Atlas F1 News Editor
The second round of the 2002 Championship continued where the Australian Grand Prix left off, with the Williams and the Ferrari drivers fighting for the top positions. At the Malaysian Grand Prix, like in Melbourne, there was an incident at the start, and like the first event, the Sepang race provided an entertaining show. Atlas F1's Pablo Elizalde reviews all the events of the second round of the 2002 season
Schumacher's dominance at the Australian Grand Prix was the result of Ferrari's decision to use the already known F2001 chassis added to the strong performance of the Bridgestone tyres over their Michelin rivals, who perhaps came off worse as a result of the unexpected low temperatures at the Melbourne circuit.
There was little doubt that the F2001 would be competitive again at Sepang last weekend, especially being a track where Ferrari had won all three races there with Schumacher having started from pole each time. But as expected, the higher temperatures at the Asian circuit, which benefitted the Michelin runners, made things a lot tighter at the top of the Formula One field.
Ralf Schumacher's victory on Sunday was brilliant, and just like it had happened in Melbourne two weeks earlier, the German took advantage of his rivals' mishaps to finish way ahead of the rest of the field, just like his brother had done earlier this month.
The Williams driver won his fourth Formula One race, the first one since last year's German Grand Prix, by staying out of trouble, relying on an FW24 which is definitely an improvement over last year's car, especially when it comes to reliability.
However, Ralf's victory was not the real story of the Malaysian Grand Prix, and despite his flawless performance on Sunday, the German would have probably been outshadowed by both his brother's Ferrari and Juan Pablo Montoya in the second Michelin-shod Williams.
Just as it happened at the start of the Australian Grand Prix, a Williams and a Ferrari clashed, and although one of the drivers was a Schumacher and the other a South American, this time the ones involved were Michael and Montoya.
Fortunately for the sport, the clash between the two contenders only took place on the track, and after the race ended both agreed that it was only a racing incident, and both also agreed that the penalty imposed to Montoya was completely out of place. Only time will tell if the FIA's action on Sunday was the beginning of a serious crusade to encourage cleaner racing, or just a one-off measure aimed at silencing those who blamed them for not doing anything after the Australian Grand Prix incident.
The accident between Montoya and Schumacher was perhaps another example of what can be expected in this year's Championship: a close fight between Ferrari and Williams for the top spots. And with the F2002 still to make its racing debut, Ferrari must know for sure that they have a real challenge ahead if they want to retain both their crows this season.
As for McLaren, after the first two races of the season, their chances of fighting for this year's titles look rather dim, and despite being too early too discard the Woking-based squad for the fight, the signs in Australia and Malaysia show that at the moment they don't have the speed, and what's worse, the reliability to challenge Williams or Ferrari.
In the battle for "best of the rest" spot there are already two teams that are looking better than their rivals: Sauber and Renault. The French outfit, and Jenson Button, were robbed of their first podium finish of the year in the final lap of the race, but there was no doubt that they will be challenging for more in the remaining races should they be able to keep their progress.
Having recovered from their disastrous start in Australia, Sauber, and especially Nick Heidfeld, showed that last year's fourth place in the Constructors' Championship was no fluke, and the German driver, who was always close to both the McLarens, showed his talent once again.
Toyota also earned a especial mention after the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Japanese squad benefitting from their past experience at the Sepang circuit to cause some red faces among those with similar budgets and much more experience in Formula One. Mika Salo's top ten qualifying, and a strong race where both the Finn and teammate Allan McNish were in the points at some stage, proved that Toyota are already a force to be reckoned with.
Qualifying
However, the Ferrari driver had to battle hard to outpace Juan Pablo Montoya and his BMW-powered Williams FW24, the Colombian much happier with the performance of his car's Michelin tyres. As expected, the French manufacturer, who introduced a new rubber for the Malaysian race, benefitted from the high temperatures on track to raise their game after their poor showing in the race in Melbourne.
In a typical blistering lap, the German driver was able to lap two tenths of a second quicker than his rival, who despite setting the fastest time in the two final splits was not capable of putting them together in one single lap around the track.
Despite an overnight rain that cleaned the track, the hour-long session began with a track temperature of around 40 degrees Celsius. The showers, however, washed off some of the rubber laid down in the first two practice sessions on Friday, and so the times during qualifying were, surprisingly, slower than last year.
Malaysian hero Alex Yoong was the first man on the track to the delight of the local crowd that filled the stands of the state-of-the-art circuit. But the first competitive time was set by Kimi Raikkonen in the McLaren, the Finn having already outpaced teammate David Coulthard in every of the four previous sessions prior to qualifying.
The Williams drivers began their challenge for the top spot after some 20 minutes of the session gone, with Montoya initially lowering Coulthard's time. Ralf, however, was quick off the box and set a promising 1:36.086. The German's time was good enough for pole until his brother came out of the pits for the first time 25 minutes into the session.
Schumacher, who had opted for the softer Bridgestone compound for his Ferrari, jumped to the top of the times with his first flying lap (1:36.124) while teammate Rubens Barrichello posted the third quickest time moments later, the Brazilian feeling more comfortable using worn tyres.
Just a few minutes later, Montoya returned to the track, and despite complaining of understeer in some sectors of the track, the Williams driver lapped nearly three tenths of a second quicker than Schumacher. Both McLaren drivers jumped onto the track next, with only Raikkonen being able to improve position, moving himself up to fifth place, just ahead of Coulthard, who struggled with oversteer.
Ralf, meanwhile, did improve his time in his third run, but not enough to jump ahead of the Colombian. The German would later be relegated to fourth after Barrichello's last lap (1:35.891).
The final round of flying laps from the top contenders was kicked off by Michael Schumacher, who came out of the pits with seven minutes remaining in order to avoid the traffic. But despite improving in the first split, the German's lap was slower than his previous best and could only hope for Montoya to be unable to go quicker in his final run.
And his wishes were granted when the Colombian decided to abort his lap, coming straight into the pits, to settle for second. "It's a bit disappointing that I could not put all my three best sectors together," he said. "Otherwise I would be on pole position now. But I am obviously happy to start this GP from the first row."
Neither Ralf nor the McLaren drivers were able to get closer to Schumacher's time, and the German claimed his fourth straight pole in Malaysia, which was also Ferrari's 150th. The four-time champion was surprised by his time, 0.2s slower than last year's pole.
"The fact that the pole time is slower than last year is surprising, but the important thing is that I am quickest," Schumacher said after the session. "Maybe I could have gone quicker if I had waited to the very end of the session, but we chose to start my last run at that time because it seemed the best moment to avoid the traffic."
Further back, Mika Salo and his Toyota were even more impressive than in Australia, the Finn setting the 10th quickest time ahead of a lot of red-faced rivals. No team, however, were more in the doldrums than Jaguar, with Pedro de la Rosa in 17th place and Eddie Irvine in 20th.
The Race
The start of the race took place under the same hot weather conditions that the drivers had to cope with during most of the weekend in the Asian country. The skies were somewhat covered with clouds, but when the red lights went off, the chances of rain were low.
Further back, Barrichello was able to keep Ralf Schumacher at bay, with Raikkonen, Coulthard and Heidfeld following closely. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who had already stalled his Arrows in Australia, was unable to get his Cosworth-powered A23 off the line, suffering a problem with the launch control system.
When the cars arrived at the first corner, Montoya was slightly ahead of Schumacher's Ferrari, giving the German driver only the necessary room - and not an inch more - for him to take the corner. But Schumacher's line through the corner was not perfect, and after sliding wide slightly, the Ferrari made contact with the Williams, the former losing his front wing and the latter running wide and losing several places.
Probably for the first time since they have been together in Formula One, both Montoya and Schumacher agreed that it had been a genuine racing accident. "For me it was a race incident, I think for him it was the same," said Montoya, whose car was not damaged. Ironically, after both had agreed that these things happen in racing, the FIA decided to penalise the Colombian for causing "an avoidable collision", applying for the first time the new drive-through penalty.
"To be honest, yes," added Schumacher when asked if the sanction imposed had been unfair. "I think we have seen far more extreme situations where nothing has happened and today, a little touch and something was done. We don't seem to have a very consistent situation." It was hard to find someone who did not agree with both drivers' view, and it remains to be seen whether the FIA have decided that it's time to give way to cleaner racing by consistently applying the same criteria.
The race went on, however, with Schumacher slowly running to the pits to replace his front wing, rejoining the race in 21st place. Up in front, Barrichello and Ralf had benefitted from the first corner clash to run in clean air, with the Brazilian opening a small gap.
The action was more interesting in the mid-field, with rookie Takuma Sato causing another avoidable collision, running into the back of his own Jordan teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. Both Honda-powered cars were forced to come into the pits, with the Italian returning to the track three laps down while his mechanics replaced the rear wing. "I am really sorry about what happened with Giancarlo," said Sato after the race. "I apologise very much, it shouldn't have happened."
It wasn't long before Coulthard stroke problems, being overtaken for fourth place by Heidfeld on lap 13, and retiring for the second time in two races, this time with an engine problem. "It's not good," a downbeat Coulthard said. "The Championship is already only an outside chance because I have got to win the next two races to get myself back into the normal hunt."
Barrichello's lead over Ralf stretched to some six seconds by lap 15, with Raikkonen already 20 seconds behind. Schumacher Senior, continuing with his charge to the front, moved up to ninth after a somewhat hard battle with Enrique Bernoldi, who was even capable of passing the German back before the Ferrari driver disappeared into the distance.
Montoya had moved up to seventh place by lap 17, after having set three consecutive fastest laps, and was by then catching Jenson Button in the Renault. Two laps later, fifth placed Heidfeld kicked off the first round of pitstops, coming into the pits on lap 19. Michael Schumacher followed suit on the same lap, emerging in 12th position after staying stationary for 9.4 seconds.
Ralf, in the lead by more than 20 seconds over Barrichello, pitted on lap 31, revealing his one-stop strategy. Button, who had moved up to third after Raikkonen's retirement, was also on a one-stopper and came into the pits on the same lap. Ralf returned to the race in second, some three seconds behind Barrichello, while Button did it in fourth, behind Montoya.
Heidfeld was still running in a strong fifth place, but Michael Schumacher was getting closer to his compatriot. The Ferrari driver was followed by Allan McNish and Felipe Massa in the second Sauber.
On lap 35, Barrichello made his second stop, leaving Ralf again at the top of the field with a 24-second advantage and 20 laps to go. Heidfeld pitted a lap later, rejoining behind Button's Renault and Schumacher's Ferrari in sixth place. Schumacher moved ahead of Button moments later, but was still to make his second stop.
Montoya was by then running in no-man's land, too far from Barrichello, and came into the pits for the second time on lap 39, falling behind Schumacher and Button. The German, however, pitted on the following lap, losing two places to the Renault and Williams drivers.
Button and Montoya moved up a place as a consequence of Barrichello's retirement, with the Colombian right behind the Renault driver's rear wing. Montoya tried to take second place from Button at the end of the straight on lap 44, but the Brit went around the outside and in a brilliant move he was able to keep his rival at bay. At least for a few more seconds, as Montoya finally passed him a corner later.
With Ralf more than 40 seconds ahead of Montoya, and Michael too far behind Button, the final laps went on quietly, and Ferrari's amazing record of 37 consecutive podium finishes looked set to come to an end. Until the final lap, when Button's suspension failed and forced him to slow down dramatically, allowing Schumacher to take third place away from him.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed for myself and the team not to get our first podium, but it's still a good result," said a sad Button after missing out on his first Formula One podium.
Ralf cruised to victory ahead of Montoya and his brother, giving Williams their first one-two finish since the 1996 Portuguese Grand Prix. "It was a perfect race," said the German after scoring his fourth career win. "It was just an easy game, I'm amazed how quick the car was today. I can't really believe it."
Despite their impressive charge to the front, both Montoya and Schumacher were frustrated by the end result of a race which looked set to belong to one of the two had they not clashed at the start. The Ferrari driver, however, was philosophical. "That's racing. It was only a little touch, but I had to pit to change the front wing," said Schumacher, who agreed that Montoya's penalty was unfair.
Sauber drivers Heidfeld and Massa occupied the last two point-scoring positions, in what was a strong recovery from the Swiss team after their chaotic Australian Grand Prix.
However, no team left Malaysia with a more positive frame of mind than Williams, who showed that, despite playing down their chances in the Championship this season, they will probably be the only ones capable of stopping Ferrari from clinching a third straight double.
In Brazil last year, Williams were already contenders for the win, and only an unfortunate accident stopped Montoya from scoring his first Grand Prix victory. In two weeks time he will have the chance to redeem himself, of course, if the Schumacher brothers allow him to.
Lap 2: As Barrichello extends his lead the order remains unchanged but the two Jordans disappear after Takuma Sato runs into the back of Giancarlo Fisichella. Both men have to pit for repairs: Sato has a new nose fitted but Fisichella drops a long back because the rear wing needs to be replaced. Further back Allan McNish overtakes Felipe Massa to take 11th place. Olivier Panis overtakes Pedro de la Rosa for 14th.
Lap 3: Barrichello's advantage at the front increases to 2.7 secs as the order begins to settle down with Montoya passing Jarno Trulli and Mika Salo to move back up to seventh position. Further back in the field Alex Yoong overtakes a struggling Mark Webber. At the back of the field Michael Schumacher sets the fastest lap as he begins his recovery drive in 19th place.
Lap 4: Salo passes Trulli to take eighth place. Michael Schumacher sets a second fastest lap.
Lap 7: Montoya passes Button to move to sixth place. Further back McNish passes Trulli to move to ninth place. At the back of the field Panis and de la Rosa collide while disputing 14th. The Jaguar loses his front wing and has to pit for repairs. At the tail of the field Michael Schumacher overtakes Webber. While this is happening Montoya is given a "drive-through" penalty for "causing an avoidable collision".
Lap 8: Trulli pits and drops to the back of the field. Michael Schumacher passes Yoong to move to 16th.
Lap 9: Montoya pits for his penalty and re-emerges in ninth position. Trulli pits for a second time and retires.
Lap 10: Olivier Panis stops with a mechanical problem and at the same time Michael Schumacher passes Eddie Irvine and so the Ferrari is up to 13th.
Lap 12: Michael Schumacher overtakes Jacques Villeneuve to move to 12th position.
Lap 13: David Coulthard runs into problems and begins to slow. He is overtaken for fourth place by Nick Heidfeld.
Lap 14: Barrichello's lead is six seconds but begins to stabilise. Coulthard drops back to seventh behind Button and Salo. Michael Schumacher passes Massa to move up to 11th.
Lap 16: Ralf Schumacher sets the fastest lap although this is beaten by Montoya, who is now free from traffic. Michael Schumacher passes Bernoldi to move to ninth.
Lap 17: Ralf Schumacher and Montoya again set fastest laps.
Lap 18: Montoya sets a third consecutive fastest lap.
Lap 19: The pit stops begin with fourth-placed Heidfeld. The Sauber drops back to seventh. McNish and Michael Schumacher also pit and fall back, the Ferrari to 12th, the Toyota to 13th. Yoong, running 14th also stops.
Lap 20: Montoya passes Salo for fifth place.
Lap 21: Barrichello, Montoya and Salo all pit, leaving Ralf Schumacher to lead from Raikkonen. Barrichello rejoins in third place ahead of Button, Heidfeld and Montoya. In the midfield Bernoldi disappears with a mechanical problem.
Lap 22: Frentzen, who is two laps down, pits.
Lap 24: Raikkonen's race comes to an end with a blown engine. This promotes to Button to thirrd place. Further back the pit stops continue with de la Rosa stopping.
Lap 25: Salo stops because of an electronic problem and loses several laps.
Lap 26: Villeneuve stops and falls from seventh place down to 11th. As this is happening Irvine runs into Yoong's Minardi and loses his front wing. This drops him back down the order.
Lap 27: The first of the one stop runners pits as Webber comes into the pits, dropping from ninth to 11th. Sato also pits but stays in 12th place.
Lap 30: Irvine retires with an hydraulic failure. At the tail of the field Alex Yoong pulls off to retire with a mechanical problem.
Lap 35: Barrichello stops for the second time and loses the lead to R Schumacher. Further back Webber retires after a spin.
Lap 36: Heidfeld stops for a second time and falls to sixth behind Michael Schumacher and Button.
Lap 37: Schumacher M passes Button for fourth place. Massa stops for a second time but remains in eighth place.
Lap 38: Montoya sets the fastest lap of the race as he chases after Barrichello.
Lap 40: Barrichello's Ferrari, running second, stops with a mechanical problem. Michael Schumacher pits for the second time and falls back behind Button and Montoya. McNish also stops and falls to seventh, behind Massa.
Lap 44: Montoya passes Button for second place after a brief but exciting battle.
Lap 56: Ralf Schumacher leads Montoya home to a Williams 1-2. On the last lap Button, who is suffering from what looks like a suspension problem, is overtaken by Michael Schumacher and so loses third. Heidfeld is fifth with his Sauber team mate Felipe Massa in sixth place. McNish finishes seventh for Toyota with Villeneuve eighth in his BAR-Honda.
After an unusual qualifying and a chaotic race that took nearly half the field out at the first corner, the first race in Australia could not be seen as a true indicator of where everybody was in the Formula One ranks this season, despite being clear that Ferrari and Michael Schumacher would obviously be there when it comes to fighting for every victory.
But last Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix showed a lot of similarities to the season opening event, and although the end result was very different, a lot of things could be read from the performance of the protagonists in order to get an idea of what to expect in the remaining races.
Of course there is no demerit to Ralf's win. But having been outpaced by both his rivals during most of the weekend, and after opting for a one-stop strategy that the Williams team claimed was from eight to ten seconds slower than Montoya's two-stopper, it was clear that the first corner incident deprived the Malaysian crowd of another chapter of the Michael vs Juan battle for the lead.
David Coulthard put McLaren's situation simply when he said that he has not "completed more than 15 racing laps at a proper pace." As in Australia, probably the only good news for McLaren was that Kimi Raikkonen again showed his potential, outpacing his more experienced teammate at a track where the Scot had regularly been stronger than Mika Hakkinen.
Since the Formula One World Championship landed for the first time in Malaysia and at the Sepang circuit in 1999, only one man in a red car has started from the top spot of the grid. And following his superiority during the race at the Australian Grand Prix, few expected Michael Schumacher to finish Saturday's qualifying session other than at the top of the timesheets.
Raikkonen's 1:37.135, however, was quickly bettered by his Scot teammate, who had suffered a torrid practice on Friday after his McLaren suffered an exhaust problem that cut his running short. Sauber's Felipe Massa, driving at Sepang for the first time, was the first driver to hit trouble, his C21 suffering a mechanical problem in his right front wheel that forced him to take the spare to qualify.
Schumacher Senior responded to Montoya's time with 20 minutes remaining in the session, and in one his trademark laps, the Ferrari star stopped the clock at 1:25.266, more than two tenths faster then the Colombian, whose third attempt was not good enough to improve.
Barrichello and Ralf had to be content with the second row, while the McLaren drivers were fifth and sixth, more than a second off the pace, with Raikkonen outqualifying Coulthard, who was "not happy at all" with the result. Nick Heidfeld was seventh quickest with the first Sauber, the German outpacing Jenson Button with the Renault, as the Briton showed he is on his way to recovering from a tough season.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:35.266 209.464 km/h
2. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:35.497 + 0.231
3. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:35.891 + 0.625
4. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:36.028 + 0.762
5. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:36.468 + 1.202
6. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:36.477 + 1.211
7. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:37.199 + 1.933
8. Button Renault (M) 1:37.245 + 1.979
9. Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) 1:37.536 + 2.270
10. Salo Toyota (M) 1:37.694 + 2.428
11. Frentzen Arrows Cosworth (B) 1:37.919 + 2.653
12. Trulli Renault (M) 1:37.920 + 2.654
13. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:38.039 + 2.773
14. Massa Sauber Petronas (B) 1:38.057 + 2.791
15. Sato Jordan Honda (B) 1:38.141 + 2.875
16. Bernoldi Arrows Cosworth (B) 1:38.284 + 3.018
17. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:38.374 + 3.108
18. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:38.390 + 3.124
19. McNish Toyota (M) 1:38.959 + 3.693
20. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:39.121 + 3.855
21. Webber Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:39.454 + 4.188
22. Yoong Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:40.158 + 4.892
As it has been the case over the past year, Michael Schumacher was not the best starter, and the moment he got moving, he swerved his car to the right to defend the inside line when arriving at the first corner, while Montoya, who had made a better getaway, was already trying to pass the German around the outside.
"I think the penalty came, basically, from what happened in the first race," said Montoya. "I think the stewards wanted to show they are really strong and if anybody does anything we are going to give you a penalty. Bullshit like that."
By lap three, Barrichello was nearly three seconds ahead of Ralf, with the McLaren drivers already showing that they could not match the pace of the leaders. Heidfeld was right behind Coulthard, with Montoya already up to seventh position, but who had to come into the pits to serve his penalty a few laps later, rejoining in ninth.
Barrichello made his first stop on lap 21, rejoining the race right behind Raikkonen, who had moved up to second, more than 21 seconds behind Ralf. The Finn's race, however, would not last much longer, as his Mercedes engine went off in a spectacular cloud of smoke that ended a nightmare Grand Prix for McLaren. Montoya, who had pitted on lap 21, was already in sixth place, moving closer to Heidfeld after having passed Mika Salo in the Toyota.
As if Ralf's lead was not comfortable enough, with 16 laps to go his only contender Barrichello had to say goodbye to the race when his Ferrari suffered an unusual engine failure, which ended Ferrari's perfect record of finishes at the Malaysian track. "I gave it my best shot," said Barrichello, who left Sepang with nothing to show for his good race. "Given the performance of our main rival's car-tyre package, I think I could have finished at least in second place, which would have been pretty good."
"As for the rules regarding penalties, I think they should be made more consistent, although that might be difficult to achieve."
CLASSIFIED
Pos Driver Team Time
1. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1h 34:12.912
2. Montoya Williams BMW (M) + 39.700
3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) + 1:01.795
4. Button Renault (M) + 1:09.767
5. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 Lap
6. Massa Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 Lap
7. McNish Toyota (M) + 1 Lap
8. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) + 1 Lap
9. Sato Jordan Honda (B) + 2 Laps
10. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) + 2 Laps
11. Frentzen Arrows Cosworth (B) + 2 Laps
12. Salo Toyota (M) + 3 Laps
13. Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) + 3 Laps
Fastest Lap: J. Montoya, 1:38.049, lap 38
NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS
Barrichello Ferrari (B) 40
Webber Minardi-Asiatech (B) 35
Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 31
Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (B) 30
Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 25
Bernoldi Arrows-Cosworth (B) 21
Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 16
Panis BAR-Honda (B) 10
Trulli Renault (M) 10
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING, ROUND 2:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 14 1. Williams-BMW 22
2. Montoya 12 2. Ferrari 14
3. R.Schumacher 10 3. McLaren-Mercedes 4
4. Raikkonen 4 4. Renault 3
5. Button 3 = Jaguar-Cosworth 3
= Irvine 3 = Sauber-Petronas 3
7. Webber 2 7. Minardi-Asiatech 2
= Heidfeld 2 8. Toyota 1
9. Salo 1
= Massa 1
Pos Driver Team Lap Time
1. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 38 1:38.049
2. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 29 1:38.369 + 0.320
3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 53 1:38.754 + 0.705
4. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 20 1:38.931 + 0.882
5. Salo Toyota (M) 47 1:39.649 + 1.600
6. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 21 1:39.800 + 1.751
7. Button Renault (M) 28 1:40.011 + 1.962
8. Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth (B) 54 1:40.267 + 2.218
9. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 18 1:40.575 + 2.526
10. de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 52 1:40.675 + 2.626
11. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 51 1:41.181 + 3.132
12. McNish Toyota (M) 38 1:41.321 + 3.272
13. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 25 1:41.324 + 3.275
14. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 49 1:41.410 + 3.361
15. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (B) 10 1:41.455 + 3.406
16. Bernoldi Arrows-Cosworth (B) 19 1:41.891 + 3.842
17. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 20 1:42.323 + 4.274
18. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 45 1:42.373 + 4.324
19. Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 20 1:43.125 + 5.076
20. Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 18 1:43.190 + 5.141
21. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 9 1:43.567 + 5.518
22. Trulli Renault (M) 6 1:43.702 + 5.653
Pos Driver Team Time Lap
1. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 24.366 9
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 33.039 21
3. Trulli Renault (M) 33.482 8
4. Salo Toyota (M) 34.381 43
5. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 34.417 39
6. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 34.946 40
7. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 35.496 21
8. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 35.553 23
9. M.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 35.788 19
10. Salo Toyota (M) 36.118 21
11. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 36.475 36
12. Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth (B) 36.487 39
13. delaRosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 36.745 24
14. delaRosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 36.860 39
15. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 37.041 35
16. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 37.149 19
17. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 37.880 31
18. Salo Toyota (M) 38.337 38
19. Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth (B) 38.500 22
20. Button Renault (M) 38.561 31
21. McNish Toyota (M) 39.217 19
22. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 39.376 29
23. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 39.638 1
24. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 40.372 29
25. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 40.569 26
26. Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 41.787 23
27. Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 41.989 29
28. Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 43.155 19
29. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 45.792 27
30. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 49.885 2
31. McNish Toyota (M) 54.478 40
32. delaRosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 58.778 7
33. Salo Toyota (M) 3:30.997 25
34. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 4:11.840 2
The Malaysian Grand Prix, Lap by Lap
Lap 1: At the start of the race Juan Pablo Montoya makes the better start but Michael Schumacher moves across the road and the two cars go into the first corner side by side, with the Ferrari on the kerb. Schumacher slides off the kerb and goes into the side of the Williams, pushing Montoya out across the track but damaging the Ferrari's front wing at the same time. This allows Rubens Barrichello to take the lead with Ralf Schumacher second, followed by the two McLarens, Kimi Raikkonen leading David Coulthard. Nick Heidfeld is next with Jenson Button completing the top six. An irate Montoya rejoins in 10th position and gesticulates as he passes Schumacher, who is trailing into the pits to have his front wing replaced. Further back in the field there is a disaster for Arrows as Heinz-Harald Frentzen is left sitting on the grid. His car is pushed into the pit lane and rejoins several laps down.
Lap 6: McNish passes Enrique Bernoldi for 10th place.
Lap 15: Coulthard goes into the pits to retire. At the same time eighth-placed McNish runs wide under pressure from Montoya and drops behind the Williams.
Lap 23: The pit stops continue with Massa stopping and dropping from eighth to 12th. Yoong pits for a second time.
Lap 31: Ralf Schumacher, ahead by nearly 30 seconds stops. Button also come into the pits. Ralf rejoins in second behind Barrichello while Button falls to fourth behind Montoya. Heidfeld remains fifth with Michael Schumacher no running sixth. McNish and Massa (running seventh and eighth) return to the lead lap thanks to Ralf's pit stop.
Lap 39: Montoya finally stops and drops behind Michael Schumacher and Button.
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