| 2003 French Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 10 of 16 in the2003 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | |||||
| Date | 6 July 2003 | ||||
| Official name | Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France 2003 | ||||
| Location | Magny-Cours,France | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.411[1] km (2.741 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 70 laps, 308.586[1] km (191.746 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Cloudy, Air: 26 °C (79 °F), Track 35 °C (95 °F) | ||||
| Attendance | 101,537 | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Williams-BMW | ||||
| Time | 1:15.019 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | |||
| Time | 1:15.512 on lap 36 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Williams-BMW | ||||
| Second | Williams-BMW | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2003 French Grand Prix (officially known as theMobil 1 Grand Prix de France 2003)[2] was aFormula One motor race that took place on 6 July 2003 at theCircuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. It was the tenth round of the2003 Formula One World Championship.
Ralf Schumacher ofBMW Williams tookpole position for the race and went on to take the race win. His teammateJuan Pablo Montoya finished second and his brotherMichael Schumacher, driving forFerrari, was third.
This was Ralf's second consecutive victory but it would turn out to be his last inFormula One. As of2025, this is also the last 1–2 finish forWilliams.
The event was held at theCircuit de Nevers Magny-Cours inMagny-Cours,France for the 13th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 4-6 July 2003. The Grand Prix was the tenth round of the2003 Formula One World Championship and the 53rd running of theFrench Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.[3][4]
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Earlier in the year, the circuit was upgraded.Château d'Eau a sharper right hand corner and theLycée section were completely modified, now featuring a sharp right hand turn after the back straight, which then leads to a difficult final chicane next to the pit entrance. Thepit lane was significantly shortened as a result of the upgrades.[5]
Going into the weekend,Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 58 points, seven points ahead ofKimi Räikkönen in second and fifteen ahead of his brotherRalf Schumacher in third.[6]Ferrari, with 95 points, led the Constructors' Championship fromBMW Williams andMcLaren, who were second and third with 82 and 76, respectively.[6]
Threefree practice sessions were held for the event.[7][8]Jaguar driverMark Webber set the fastest time in the first session, more than a second quicker thanRalf Schumacher andFernando Alonso, in second and third places respectively.[9][10] The second session was topped by Alonso in theRenault ahead ofRubens Barrichello andRalf Schumacher.[11][12] Finally, theWilliamses of Ralf Schumacher andJuan-Pablo Montoya led the third practice session, ahead ofDavid Coulthard in third.[13][14]
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Qualiyfing 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 scoringpole position.[7][15]
Courtesy of a drying track,Jos Verstappen ended up quickest in the first qualifying session, almost three seconds ahead of anyone else. This was the only time aMinardi topped the timesheets at a race weekend.[16][17] His teammateJustin Wilson had set the second-fastest time but it was deleted after scrutineering found his car was 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) underweight.[18]
Normal service resumed in second qualifying on a dry track, in whichWilliams teammatesRalf Schumacher andJuan-Pablo Montoya clinched the first row on the grid. It was Schumacher's thirdpole position in four races.[19]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 |  Ralf Schumacher | Williams-BMW | 1:29.327 | 1:15.019 | |
| 2 | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | 1:28.988 | 1:15.136 | +0.117 |
| 3 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:27.929 | 1:15.480 | +0.461 |
| 4 | 6 |  Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:29.120 | 1:15.533 | +0.514 |
| 5 | 5 |  David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:28.937 | 1:15.628 | +0.609 |
| 6 | 7 |  Jarno Trulli | Renault | 1:29.024 | 1:15.967 | +0.948 |
| 7 | 8 |  Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:29.455 | 1:16.087 | +1.068 |
| 8 | 2 |  Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 1:27.095 | 1:16.166 | +1.147 |
| 9 | 14 |  Mark Webber | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:25.178 | 1:16.308 | +1.289 |
| 10 | 20 |  Olivier Panis | Toyota | 1:24.175 | 1:16.345 | +1.326 |
| 11 | 15 | Antônio Pizzonia | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:24.642 | 1:16.965 | +1.946 |
| 12 | 16 |  Jacques Villeneuve | BAR-Honda | 1:24.651 | 1:16.990 | +1.971 |
| 13 | 21 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 1:26.975 | 1:17.068 | +2.049 |
| 14 | 17 | Jenson Button | BAR-Honda | 1:30.371 | 1:17.077 | +2.058 |
| 15 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Petronas | 1:24.042 | 1:17.445 | +2.426 |
| 16 | 10 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Petronas | 1:26.151 | 1:17.562 | +2.543 |
| 17 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan-Ford | 1:28.502 | 1:18.431 | +3.412 |
| 18 | 12 |  Ralph Firman | Jordan-Ford | 1:23.496 | 1:18.514 | +3.495 |
| 19 | 19 |  Jos Verstappen | Minardi-Cosworth | 1:20.817 | 1:18.709 | +3.690 |
| 20 | 18 | Justin Wilson | Minardi-Cosworth | 1:20.9681 | 1:19.619 | +4.600 |
| Sources:[20][21][22] | ||||||
Notes
The race was held on 6 July 2003 and was run for 70 laps.[23][4]
At the start, theWilliamses ofRalf Schumacher andJuan Pablo Montoya kept their places in front, whileKimi Räikkönen managed to get byMichael Schumacher for third position. TheGerman was also challenged by the secondMcLaren ofDavid Coulthard but stood his ground. His teammateRubens Barrichello was running eighth at the end of the first lap when he spun hisFerrari coming out of the newly designed final corner.[24][25]
Ralf Schumacher took full advantage of running in clear air and stretched his lead to four seconds in ten laps. After the first round ofpit stops, this was up to seven seconds. Coulthard had stopped earlier than his rivals and managed to jump Michael Schumacher. There were little changes in position up to and including the second round of pit stops. Afterwards, however, both theRenaults suddenly retired.Fernando Alonso's engine expired in a big cloud of smoke on lap 43 andJarno Trulli pulled off with engine failure three laps later.[24][25]
During the third round of stops, Ralf Schumacher was held up by backmarkers, but still rejoined ahead of his teammate and then steadily extended his lead to up to ten seconds at the finish. Coulthard left his box when the fuel hose was still attached to hisMcLaren. He left no one injured but lost a lot of time. This left third place open to Michael Schumacher, who passed Räikkönen when theFinn was suffering from issues with his rear brakes.[24][25]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams-BMW | 70 | 1:30:49.213 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | 70 | +13.813 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 70 | +19.568 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 70 | +38.047 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 70 | +40.289 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar-Cosworth | 70 | +1:06.380 | 9 | 3 |
| 7 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 69 | +1 lap | 8 | 2 |
| 8 | 20 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 69 | +1 lap | 10 | 1 |
| 9 | 16 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR-Honda | 69 | +1 lap | 12 | |
| 10 | 15 | Antônio Pizzonia | Jaguar-Cosworth | 69 | +1 lap | 11 | |
| 11 | 21 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 69 | +1 lap | 13 | |
| 12 | 10 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Petronas | 68 | +2 laps | 16 | |
| 13 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Petronas | 68 | +2 laps | 15 | |
| 14 | 18 | Justin Wilson | Minardi-Cosworth | 67 | +3 laps | 20 | |
| 15 | 12 | Ralph Firman | Jordan-Ford | 67 | +3 laps | 18 | |
| 16 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Minardi-Cosworth | 66 | +4 laps | 19 | |
| Ret | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 45 | Engine | 6 | |
| Ret | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 43 | Engine | 7 | |
| Ret | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan-Ford | 42 | Engine | 17 | |
| Ret | 17 | Jenson Button | BAR-Honda | 21 | Out of fuel | 14 | |
Source:[26] | |||||||
Michael Schumacher's lead in the Drivers' Championship slightly increased to eight points, while his brother Ralf remained third, reducing his deficit to just eleven points. Fourth-placed Montoya was only 17 points behind the championship leader. Following their second consecutive 1–2 finish, Williams narrowed the gap to Ferrari to just three points, while McLaren was a total of 18 points behind the lead in third.
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| Previous race: 2003 European Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2003 season | Next race: 2003 British Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2002 French Grand Prix | French Grand Prix | Next race: 2004 French Grand Prix |
46°51′51″N3°09′49″E / 46.86417°N 3.16361°E /46.86417; 3.16361
