| 2003 Italian Grand Prix | |||||
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Race 14 of 16 in the2003 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | |||||
| Date | September 14, 2003 | ||||
| Official name | Gran PremioVodafone d'Italia 2003 | ||||
| Location | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza,Monza,Italy | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.793 km (3.600 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 53 laps, 306.720 km (190.587 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Sunny | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:20.963 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:21.832 on lap 14 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Ferrari | ||||
| Second | Williams-BMW | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The2003 Italian Grand Prix (officially known as theGran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2003) was aFormula One motor race that took place on 14 September 2003 at theAutodromo Nazionale di Monza inMonza,Italy.[1] It was the fourteenth round of the2003 Formula One World Championship.Michael Schumacher tookpole position for the race in theFerrari and went on to take the race win, ahead ofJuan Pablo Montoya forWilliams andRubens Barrichello in the other Ferrari.
The event was held at theAutodromo Nazionale di Monza for the 53rd time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 12-14 September. The Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the2003 Formula One World Championship and the 54th running of theItalian Grand Prix as part of theFormula One World Championship.[2][3]
Going into the weekend,Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 72 points, 1 point ahead ofJuan Pablo Montoya in second and 2 ahead ofKimi Räikkönen in third.[4]Williams, with 129 points, led the Constructors' Championship for the first time since their title in1997, fromFerrari andMcLaren, who were second and third with 121 and 115 points, respectively.[4]
Threefree practice sessions were held for the event.[5][6]Ferrari driverRubens Barrichello set the fastest time in the first session, ahead of teammateMichael Schumacher andMcLaren'sKimi Räikkönen, in second and third places respectively.[7][8] In the second session, Schumacher was ahead of Barrichello, andDavid Coulthard was the McLaren in third.[9][10]Juan Pablo Montoya led the third practice session in hisWilliams, ahead of Michael Schumacher and stand-in teammateMarc Gené.[11][12]
Three teams in the2003 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.[5]
| Constructor | Nat | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| Renault |  | Allan McNish |
| Jordan-Ford | - | |
| Minardi-Cosworth |  | Gianmaria Bruni |
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.[5][13]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Q1 Time | Q2 Time | Diff. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:21.268 | 1:20.963 | |
| 2 | 3 |  Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | 1:20.656 | 1:21.014 | +0.051 |
| 3 | 2 |  Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 1:20.784 | 1:21.242 | +0.279 |
| 4 | 6 |  Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:21.966 | 1:21.466 | +0.503 |
| 5 | 4 |  Marc Gené | Williams-BMW | -1 | 1:21.834 | +0.871 |
| 6 | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 1:22.034 | 1:21.944 | +0.981 |
| 7 | 17 | Jenson Button | BAR-Honda | 1:22.495 | 1:22.301 | +1.338 |
| 8 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:23.154 | 1:22.471 | +1.508 |
| 9 | 20 |  Olivier Panis | Toyota | 1:22.372 | 1:22.488 | +1.525 |
| 10 | 16 |  Jacques Villeneuve | BAR-Honda | 1:22.858 | 1:22.717 | +1.754 |
| 11 | 14 |  Mark Webber | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:21.966 | 1:22.754 | +1.791 |
| 12 | 21 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 1:21.829 | 1:22.914 | +1.951 |
| 13 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan-Ford | 1:24.179 | 1:22.992 | +2.029 |
| 14 | 10 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Petronas | 1:22.203 | 1:23.216 | +2.253 |
| 15 | 15 | Justin Wilson | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:23.609 | 1:23.484 | +2.521 |
| 16 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Petronas | 1:22.547 | 1:23.803 | +2.840 |
| 17 | 19 |  Jos Verstappen | Minardi-Cosworth | No Time2 | 1:25.078 | +4.115 |
| 18 | 12 |  Zsolt Baumgartner | Jordan-Ford | 1:24.872 | 1:25.881 | +4.918 |
| 19 | 18 |  Nicolas Kiesa | Minardi-Cosworth | 1:26.299 | 1:26.778 | +5.815 |
| 20 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:22.103 | 1:40.4053 | +19.442 |
| 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams-BMW | No time4 | -1 | ||
| Sources:[14][15][16] | ||||||
Notes
The race was held on 13 September 2003 and was run for 53 laps.[2][23]
At the start,Michael Schumacher almost braked too late for the first chicane but was just able to make the first corner and hold on to his lead, ahead ofJuan Pablo Montoya and sixth-startingJarno Trulli. The otherRenault ofFernando Alonso hit the back ofJustin Wilson, who had stalled on the grid. He lost his front wing but was able to continue after making apit stop. Montoya got alongside Schumacher at the second chicane, but he lost out and came under pressure from Trulli. The Renault, however, suddenly lost hydraulic pressure and theItalian was out of the race before the first lap was over.[21]
Montoya was ever close to Schumacher but never enough to launch an attack. When theGerman rejoined after his second pit stop, however, he saw aWilliams going passed. TheFerrari team, as well as the TV commentators, thought Schumacher had lost the lead, until they realised that it wasMarc Gené who still had to pit. In the second half of the race, Montoya lost time due to backmarkers and finished more than five seconds behind the championship leader.Rubens Barrichello andKimi Räikkönen had been fighting over third place, with the Ferrari driver holding on to take the last podium place. Gené by finishing 5th secured his first points finish since the1999 European Grand Prix.[21]
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 53 | 1:14:19.838 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | 53 | +5.294 | 2 | 8 |
| 3 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 53 | +11.835 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | +12.834 | 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 4 | Marc Gené | Williams-BMW | 53 | +27.891 | 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 16 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR-Honda | 52 | +1 Lap | 10 | 3 |
| 7 | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar-Cosworth | 52 | +1 Lap | 11 | 2 |
| 8 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 52 | +1 Lap | 20 | 1 |
| 9 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Petronas | 52 | +1 Lap | 16 | |
| 10 | 11 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan-Ford | 52 | +1 Lap | PL1 | |
| 11 | 12 | Zsolt Baumgartner | Jordan-Ford | 51 | +2 Laps | 18 | |
| 12 | 18 | Nicolas Kiesa | Minardi-Cosworth | 51 | +2 Laps | 19 | |
| 13 | 10 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Sauber-Petronas | 50 | Transmission | 14 | |
| Ret | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 45 | Fuel pressure | 8 | |
| Ret | 20 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 35 | Brakes | 9 | |
| Ret | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Minardi-Cosworth | 27 | Oil leak | 17 | |
| Ret | 17 | Jenson Button | BAR-Honda | 24 | Gearbox | 7 | |
| Ret | 21 | Cristiano da Matta | Toyota | 3 | Tyre/Spun off | 12 | |
| Ret | 15 | Justin Wilson | Jaguar-Cosworth | 2 | Gearbox | 15 | |
| Ret | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 0 | Hydraulics | 6 | |
Source:[24] | |||||||
Notes
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| Previous race: 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 2003 season | Next race: 2003 United States Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2002 Italian Grand Prix | Italian Grand Prix | Next race: 2004 Italian Grand Prix |
45°36′56″N9°16′52″E / 45.61556°N 9.28111°E /45.61556; 9.28111
