2003 Canadian Grand Prix
Template:Infobox Grand Prix race report The 2003 Canadian Grand Prix (officially known as the Grand Prix Air Canada 2003)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was a Formula One motor race that took place on 15 June 2003 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec. It was the eighth round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship.
Ralf Schumacher of BMW Williams took pole position for the race. His brother, World Champion Michael Schumacher, won the race, despite nursing an ailing car, ahead of Ralf and Juan Pablo Montoya in the other Williams.
This was the fourth time that the Schumacher brothers finished 1-2, having become the first siblings to do so at the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix.
Background
The Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal hosted the Canadian Grand Prix for the 25th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 13-15 June. The Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship and the 35th running of the Canadian Grand Prix as a round of the Formula One World Championship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Championship standings before the race
Going into the weekend, McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen led the Drivers' Championship with 48 points, ahead of Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher on 44 and Renault's Fernando Alonso on 29 points. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren were leading with 73 points and Ferrari were second on 71 points, with BMW Williams third on 50 points.<ref name="championshipstandings">Template:Cite web</ref>
Practice
Three free practice sessions were held for the event.<ref name=2003Regs>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="raceweekend">Template:Cite web</ref> Jaguar driver Antônio Pizzonia set the fastest time in the first session, six tenths of a second quicker than Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher, in second and third places respectively.<ref name="newspractice1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="f1practice1">Template:Cite web</ref> The second session was topped by Rubens Barrichello in the Ferrari ahead of Michael Schumacher and Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR.<ref name="newspractice2">Template:Cite web</ref> Finally, the Ferraris of Schumacher and Barrichello led the third practice session, ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella in the Jordan.<ref name="newspractice3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="f1practice2">Template:Cite web</ref>
Qualifying
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 scoring pole position.<ref name=2003Regs/><ref name="qualifyingformats">Template:Cite web</ref>
Ralf Schumacher scored his second consecutive pole position, nearly four tenths ahead of teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and Michael Schumacher.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Notes
- Template:Note – Kimi Räikkönen spun off at the second corner and did not set a time in Q2.<ref name="atlasf1" />
Race
The race was held on 15 June 2003 and was run for 70 laps.<ref name=motorsportmagazine>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=statsf1/>
Race report
At the start, Ralf Schumacher got away well and kept the lead. Michael Schumacher managed to come alongside of Juan Pablo Montoya, but the Colombian left his braking late and held on along the outside of the corner. Rubens Barrichello in fifth hit the back of Fernando Alonso before Antônio Pizzonia ran into the other Renault of Jarno Trulli. Barrichello and Pizzonia visited the pits for new front wings. At the end of the second lap, Montoya suddenly spun coming out of the final corner. He fell back to fifth position and after the race, admitted it was his own fault.<ref name=atlasf1>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=statsf1>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=MaxF1>Template:Cite web</ref>
Montoya recovered quickly by passing Webber and Alonso, before the Williams driver opened the first round of regular pit stops on lap 19. Ralf Schumacher pitted on lap 20, leaving Michael in free air, who immediately set the fastest lap and managed to rejoin the track in what would be the lead after Alonso's stop on lap 26.<ref name="atlasf1" /><ref name="statsf1" /><ref name="MaxF1" />
After the second round of pit stops, Michael Schumacher slowed down to save his tyres and brakes, which allowed Montoya to close up to him and Ralf, before Alonso joined the leading pack with five laps to go. Barrichello and Räikkönen had come up through the field and were fighting for fifth place. But how ever close the cars seemed to be, none of them managed to make a move and Michael Schumacher scored his fourth victory of the year, ahead of Ralf Schumacher, scoring just his first podium this season, and Juan Pablo Montoya.<ref name="atlasf1" /><ref name="statsf1" /><ref name="MaxF1" />
Race classification
Notes
- Template:Note – Kimi Räikkönen and Ralph Firman started from the pit lane.<ref name="atlasf1" />
Championship standings after the race
Template:Col-start Template:Col-2
- Drivers' Championship standings
| +/– | Template:Abbr | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| File:1uparrow green.svg 1 | 1 | Template:Flagicon Michael Schumacher | 54 |
| File:1downarrow red.svg 1 | 2 | Template:Flagicon Kimi Räikkönen | 51 |
| File:1rightarrow blue.svg | 3 | Template:Flagicon Fernando Alonso | 34 |
| File:1uparrow green.svg 3 | 4 | Template:Flagicon Ralf Schumacher | 33 |
| File:1rightarrow blue.svg | 5 | Template:Flagicon Juan Pablo Montoya | 31 |
| Source: <ref name="champ">Template:Cite web</ref> | |||
- Constructors' Championship standings
| +/– | Template:Abbr | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| File:1uparrow green.svg 1 | 1 | Template:Flagicon Ferrari | 85 |
| File:1downarrow red.svg 1 | 2 | Template:Flagicon McLaren-Mercedes | 76 |
| File:1rightarrow blue.svg | 3 | Template:Flagicon Williams-BMW | 64 |
| File:1rightarrow blue.svg | 4 | Template:Flagicon Renault | 47 |
| File:1rightarrow blue.svg | 5 | Template:Flagicon Jordan-Ford | 11 |
| Source: <ref name="champ"/> | |||
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
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