with his teammate beside him. Michael Schumacher started in third, but during the race, managed to get ahead of both Williams drivers. It was a race of attrition, where just nine drivers finished and Schumacher, too, had to nurse his ailing car home. But the German held on to take the win.
Recovering from his start to the season, Schumacher had taken the lead in the championship (54 points) and was now three points ahead of Kimi Räikkönen (51). A group of four drivers, led by Fernando Alonso (34 points), were fighting over third place.
Rounds 9 to 13
The European Grand Prix, held at the Nürburgring, saw Kimi Räikkönen take pole position and lead the race, until his McLaren's engine broke down on lap 25. Ralf Schumacher in the Williams came through to take a victory on home soil. His teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and his brother Michael Schumacher collided on lap 43, dropping the German down to sixth. Montoya held on to take second on the podium, ahead of Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello. Williams overtook McLaren for second position in the Constructors' Championship.
At the
For the
The F1 circus was back in Germany, this time for the German Grand Prix in Hockenheim. Montoya achieved pole position, just 0.018 seconds ahead of his teammate. At the start, Ralf Schumacher squeezed Räikkönen and Barrichello, who hit each other and crashed out, with Ralf retiring a lap later. He was charged with a ten-place grid penalty, but this was reversed after a successful appeal.[25] Montoya held on to win, ahead of Coulthard and Trulli, the Renault driver scoring his only podium of the season.
The last race of the summer was held on the revamped Hungaroring in Hungary. Alonso scored pole position and held on to win the race. It was his first victory and it made him the youngest winning driver in F1 history. Räikkönen and Montoya joined him on the podium, while Michael Schumacher could only manage eighth.
In the Drivers' Championship, Räikkönen (70 points) and Montoya (71 points) had closed up to Schumacher (72 points), leaving no room for error with just three races to go. In the Constructors' Championship, it was now the Williams team in the lead with 129 points, over Ferrari with 121 and McLaren with 115.
Rounds 14 to 16
On home soil at Monza, with the support of the tifosi, the Scuderia Ferrari did what they had to do: Michael Schumacher qualified on pole and won. Juan Pablo Montoya for Williams and Michael's teammate Rubens Barrichello joined him on the podium. Up to the 2023 Italian Grand Prix, this was the shortest-duration (fully completed) race in F1 history, and it is still the race completed with the highest-ever average speed (247.6 km/h).
Montoya finished sixth, which meant he was now out of contention for the championship. Räikkönen's only hope was to win the last race of the season and Schumacher failing to finish. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari was leading Williams with 147 over 144 points.
The
Michael Schumacher ended the season on 93 points, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen with 91 and Juan Pablo Montoya with 82. It was a record sixth Drivers' Championship and Schumacher's fourth in a row. Ferrari were Constructors' Champions for the fifth consecutive year.
Results and standings
Grands Prix
Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top eight finishing drivers and constructors as follows:[28]
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Points | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
World Drivers' Championship standings
|
|
Notes:
- † – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
World Constructors' Championship standings
Pos. | Constructor | No. | AUS |
MAL |
BRA |
SMR |
ESP |
AUT |
MON |
CAN |
EUR |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
HUN |
ITA |
USA |
JPN |
Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ferrari | 1 | 4P | 6F | Ret | 1PF | 1P | 1PF | 3 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 1PF | 1F | 8 | 158 |
2 | Ret | 2 | RetPF | 3 | 3F | 3 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 1PF | Ret | Ret | 3 | Ret | 1P | |||
2 | Williams-BMW
|
3 | 2 | 12 | Ret | 7 | 4 | Ret | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2F | 2 | 1PF | 3F | 2 | 6 | Ret | 144 |
4 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4P | 2P | 1 | 1P | 9 | Ret | 4 | 5 | Ret | 12F | |||
3 | Mercedes
|
5 | 1 | Ret | 4 | 5 | Ret | 5 | 7 | Ret | 15† | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | Ret | Ret | 3 | 142 |
6 | 3F | 1 | 2 | 2 | Ret | 2 | 2F | 6 | RetPF | 4 | 3 | Ret | 2 | 4 | 2P | 2 | |||
4 | Renault
|
7 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 13 | Ret | 8 | 6 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 6 | 3 | 7 | Ret | 4 | 5 | 88 |
8 | 7 | 3P | 3 | 6 | 2 | Ret | 5 | 4F | 4 | Ret | Ret | 4 | 1P | 8 | Ret | Ret | |||
5 | Honda
|
16 | 9 | DNS | 6 | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | 10 | 9 | Ret | 6 | Ret | 6 | 26 |
17 | 10 | 7 | Ret | 8 | 9 | 4 | DNS | Ret | 7 | Ret | 8 | 8 | 10 | Ret | Ret | 4 | |||
6 | Sauber-Petronas
|
9 | Ret | 8 | Ret | 10 | 10 | Ret | 11 | Ret | 8 | 13 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 19 |
10 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 11 | Ret | DNS | Ret | Ret | 9 | 12 | 12 | Ret | Ret | 13† | 3 | Ret | |||
7 | Jaguar-Cosworth | 14 | Ret | Ret | 9† | Ret | 7 | 7 | Ret | 7 | 6 | 6 | 14 | 11† | 6 | 7 | Ret | 11 | 18 |
15 | 13† | Ret | Ret | 14 | Ret | 9 | Ret | 10† | 10 | 10 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 8 | 13 | |||
8 | Toyota
|
20 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 9 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 8 | Ret | 8 | 11 | 5 | Ret | Ret | Ret | 10 | 16 |
21 | Ret | 11 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 11† | Ret | 11 | 7 | 6 | 11 | Ret | 9 | 7 | |||
9 | Jordan-Ford | 11 | 12† | Ret | 1 | 15† | Ret | Ret | 10 | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | 13† | Ret | 10 | 7 | Ret | 13 |
12 | Ret | 10 | Ret | Ret | 8 | 11 | 12 | Ret | 11 | 15 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 11 | Ret | 14 | |||
10 | Minardi-Cosworth | 18 | Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | 11 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 13 | 14 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 0 |
19 | 11 | 13 | Ret | Ret | 12 | Ret | Ret | 9 | 14 | 16 | 15 | Ret | 12 | Ret | 10 | 15 | |||
Pos. | Constructor | No. | AUS |
MAL |
BRA |
SMR |
ESP |
AUT |
MON |
CAN |
EUR |
FRA |
GBR |
GER |
HUN |
ITA |
USA |
JPN |
Points |
Source:[28] |
Notes:
- † – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix but was classified, as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Notes
- ^ Ralf Schumacher was entered into the Italian Grand Prix, but later withdrew due to illness.
- ^ Ralph Firman was entered into the Hungarian Grand Prix, but later withdrew after he was injured during free practice.
- ^ Minardi entered first six Grands Prix as "European Minardi Cosworth".[2]
References
- ^ 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship – Drivers' and Constructors' Final Standings, www.fia.com via web.archive.org Retrieved 5 July 2015
- ^ "Trust increases Minardi backing". Crash.net. 22 May 2003. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
- ^ "2003 FIA Formula One World Championship". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived from the original on 4 October 2003. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ISBN 978-1-4054-2089-1– via Internet Archive.
- ^ "Models in 2003". StatsF1. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ 2003 Formula One Technical Regulations, www.fia.com via web.archive.org Retrieved 5 July 2015
- ^ 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship – F1 Guide, www.fia.com via web.archive.org Retrieved 5 July 2015
- ^ "Jordan set to lose Honda deal". BBC Sport. 3 May 2002. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
- ^ "2003". Chicane F1. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ "Formula One Calendar 2003". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ "FIA statement on 2003 Belgian GP". Motorsport Network. 31 October 2002. Archived from the original on 16 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
- ^ Collings, Timothy (6 March 2003). "Formula One: Villeneuve hits out". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ a b McKay, Peter (31 March 2003). "Inside Line: It's close ... but Ferrari isn't panicking". drive.com.au. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2013.
- ^ "February 2003 News". NewsOnF1. 26 February 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "F1 Regulations - Formula 1 Rules and Regulations for the 2004 F1 Season". newsonf1.com. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
- ^ "New F1 tyre rules raise safety concerns". autosport.com. 25 November 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "Tyre troubles at Interlagos". motorsport.com. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ "14 - 30 October 2002 News". NewsOnF1. 28 October 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
- ^ 2003 Formula One Sporting Regulations, www.jomenvisst.de via web.archive.org Retrieved 5 July 2015
- ^ "Wilson defies pain in Brazil". BBC Sport. 2 April 2003. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "Petition to scrap first qualifying". Autosport. 4 April 2003. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ "Qualifying Goes Ahead Despite Drivers' Petition". Atlas F1. 4 April 2003. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
- ^ Eason, Kevin (10 April 2003). "Fisichella may be granted victory on a countback; Motor racing". The Times. p. 61. Archived from the original on 14 December 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2019 – via Gale Academic OneFile.
- ^ Brazil 2003: Result overturned - Fisichella gets winners trophy at Imola, archived from the original on 20 November 2020, retrieved 10 August 2019
- ^ "Ralf Schumacher penalised for GP pile-up". The Age. Agence France-Presse. 5 August 2003.
- Atlas F1. 28 September 2003. Archivedfrom the original on 24 December 2023. Retrieved 24 December 2023.
- ^ "Formula One Results 2003". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- ^ ISBN 1-84442-811-7– via Internet Archive.
External links
- formula1.com – 2003 drivers standings (archived)
- formula1.com – 2003 teams standings (archived)