2003 Japanese Grand Prix

The 2003 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the 2003 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 12 October 2003 at the Suzuka Circuit. It was the sixteenth and final round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship, as well as the 29th Japanese Grand Prix. The 53-lap race was won by Rubens Barrichello driving for Ferrari after starting from pole position. Kimi Räikkönen, who started the race from eighth position, finished second in a McLaren car, with David Coulthard third in the other McLaren.

2003 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 16 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 12 October 2003
Official name 2003 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance 53 laps, 307.573 km (191.117 miles)
Weather Cloudy, Air: 22 °C (72 °F), Track 25 °C (77 °F)
Attendance 329,000[1]
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:31.713
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW
Time 1:33.408
Podium
First Ferrari
Second McLaren-Mercedes
Third McLaren-Mercedes
Lap leaders

Barrichello's win saw Ferrari clinch their 13th Constructors Championship title, the team's fifth title in a row, with Barrichello's team-mate Michael Schumacher finishing eighth to secure his record-breaking 6th World Driver's Championship surpassing the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957. This was also Schumacher's fourth consecutive World Driver's title, matching the record set by Fangio in 1957.[2]

This event also notably marked the last race for cars using launch control and fully-automatic gearboxes, since their reintroduction at the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix. The FIA banned these two electronic driver aid systems ahead of the 2004 season. This was also the final Grand Prix for 3-time race winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jos Verstappen, father of future world champion Max Verstappen.

Report

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Background

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Heading into the final race of the season, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher was leading the World Driver's Championship standings with 92 points; McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen was second on 83 points, 9 points behind Schumacher. A maximum of 10 points were available, which meant that Räikkönen could still win the title. Schumacher only needed an eighth-place finish to become Driver's Champion even if Räikkönen won the race. Räikkönen needed to win and Schumacher not to score a single point in order for him to become Driver's Champion.[3]

There was one driver change heading into the race. Having been a driver for the BAR-Honda team for most of the season, Jacques Villeneuve pulled out of the Grand Prix after asking to be released by the team and was replaced by the team's test driver Takuma Sato.[4]

Sato had been confirmed as a driver for the team for the 2004 season in the days running up to the race and would drive alongside Jenson Button.[5]

Friday drivers

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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.

Constructor Nat Driver
Renault   Allan McNish
Jordan-Ford   Satoshi Motoyama
Minardi-Cosworth   Gianmaria Bruni

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Time Q2 Time Gap
1 2   Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:30.758 1:31.713
2 3   Juan Pablo Montoya WilliamsBMW 1:31.201 1:32.412 +0.699
3 21   Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1:32.256 1:32.419 +0.706
4 20   Olivier Panis Toyota 1:31.908 1:32.862 +1.149
5 8   Fernando Alonso Renault 1:30.624 1:33.044 +1.331
6 14   Mark Webber JaguarCosworth 1:31.305 1:33.106 +1.393
7 5   David Coulthard McLarenMercedes 1:30.482 1:33.137 +1.424
8 6   Kimi Räikkönen McLarenMercedes 1:30.558 1:33.272 +1.559
9 17   Jenson Button BARHonda 1:32.374 1:33.474 +1.761
10 15   Justin Wilson JaguarCosworth 1:32.291 1:33.558 +1.845
11 9   Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1:31.783 1:33.632 +1.919
12 10   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 1:31.892 1:33.896 +2.183
13 16   Takuma Sato BARHonda 1:31.832 1:33.924 +2.211
14 1   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:30.464 1:34.302 +2.589
15 12   Ralph Firman JordanFord 1:33.057 1:34.771 +3.058
16 11   Giancarlo Fisichella JordanFord 1:33.313 1:34.912 +3.199
17 19   Jos Verstappen MinardiCosworth 1:34.836 1:34.975 +3.262
18 18   Nicolas Kiesa MinardiCosworth 1:36.181 1:37.226 +5.513
19 4   Ralf Schumacher WilliamsBMW 1:30.343 No time
20 7   Jarno Trulli Renault 1:30.281 No time
Source:[6]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 2   Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 53 1:25:11.743 1 10
2 6   Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 53 +11.085 8 8
3 5   David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 53 +11.614 7 6
4 17   Jenson Button BAR-Honda 53 +33.106 9 5
5 7   Jarno Trulli Renault 53 +34.269 20 4
6 16   Takuma Sato BAR-Honda 53 +51.692 13 3
7 21   Cristiano da Matta Toyota 53 +56.794 3 2
8 1   Michael Schumacher Ferrari 53 +59.487 14 1
9 9   Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 53 +1:00.159 11  
10 20   Olivier Panis Toyota 53 +1:01.844 4  
11 14   Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 53 +1:11.005 6  
12 4   Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 52 +1 Lap 19  
13 15   Justin Wilson Jaguar-Cosworth 52 +1 Lap 10  
14 12   Ralph Firman Jordan-Ford 51 +2 Laps 15  
15 19   Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth 51 +2 Laps 17  
16 18   Nicolas Kiesa Minardi-Cosworth 50 +3 Laps 18  
Ret 11   Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford 33 Out of fuel 16  
Ret 8   Fernando Alonso Renault 17 Engine 5  
Ret 10   Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 9 Engine 12  
Ret 3   Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 9 Hydraulics 2  
Source:[7]

Notes

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Championship standings after the race

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  • Bold text and an asterisk indicates the World Champions.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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  1. ^ "Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  2. ^ "Japanese GP - Sunday - Race Notes". grandprix.com. 12 October 2003. Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  3. ^ "Deciding the World Championship". grandprix.com. 7 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  4. ^ "Villeneuve pulls out of Japan's GP". CNN International. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  5. ^ "Sato replaces Villeneuve". BBC Sport (BBC). 7 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  6. ^ "2003 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying". Motorsport Stats. 30 October 2019.
  7. ^ "2003 Japanese Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  8. ^ a b "Japan 2003 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.


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2004 Australian Grand Prix
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2002 Japanese Grand Prix
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2004 Japanese Grand Prix

34°50′35″N 136°32′26″E / 34.84306°N 136.54056°E / 34.84306; 136.54056