Atlas F1 News Editor
It took him half the season and four wins, but World Champion Michael Schumacher finally moved to the top of the standings with a brilliantly judged drive in a Canadian Grand Prix that saw the top three drivers finishing less than two seconds from each other. Atlas F1's Pablo Elizalde reviews the entire weekend's events and results from eighth round of the 2003 season
Despite some wanting Schumacher to quit the sport, the rumours about his possible retirement before the end of his previous contract were just that, rumours. Ferrari were wise enough to hurry the talks and secure the German's services for a further two years, silencing the speculation and avoiding any distractions in what looks set to be a tough season to defend his crown.
With that settled, there was nothing distracting Ferrari from their job last weekend, and Schumacher moved to the top of the standings for the first time this year. It might have taken him half the season to do it, but it's now his rivals who will have to play catch up, and that, against Schumacher, is no mean feat.
The Canadian Grand Prix was a good example of how close the 2003 season is turning out to be, with four drivers covered by less than five seconds by the end of the race. The signs, however, show Schumacher is still the hot favourite to win the title unless something goes very wrong in the remaining eight races.
If logic was to prevail, it was to be expected that the fight would be closer. If not for the new points system and for Schumacher's poor start to his season, the German could be leading the Championship comfortably by now. Fortunately for Formula One, that is not the case.
It is little wonder that Schumacher is unhappy with the new points system, which on the other hand has proved highly effective if not somewhat unfair to the Ferrari driver, who would be nine points ahead using last year's system. Still, it looks unlikely that anyone will be able to beat Schumacher by finishing consistently in the points. Ferrari's reliability continues to be bulletproof, and chances are Schumacher will be challenging for victory in every race, so it's up to their rivals to make things happen, especially with the German on top of the standings.
The Montreal race showed exactly what Ferrari's rivals can't afford to do if they want to end the Italian squad's reign. Despite securing a front-row lockout and having the same strategy as Schumacher, the Williams drivers were unable to maximise the opportunity and had no one to blame but themselves.
"I've got to be careful what I say, but possibly to probably Juan would have had a bigger go," said Williams after the race. "But I'm not so sure that he could have got close enough to have a go."
The Colombian, however, had thrown away all his chances of victory with a spin in the early part of the race. Having performed flawlessly to win in Monaco two weeks earlier, Montoya showed he is still lacking the consistency needed to challenge for the title.
Montoya's error not only compromised all his chances of victory, but also probably cost Ralf the race, as Michael was unlikely to pass Montoya on the track and therefore would have not emerged ahead of Ralf after the first round of pitstops as he did. By now it's common knowledge that if you give Schumacher the smallest of opportunities he is going to seize it, and that's what he did in Canada, where he was victorious despite struggling with his brakes.
Another driver who regretted giving Schumacher an opportunity to hurt him was Kimi Raikkonen who, for the third time in eight races started from the back of the grid and paid for it. The McLaren driver recovered well in the race, but with this year's regulations - and with Schumacher yet to make a significant mistake in qualifying - the Finn will need more than that if he is to stay in touch with his rival.
If McLaren had little to celebrate in Canada, the opposite could be said about Renault who, thanks mainly to the enormous talent of Fernando Alonso, looked like real challengers when few would have bet on them to shine on a track where engine power is of prime importance.
The Spaniard, however, made up for his car's deficiencies and was the star in the final part of the race, flying around the track until catching the leading group. If overtaking was not such an uncommon happening among the top contenders, the final laps of the race could have provided a show of epic dimensions.
Qualifying Analysis
If the Friday session highlighted the supremacy of Bridgestone in the wet - the top four drivers where using the Japanese rubber - Saturday's final qualifying, which took place on a dry track, showed a very different picture, with the Michelin-shod cars taking seven of the top ten positions, including the top two. The fuel loads did not make a big difference as the race would later reveal, as all the top contenders were on a two-stop strategy and would pit within two laps of each other.
With the benefit of the Michelin tyres, it was a matter of getting the flying lap right for the Williams drivers, who aided by the powerful BMW engine, dominated the session. For the second consecutive race it was Ralf who did the best job with his lap, outpacing Montoya by nearly half a second after an error from the Colombian.
The Grid
1. Ralf Schumacher
Saturday time: 1:15.529
Taking full advantage of the combination of a very well balanced car and the superior performance of the Michelin tyres, Ralf surprised his rivals and himself once more with his second consecutive pole position. Having struggled to come to terms with the new qualifying format at the start of the year, the younger Schumacher proved he too can drive on the limit without making any mistakes.
Ralf's performance was especially remarkable considering he was the sixth man to come out on track after a poor showing in the wet on Friday. "We were expecting something in the top five but this is an excellent result for the team," he said. "I had a really good lap. Of course it is my target to win here having missed out in Monaco, especially as I really like this circuit and Montreal a lot."
2. Juan Pablo Montoya
Saturday time: 1:15.923
3. Michael Schumacher
Saturday time: 1:16.047
As dominant as his Ferrari was in the wet, there was nothing the World Champion could do to match the pace of the Michelin-tyred Williams in Saturday's dry session. With the French tyres adapting better to the very green track than the Bridgestones, Schumacher never looked in contention for the top spots. A flying lap he claimed was far from good - he overshot the first corner - did not help his cause either. With Raikkonen 17 places behind him, however, the Ferrari driver was pleased to settle for third.
4. Fernando Alonso
Saturday time: 1:16.048
The Canadian Grand Prix showed the advantages of the Heathrow Agreement, and Renault and Alonso were the main beneficiaries. The French squad seized the two-hour testing session - where Alonso set the fastest lap of the whole weekend - and were able to work on their dry set-up. With very little dry running prior to final qualifying, Alonso was one of the best prepared drivers and it showed, the Spaniard finishing only one thousand of a second behind Schumacher at a track where Renault were not supposed to shine.
5. Rubens Barrichello
Saturday time: 1:16.143
If Schumacher had problems with his tyres in qualifying, it was worse for Barrichello, although the Brazilian had only himself to blame. Right at the first corner, Barrichello locked up first the right tyres and then the left ones, and as a result his lap was totally compromised. The Ferrari driver claimed that, after the error, his car was vibrating so much he could hardly see the track. Having topped the times in Friday's session, a place on the third row was a disappointing result for him.
6. Mark Webber
Saturday time: 1:16.182
By now it's hardly a surprise to see Webber fighting for a position on the third or fourth rows of the grid, but that should not diminish his performance in Canada. The Australian driver again put the improving Jaguar R4 higher than expected, finishing less than half a tenth of a second behind the second Ferrari. Of course, Webber had the right tyres to help him.
7. Olivier Panis
Saturday time: 1:16.598
8. Jarno Trulli
Saturday time: 1:16.718
If Barrichello seems to attract all the bad luck at Ferrari, Trulli seems to pick up all the problems at Renault while Alonso stays trouble-free. In Canada, the Italian came out for his flying lap at the precise moment the heavens opened, flooding the already very wet circuit and leaving Trulli in a lackluster 19th position after he completed the lap as best as he could given the circumstances. On Saturday he crashed during the warm-up and had to use the spare car, set up for Alonso, in final qualifying. All in all, eight place was a reasonable effort.
9. Cristiano da Matta
Saturday time: 1:16.826
Like his teammate Panis, Brazilian da Matta found his Toyota worked better in Canada than in previous races, and the CART champion did a respectable job that saw him qualifying in a season-best ninth place on a track where he had finished second the previous year. Da Matta had also crashed his car in Saturday's practice, which made the Toyota mechanics have a really busy morning.
10. Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Saturday time: 1:16.939
Frentzen was very happy with his position after a torrid practice prior to qualifying. After crashing out in the first 45-minute session, he then succumbed to an engine problem in the second, which considerably reduced his running time before the one-lap shootout. Still, the German managed to recover well from the incidents and, thanks to his mechanics - who had his racing car ready for qualifying - he returned to the top ten for the first time in three races.
11. David Coulthard
Saturday time: 1:17.024
If there's a driver who had suffered from the different qualifying format this year that's Coulthard, and Canada offered more disappointment for the Scot, who continued with his run of poor qualifying performances. Coulthard has not been on the front two rows of the grid since the Brazilian Grand Prix, and in the last five races his best starting position has been a sixth. That's why it was not that surprising that the McLaren driver again failed to shine in Canada, with a mistake on the final corner of his flying lap to blame for not achieving a higher placing.
12. Nick Heidfeld
Saturday time: 1:17.086
13. Antonio Pizzonia
Saturday time: 1:17.337
After topping the times in Friday's practice session, it was all uphill for the Jaguar driver. 17th quickest in first qualifying and more than a second behind teammate Webber in the grid-deciding session, Pizzonia continued to struggle when compared to the Australian. In his favour, it has to be said that the Brazilian rookie was probably carrying more fuel than his teammate.
14. Jacques Villeneuve
Saturday time: 1:17.347
As if he did not have enough problems to find the speed with his BAR, most of the Canadian media attention was on Villeneuve during the weekend due to uncertainty over his future, and that didn't make his job any easier. Friday proved to be a disaster for the local hero, who spun at the end of his flying lap, finishing more than 13 seconds off the pace. Coming out in first place on a very green track on Saturday was also going to be a struggle and 14th was probably the best he could have hoped for.
15. Jos Verstappen
Saturday time: 1:18.014
16. Giancarlo Fisichella
Saturday time: 1:18.036
Usually one to do well in Canada, Fisichella had two torrid qualifying sessions, both in the wet and in the dry. On Friday, like some of his rivals, the Italian had to come out at the worst possible time, when the rain began to fall at its hardest. On Saturday he had the chance to make up for the first session, but he got it completely wrong during his flying lap. He first flat-spotted the tyres with a lockup, and later put two wheels on the grass at the corner right after the bridge.
17. Jenson Button
Saturday time: 1:18.205
Returning from his crash at the Monaco Grand Prix, Button was aiming to show there were no side effects following the biggest shunt of his F1 career. The BAR driver, however, was hampered all weekend by a car that did not seem to be as competitive as in previous races. In the first session he jumped onto the track when the rain was very heavy, and his performance in Saturday's session suffered from a big mistake at the end of the lap, when he overshot the final corner and had to cut across the last chicane.
18. Justin Wilson
Saturday time: 1:18.560
Like teammate Verstappen, Wilson had the unusual chance of shining in qualifying, although the British rookie was unable to take full advantage of what looked to be a very light car. Wilson, an impressive 13th quickest in the wet on Friday, could not extract the maximum out of his Minardi in the final session, finishing over 0.5 seconds behind Verstappen.
19. Ralph Firman
Saturday time: 1:18.692
It was hard to do much worse than Fisichella after the Italian's messed-up lap, but Firman also managed to complete a poor lap that saw him finish more than half a second behind his Jordan teammate. Like Fisichella, Firman also flat-spotted his tyres with a big lockup, spoiling his chances of a good time. The result was especially disappointing for Firman following his performance in Friday's session, where he took advantage of the conditions to post the fourth fastest time.
The fact that Raikkonen is in second place in the Championship only three points behind Schumacher with an average starting position of 9.5 says a lot about the Finn's racing skills. However, his lackluster performances in qualifying have cost him valuable points and chances are he will lose a lot more if he continues making errors on his flying laps. In Canada Raikkonen missed a good opportunity to take advantage of his superior tyres, throwing it all away with a spin at the second corner.
The Race
Ralf got a clean start and easily kept first place at the tricky first corner. Montoya, meanwhile, was not so quick and saw Michael Schumacher getting alongside him at the end of the straight. In a gutsy move, however, the Colombian left his braking late and kept second place by going around the outside of the first corner, leaving Schumacher in third, Alonso in fourth and Barrichello in fifth.
The Brazilian Ferrari driver, however, left his braking too late when arriving at the second corner and ran into the back of Alonso's Renault. The incident didn't damage the Spaniard's car, who continued in fourth place. Barrichello was not so lucky, however, and he was forced to pit to change his front wing a lap later.
So at the end of the first lap Ralf was leading Montoya, and Michael. The Colombian, however, would throw away his race at the end of the following lap, spinning at the exit of the final chicane and dropping back to fifth behind Webber. Most importantly, the error allowed Schumacher Senior to have a straight fight with his brother.
"I just braked too late and got it sideways. It was my fault completely," admitted Montoya after the race.
The Williams driver was quickly on the pace again, and by lap four he had already overtaken Webber for fourth place, setting his sights on Alonso, who was losing touch with the leading duo. Montoya closed the gap within five laps, and on lap 10 he moved ahead of the Spaniard.
Montoya was the first of the leaders to make his first scheduled stop, not before having jumped the chicane for the first time. On lap 19, the Williams driver dived into the pits, with Webber, still running in fifth, following suit on the same lap.
Ralf, with Michael still right behind him, pitted next, allowing the Ferrari driver to run in clean air for the first time in the race. The younger Schumacher stood still for 8.8 seconds before rejoining the race in third place behind Alonso. Michael dived into the pits on the following lap - having set his fastest lap of the race - and despite his stop lasting 10.6 seconds, the German, amazingly, returned ahead of Ralf.
Alonso inherited the lead briefly, followed by the Schumacher brothers and Montoya, who was still pushing hard - even brushing the Champions' Wall - to make up for the lost time. Coulthard, having a quiet race, had moved up to fourth before pitting and dropping back to seventh.
With half the race gone, Schumacher was still in the lead, with Ralf right behind in second and Montoya, who had jumped the chicane for the second time, closing the gap to the leading duo despite a problem with his rear view mirror, which had become loose and was bothering the Colombian.
Montoya's problem would be solved on lap 45, when he came into the pits for his second stop. By then he was less than nine seconds behind the leader, and after a 9.2-second stop, the Williams driver was back on track and continued his charge towards the front.
Ralf pitted on the following lap and, again without changing his front tyres, the German rejoined the race ahead of Montoya. Michael followed suit on lap 48, and despite having two laps without the Ferrari in front of him, Ralf was unable to find enough time to regain the lead. Ferrari's Schumacher returned to the track ahead of his brother and right behind Alonso, who was again in the lead.
Schumacher returned to the lead, Ralf was second, and Montoya less than four seconds adrift, taking advantage of Ferrari's Schumacher lack of pace. Despite that, Ralf never looked like challenging his brother. It didn't take long before Montoya was right behind Ralf's rear wing, although that was as far as the Colombian's progress would go, as he neither found a way past his teammate.
Alonso, meanwhile, was the man of the moment, closing the gap quickly. With five laps to go, the Renault star was breathing down Montoya's neck, although passing him was a totally different affair and he never looked capable of even trying. Further back, meanwhile, Barrichello had moved up to fifth and was under pressure from Raikkonen, but despite his best efforts, the Brazilian and the Canadian circuit made any moves impossible.
Without much pressure from Ralf, Michael cruised home to clinch his sixth win at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, striking a moral blow to his rivals by moving to the top of the standings for the first time in 2003.
"It was a very tricky and tight race," said Schumacher, who is now one point away from reaching one thousand. "Of course, it is important to be leading the Championship in what I have always said will be a hard season with a tough fight to the end."
Ralf returned to the podium for the first time since last year's Hungarian Grand Prix, and although the result was disappointing after failing to turn pole into a win, the Williams driver was quick to defend his performance. "I was never close to even try, that's why I didn't," the German said. "Maybe some might think again that I took it too easy but if there is no possibility I won't try it."
At the European Grand Prix the pressure will be on their rivals to show they are capable of hitting back before it's too late.
The McLaren team decides to start Kimi Raikkonen from the pits and prepares to fill the Finn's car to the brim and go for a one-stop strategy. At the end of the parade lap Ralph Firman also pits and does the same thing.
Lap 2: Ralf Schumacher extends his lead but at the end of the lap Montoya spins in the last corner and falls behind Schumacher, Alonso and Mark Webber. At the end of the lap Barrichello and Trulli both pit for repairs,
Lap 3: Ralf and Michael Schumacher trade fastest laps and pull away from Alonso. Webber comes under pressure the recovering Montoya. Then come the two Toyotas with Olivier Panis ahead of da Matta, Coulthard, Villeneuve and a queue of cars including Frentzen, Wilson, Heidfeld, and Verstappen. Behind them Button is overtaken by Fisichella.
Lap 4: Montoya passes Webber to take fourth place.
Lap 5: Trulli's misfortunes continue with a tyre losing its tread and he has to pit again.
Lap 8: At the tail of the field Trulli has a spin.
Lap 9: Barrichello manages to overtake Firman to move to 16th.
Lap 10: Montoya passes Alonso as they go down to the hairpin to move back to third place.
Lap 11: Verstappen is the first man to stop, indicating that he had a very light fuel load.
Lap 12: As the battle at the front remains stable, Coulthard passes da Matta for seventh place.
Lap 13: Wilson stops and drops from 10th place to 17th. He re-emerges behind Verstappen.
Lap 14: Jacques Villeneuve is in trouble and comes into the pits with what appears to be a brake problem. He rejoins but retires after one more exploratory lap.
Lap 16: Da Matta stops and also falls down the order.
Lap 17: Panis passes da Matta for 12th place.
Lap 18: The next pit stop comes from Heidfeld who falls back from seventh to 15th.
Lap 19: The first major pit stops begin with Montoya and Webber coming in
Lap 20: Ralf Schumacher stops and so Michael goes into the lead.
Lap 21: Michael Schumacher stops and Alonso goes into the lead. Michael rejoins ahead of Ralf. Further back both Jordans retire with apparent engine failures.
Lap 23: Alonso is four seconds ahead of the duelling Schumacher Brothers. Coulthard is fourth but yet to stop and Montoya is fifth. Button is up to sixth but pits, allowing Raikkonen to move up to sixth. Barrichello is behind him with Webber ninth.
Lap 24: Coulthard stops and drops from fourth to seventh. At the tail of the field Trulli retires.
Lap 26: Alonso stops and falls back to fourth behind the two Schumachers and Montoya.
Lap 29: The order has stabilised but at the tail of the field Pizzonia comes in for a pit stop.
Lap 38: Coulthard's lap times begin to slow. The McLaren driver clearly has a problem and Webber begins to close in.
Lap 39: Barrichello pits for another tank of fuel. He gets ahead of Raikkonen.
Lap 43: As the second pit stops begin Webber passes Coulthard for fifth place. Within a couple of laps Coulthard is behind Barrichello as well. Rubens loses a barge board down at the chicane.
Lap 45: Montoya is the first of the frontrunners to stop. He rejoins fourth.
Lap 46: Ralf Schumacher and Webber both pit and so Alonso moves to second. Michael remains in the lead.
Lap 48: Having managed to run two laps more than his brother Michael emerges and retains his lead over Ralf. Alonso leads the race. At the same time Coulthard comes in and retires with a mechanical problem. In the midfield Heidfeld retires with an engine problem.
Lap 55: After seven laps in the lead Alonso pits for the last time and drops to fourth.
Lap 61: It is clear that Michael Schumacher is not as fast as Ralf but the Williams cannot pass the Ferrari and so Montoya is able to catch both. Alonso is also closing in. At the tail of the field Wilson retires his Minardi.
Lap 65: Da Matta's Toyota retires from eighth place.
Lap 70: The top four cars have been running nose-to-tail for some laps but Michael Schumacher wins the race ahead of Ralf, Montoya and Alonso. Fifth place goes to Barrichello and sixth to Raikkonen. The remaining points go to Webber in seventh and Panis in eighth. On the last lap Pizzonia stops out on the circuit.
Last week it was all bad news for Michael Schumacher's rivals. Not only did they learn that the German five-time champion will stay in Formula One until the end of the 2006 season, but also by Sunday the Ferrari star was back in the driving seat in the Championship.
As it has usually been the case in past seasons, none of his rivals is proving consistent enough to challenge Schumacher in regular terms. Unlike 2002, Ferrari are not sweeping the field with their F2003-GA, in part because after last year's situation it would have been hard to imagine the World Champions not having to sweat more to keep their titles.
Unlike some of the other races this season, Ralf Schumacher managed to keep the leaders' pace in the race after scoring his second pole position. However, he did not have enough speed in the crucial part of the race and lost out to his brother in the pitstops. The younger Schumacher never challenged his older brother and as Frank Williams himself suggested after the race, Juan Pablo Montoya would have been a tougher contender.
In the first half of the season Raikkonen showed he has the speed and the talent to win races. Now, having lost the Championship lead, the pressure will be on him to show he has what it takes to be champion. After all, and as much as consistency is rewarded this season, there's a huge difference between finishing second and beating Schumacher on track.
There were a lot of similarities between the Canadian Grand Prix qualifying and the previous session at the Monte Carlo circuit, but the most notable were that the tyres again played a crucial role in defining the grid, and that Ralf Schumacher again emerged as the surprising quickest man.
Friday Qualifying: 15th, 1:38.210
Friday Qualifying: 12th, 1:37.479
Montoya's second place was further proof that, when the track suits their BMW-engined FW25, the Williams team are hard to beat. Although the Colombian could not match the pace of his teammate, he helped the Grove-based outfit complete their first front row lock-out since last year's European Grand Prix. His pace was compromised by a last-minute tyre change and by a big lockout right after the bridge. Nevertheless, he was happy with his place. "I told him (Ralf) earlier – you keep doing the pole I'll keep doing the wins."
Friday Qualifying: 2nd, 1:31.969
Friday Qualifying: 5th, 1:35.173
Friday Qualifying: 1st, 1:30.925
Friday Qualifying: 9th, 1:36.699
Friday Qualifying: 10th, 1:37.313
Having found some solutions to their problems with riding the kerbs in the Monza test prior to the Canadian race, things looked brighter for Toyota than in the last couple of races. Panis was much happier with his car's handling, the TF103 offering much more grip than in Monaco. Despite losing some valuable time in Saturday's practice after crashing out, the Frenchman put on a solid lap that gave him hopes of scoring his first points of the season.
Friday Qualifying: 19th, 1:41.413
Friday Qualifying: 16th, 1:38.244
Friday Qualifying: 7th, 1:35.776
Friday Qualifying: 8th, 1:36.463
Friday Qualifying: 3rd, 1:32.778
It was no wonder that the Sauber driver was hoping for a wet race. On a dry track on Saturday, Heidfeld was unable to emulate his pace from Friday, when he set the third quickest time thanks to his ability and the superior performance of the Bridgestone tyres. In final qualifying, like all the drivers using the Japanese rubber, the German was brought back to reality.
Friday Qualifying: 17th, 1:38.255
Friday Qualifying: 20th, 1:44.702
Friday Qualifying: 11th, 1:37.426
Although team boss Paul Stoddart said both his cars were running a big fuel load in qualifying, Dutchman Verstappen was the first man to pit in the race - four laps before any non-Minardi driver - suggesting his Minardi was very light in the Saturday session. There was no demerit to his performance, however, as Verstappen put on a great lap to achieve his best qualifying result of the season.
Friday Qualifying: 18th, 1:38.617
Friday Qualifying: 14th, 1:38.109
Friday Qualifying: 13th, 1:38.088
Friday Qualifying: 4th, 1:34.759
20. Kimi Raikkonen
Saturday time: no time
Friday Qualifying: 6th, 1:35.373
After the two previous rainy days, Sunday offered mostly clear and blue skies. By the time of the start of the race, the track temperature had gone over 30 degrees Celsius. The McLaren team opted to have Raikkonen start from the pitlane with news tyres, which were not attached to his car until the red lights went off.
The opening lap also saw an over-optimistic Pizzonia running into Trulli's right rear wheel, which cost the Jaguar driver his front wing and the Italian an early visit to the pits to change tyres. For Trulli, it would be the first of many problems, as his car would be very hard to drive after the incident.
At the top, Ralf and Michael continued to run close together, with Montoya more than 11 seconds behind. Alonso was fourth some three seconds behind the Colombian, with Webber in fifth followed by the two Toyota drivers. At the back of the field, Barrichello and Raikkonen were struggling to gain positions, as they were stuck in a closely-packed group led by Villeneuve.
Alonso, who had managed to take advantage of his lighter car to open a small gap to the Schumachers, made his first stop on lap 26, like many of the Michelin runners only changing his rear tyres. The Renault driver rejoined in fourth position, ahead of Raikkonen who, on the one-stop strategy, had moved back into the points. The Finn's charge, however, was hampered when he lost a tyre tread. Fortunately for him, it happened right in front of the pit entry, so the loss of time was minimal.
The Renault driver kept first place for seven laps, flying around the track and managing to open a 10-second gap to Schumacher before diving into the pits with 15 laps remaining. Alonso's stop was very quick, and after only 6.6 seconds the Spaniard was driving down the pitlane and back into the race in fourth place.
Whether it was by a mile or a second, the fact was that Michael Schumacher and Ferrari judged the race to perfection and, perhaps more importantly, are again in the driving seat in Championship terms. Canada showed again the World Champions are unlikely to give anything away and that Schumacher will seize every little opportunity he gets.
Pos Driver Team-Engine Tyres Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h 31:13.591
2. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 0.784
3. Montoya Williams BMW (M) + 1.355
4. Alonso Renault (M) + 4.481
5. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 1:04.261
6. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) + 1:10.502
7. Webber Jaguar Cosworth (M) + 1 lap
8. Panis Toyota (M) + 1 lap
9. Verstappen Minardi Cosworth (B) + 2 laps
10. Pizzonia Jaguar Cosworth (M) + 4 laps
11. da Matta Toyota (M) + 6 laps
Fastest Lap: Alonso, 1:16.040, lap 53
Not Classified/Retirements:
Driver Team On Lap
Wilson Minardi Cosworth (B) 61
Button BAR Honda (B) 52
Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 48
Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 48
Trulli Renault (M) 23
Fisichella Jordan Ford (B) 21
Firman Jordan Ford (B) 21
Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 15
Frentzen Sauber Petronas (B) 7
World Championship Standing, Round 8:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 54 1. Ferrari 85
2. Raikkonen 51 2. McLaren-Mercedes 76
3. Alonso 34 3. Williams-BMW 64
4. R.Schumacher 33 4. Renault 47
5. Montoya 31 5. Jordan-Ford 11
= Barrichello 31 = BAR-Honda 11
7. Coulthard 25 7. Sauber 8
8. Trulli 13 8. Jaguar-Cosworth 6
9. Fisichella 10 9. Toyota 4
10. Button 8
11. Frentzen 7
12. Webber 6
13. da Matta 3
= Villeneuve 3
15. Heidfeld 1
= Firman 1
= Panis 1
Pos Driver Team Lap Time
1. Alonso Renault (M) 53 1:16.040
2. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 39 1:16.349 + 0.309
3. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 35 1:16.368 + 0.328
4. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 46 1:16.378 + 0.338
5. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 48 1:16.599 + 0.559
6. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 67 1:16.699 + 0.659
7. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 23 1:17.088 + 1.048
8. Fisichella Jordan-Ford (B) 20 1:17.186 + 1.146
9. Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 54 1:17.324 + 1.284
10. Button BAR-Honda (B) 22 1:17.562 + 1.522
11. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 45 1:17.592 + 1.552
12. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 44 1:17.769 + 1.729
13. da Matta Toyota (M) 38 1:17.787 + 1.747
14. Panis Toyota (M) 40 1:17.904 + 1.864
15. Wilson Minardi-Cosworth (B) 42 1:18.039 + 1.999
16. Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth (B) 38 1:18.521 + 2.481
17. Trulli Renault (M) 16 1:18.696 + 2.656
18. Firman Jordan-Ford (B) 18 1:19.453 + 3.413
19. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 6 1:19.780 + 3.740
20. Frentzen Sauber-Petronas (B) 3 1:20.043 + 4.003
Pos Driver Team Time Lap
1. Alonso Renault (M) 28.502 55
2. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 30.229 46
3. da Matta Toyota (M) 30.862 44
4. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 30.884 45
5. da Matta Toyota (M) 30.917 16
6. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (M) 31.086 24
7. Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 31.102 29
8. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 31.143 45
9. Alonso Renault (M) 31.187 26
10. Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 31.246 52
11. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 31.248 20
12. Panis Toyota (M) 31.295 15
13. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 31.428 48
14. Button BAR-Honda (B) 31.462 47
15. Panis Toyota (M) 31.526 42
16. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 31.606 46
17. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 31.847 18
18. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 32.110 19
19. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 32.485 21
20. Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth (B) 33.290 11
21. Wilson Minardi-Cosworth (B) 33.313 13
22. Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth (B) 33.672 40
23. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 33.860 39
24. Wilson Minardi-Cosworth (B) 33.895 43
25. Webber Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 33.900 19
26. Button BAR-Honda (B) 34.620 23
27. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 36.600 2
28. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (M) 36.936 33
29. Trulli Renault (M) 38.598 2
30. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 39.101 14
31. Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 44.208 1
32. Trulli Renault (M) 60.709 4
The Canadian Grand Prix, Lap by Lap
Lap 1: At the start the order at the front remains unchanged although at the second corner Rubens Barrichello runs into the back of Fernando Alonso and damages his front wing. Jarno Trulli drops two places behind Cristiano da Matta and a fast-starting David Coulthard. Jacques Villeneuve makes a good start to jump from 14th to 11th. Also going very well is Justin Wilson who jumps from 18th to 13th. Halfway around the lap Antonio Pizzonia runs into the back of Jarno Trulli at the hairpin and goes off. He rejoins but has to pit at the end of the lap. At the end of the lap Ralf Schumacher is seven-tenths ahead of Montoya and Michael Schumacher is more than a second behind the two Williams-BMWs.
Lap 7: Ralf's lead over Michael is still under a second while Alonso is around eight seconds behind in third. Montoya is chasing him. In the midfield Frentzen slows and retires with a mechanical problem.
Lap 15: Sixth-placed Olivier Panis pits and falls back to 12th place.
Lap 33: Raikkonen loses the tread on one of his tyres. He is lucky as it happens at the end of the straight and he goes straight into the pits for his one and only stop. He drops from fifth to 10th.
Lap 52: Button retires with a mechanical problem.
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Volume 9, Issue 25
Atlas F1 Exclusive
Friday the 13th
Ann Bradshaw: View from the Paddock
Canadian GP Review
2003 Canadian GP Review
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