2003 Japanese Grand Prix

Background

The event was held at the Suzuka International Racing Course in Suzuka, Mie for the 17th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 10-12 October. The Grand Prix was the sixteenth and final round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship and the 19th running of the Japanese Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship.

Championship standings before the race

Heading into the final race of the season, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher was leading the Drivers' Championship with 92 points, 9 points ahead of McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen and 10 ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. A maximum of 10 points were available, which meant that Räikkönen could still win the title. Schumacher only needed an eighth-place finish to secure the championship, seeing as he held the tiebreaker on wins over Räikkönen, 6 to 1. Räikkönen needed to win and for Schumacher not to score a single point, in order for him to become champion. Montoya could still finish equal on points with Schumacher, but was out of contention for the title due to the tiebreaker on wins (6 to 2).

Driver changes

Jacques Villeneuve pulled out of the Grand Prix after asking to be released by the BAR team. He was replaced by the team's test driver Takuma Sato. Sato had already been confirmed as their driver for the 2004 season in the days running up to the race, along with Jenson Button staying at the team.

Practice

Three free practice sessions were held for the event. Renault driver Jarno Trulli set the fastest time in the first session, ahead of Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard, in second and third places respectively. The second session was topped by Ralf Schumacher in the BMW Williams, ahead of his brother Michael and Rubens Barrichello. Ralf also led the third practice session, this time ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and then Michael.

Friday drivers

Three teams in the 2003 Constructors' Championship had the right to run a third car on Friday's additional testing. These drivers did not compete in qualifying or the race.

Qualifying

Qualifying consisted of two one-hour sessions, one on Friday and one on Saturday afternoon. The first session's running order was determined by the Drivers' Championship standings, with the leading driver going first. Each driver was allowed to set one lap time. The result determined the running order in the second session: the fastest driver in the first session was allowed to go last in the second session, which usually provided the benefit of a cleaner track. Drivers were again allowed to set one lap time, which determined the order on the grid for the race on Sunday, with the fastest driver scoring pole position.

Qualifying report

Rain fell at the end of second qualifying, giving the advantage to the drivers that went out earlier, like the Toyotas, who finished third and fourth, and Mark Webber taking sixth position on the grid. Jarno Trulli and Ralf Schumacher, the fastest drivers on Friday, did not finish their timed lap, as the rain was too heavy, and were assigned 19th and 20th position on the grid, respectively.

Qualifying classification

Notes

• – Ralf Schumacher did not set a time in Q2 because he spun in the final corner and did not complete his flying lap.
• – Jarno Trulli did not set a time in Q2 because Renault decided to save fuel when the track was wet and he did not even complete his flying lap.

Race

The race was held on 12 October 2003 and was run for 53 laps.

Race report

With parts of the race track still damp from overnight rain, Rubens Barrichello took advantage of his start on the dry line and easily held off second-starting Juan Pablo Montoya. However, he had trouble getting his tyres up to temperature and he was passed by Montoya in Spoon corner. Fernando Alonso had passed both Toyotas to get up to third position and was now right behind Barrichello. Ralf Schumacher had climbed up to fourteenth position but spun his Williams at the final chicane and rejoined in second-to-last place. Michael Schumacher and Jarno Trulli were running twelfth and thirteenth, respectively, by the end of the first lap.

On lap seven, the championship leader tried to dive down the inside of Takuma Sato, but the BAR driver close the door, clipped Schumacher's front wing and forcing the Ferrari driver to make a pit stop. His teammate had more luck when Montoya suffered a hydraulics issue and limped back to the pits, where he retired the car. Alonso's engine gave up on lap 18, which left Barrichello under pressure from both McLarens. The Brazilian played a key role in the Drivers' Championship, as Kimi Räikkönen needed to win the race to have a shot at clinching the title.

The Schumacher brothers were fighting with Cristiano da Matta over eighth place when the trio arrived at the final chicane and Michael locked his wheels. This caught out Ralf, who hit the back of the Ferrari and spun off. Michael continued without damage but stayed away from Da Matta, effectively settling for the necessary eighth place. Barrichello won the race, 11 seconds ahead of the Räikkönen, earning the Constructors' Championship for his Ferrari team and giving the Drivers' Championship to his teammate Michael Schumacher.

Race classification

Final Championship standings

• Bold text and an asterisk indicates the World Champions. ;Drivers' Championship standings

;Constructors' Championship standings

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

Year_of_race = 2003 | Previous_year's_race = 2002 Japanese Grand Prix | Next_year's_race = 2004 Japanese Grand Prix

References

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