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Michael Schumacher was F1 world champion for the fourth time in a row (and sixth time overall) for Ferrari with 93 points.
Kimi Räikkönen was just two points behind Schumacher with 91 for McLaren.
Juan Pablo Montoya was third with the Williams team and 82 points.
Rubens Barrichello (pictured in 2002) placed fourth
Ralf Schumacher (pictured in 2004) placed fifth, missing one race
The 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship was a motor racing championship for Formula One cars, which was the 57th running of the Formula One World Championship. It was recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship was contested over sixteen Grands Prix, which were held around the world, from 9 March to 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 teams and drivers competed in the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship.
† 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 2002 season due to financial difficulties, the Arrows team had their application for admission to the 2003 championship rejected by the FIA prior to the season start date. No reason was publicly given by the FIA and Arrows subsequently folded after 25 years in Formula One since 1978.
- 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
- Fernando Alonso, the team's test driver in 2002, was promoted to a full-time drive at Renault, replacing Jenson Button. Button moved to BAR, where he took the seat vacated by the 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.
- Felipe Massa left his 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 Arrows before the team's collapse.
- Takuma Sato left the Jordan team to take the place of several others (Anthony Davidson, Darren Manning, Ryo Fukuda and Patrick Lemarié) as the sole test driver for BAR, being replaced by 2002 Formula Nippon champion Ralph Firman.
- Jaguar replaced both Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa for 2003. Their new drivers were Mark Webber, who signed from Minardi, and debutant Antônio Pizzonia, who drove in the International Formula 3000 series in 2002 whilst also performing test driver duties for Williams. Webber's vacated seat at Minardi was filled by Justin Wilson, who had won the International Formula 3000 title in 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 two races 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 fully-automatic gearboxes and launch control were allowed to be used. Both electronic driver aids had been used since the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix, but a change in the technical regulations saw the FIA banning both systems for 2004.[15] The ban on traction control was ultimately delayed until the 2008 season.
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
While Ferrari's Michael Schumacher had won the 2002 championship by 67 points from his teammate, the 2003 season was much closer. Eight different drivers won a Grand Prix, amongst them three first-time winners. Kimi Räikkönen, driving for McLaren-Mercedes and Juan Pablo Montoya, driving for BMW Williams, were the closest competitors to Schumacher, with Räikkönen still in contention at the final race of the season. Räikkönen lost the championship by just two points, although he won only one race to Schumacher's six.
Ferrari's defence of the Constructors' title was challenged throughout the year by Williams and McLaren, making it one of the few seasons where there were three front-running teams. In the end, Ferrari emerged victorious once again and the team clinched their fifth consecutive title since 1999.
Notable races include the chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix, which was hampered by monsoon conditions, and the British Grand Prix, when the track was invaded by the now-defrocked priest Neil Horan. Wearing a green kilt and waving religious banners, he ran onto the Hangar straight towards the oncoming cars. All drivers managed to avoid him, the safety car was deployed and a marshal dragged Horan off the track.
Results and standings
Grands Prix
Scoring system
Points were awarded to the top eight finishing drivers and constructors as follows:[21]
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
World Drivers' Championship standings
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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
Ferrari won the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship for Constructors
Williams-BMW placed second in the Constructors' Championship
McLaren-Mercedes finished third in the Constructors' Championship, only two points behind Williams
| Pos. | Constructor | No. | AUS.svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
MAL |
BRA |
SMR.svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
ESP |
AUT |
MON |
CAN.svg.png.webp){kind=small} |
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 | McLaren-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 | BAR-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 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} 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:[21] | |||||||||||||||||||
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.
- ↑ Braillon, Didier (2003). "Sporting regulations". In Domenjoz, Luc (ed.). Formula 1 Yearbook 2003–04. Bath, Somerset: Parragon. pp. 22–41. 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.
- ↑ 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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "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.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Tyre troubles at Interlagos". motorsport.com. 6 April 2003. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "14 - 30 October 2002 News". NewsOnF1. 28 October 2002. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 2003 Formula One Sporting Regulations, www.jomenvisst.de via web.archive.org Retrieved 5 July 2015
- ↑ "Formula One Results 2003". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
- 1 2 3 Jones, Bruce (2004). "Final Tables 2003". The Official ITV Sport Guide: 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. Carlton Books. pp. 100–101. ISBN 1-84442-811-7 – via Internet Archive.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2003 in Formula One.
- formula1.com – 2003 drivers standings (archived)
- formula1.com – 2003 teams standings (archived)
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