2002 British Grand Prix

The 2002 British Grand Prix (formally the 2002 Foster's British Grand Prix ) [ 4 ] was a Formula One motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit , England, United Kingdom before 60,000 spectators on 7 July 2002. It was the 10th of 17 rounds in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and was the 53rd time that the British Grand Prix had been included in the championship since 1950 . Ferrari 's Michael Schumacher won the 60-lap race after starting from second position. His teammate Rubens Barrichel...

Heading into the Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship from Montoya's teammate Ralf Schumacher and Ferrari led Williams in the World Constructors' Championship . Montoya qualified on pole position by setting the fastest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session, with Barrichello starting second. However, Barrichello stalled on the formation lap and Montoya led the first 15 laps before an increase in rainfall allowed Michael Schumacher to pass him for the race lead ...

The Grand Prix result increased Michael Schumacher's World Drivers' Championship lead to 54 championship points . Barrichello's second-place finish moved him from fourth to second while Montoya's third-place result kept him in third. Ferrari maintained a 57-point lead over Williams in the World Constructors' Championship, while McLaren remained third with seven races left in the season.

Race

Following the European Grand Prix on 23 June, [ 7 ] in preparation for the British Grand Prix, the teams tested on various European racing tracks. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] Eight out of the eleven teams tested variously at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain from 25 to 28 June. [ 7 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] Coulthard was fastest on the first day. [ 8 ] Renault's Jenson Button led on the second day, [ 10 ] Coulthard's teammate Kimi Räikkönen lapped quickest on the third day. [ 11 ] Alexander Wurz , McLaren's test driver ,...

Race

Eleven two-driver teams competed, each representing a different constructor , with no changes to the entry list from the previous race . [ 23 ] There were four British drivers, four Germans, three Brazilians, two Finns, two Italians and one each from Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Japan, Malaysia and Spain. [ 5 ] Five drivers were making their British Grand Prix debuts, and three drivers were previous British Grand Prix winners. [ 5 ] Toyota's Mika Salo was restricted to one installation i...

Practice

Barrichello lapped fastest on intermediate tyres at 1:33.531, 1.213 seconds faster than Button. [ 34 ] [ 37 ] The McLaren duo of Coulthard and Räikkönen, Jaguar's Eddie Irvine and his teammate Pedro de la Rosa , Jordan 's Giancarlo Fisichella , BAR's Jacques Villeneuve , Fisichella's teammate Takuma Sato and Sauber's Nick Heidfeld were in positions third through tenth. [ 34 ] Michael Schumacher spun at the Abbey chicane 's right-hand exit during his first out-lap . [ 37 ] [ 38 ] He avoided strik...

Race

Montoya retained the lead over Michael Schumacher headed into the first turn. [ 71 ] Massa ran onto the grass when attempting to pass Villeneuve on the start/finish straight, spinning 360 degrees at the first turn, but regaining control of his car and continuing to drive. [ 72 ] [ 74 ] [ 77 ] McNish was unable to begin due to a stall caused by a clutch failure and retired when Toyota mechanics were unable to resolve the issue. [ 75 ] Button moved from 12th to seventh while Barrichell moved from ...

On lap five, Barrichello passed Heidfeld for ninth, while Fisichella dropped behind Frentzen and Webber to 18th. [ 78 ] Michael Schumacher closed the gap on Montoya and began attacking him for the lead. [ 72 ] Montoya was slow to exit Stowe corner, but he was able to hold off Michael Schumacher into Club turn by pushing him wide. [ 71 ] Barrichello continued to gain positions, passing Villeneuve and Salo to take eighth while lapping quicker than any other driver. [ 78 ] [ 79 ] As the rain became...

On lap 11, Barrichello attempted but failed to pass Button at Abbey turn. [ 71 ] He attempted to overtake Button again down the pit straight on the next lap but failed. [ 72 ] The rain became heavier on the same lap and drivers lifted spray from the circuit. [ 73 ] Montoya slipped on the damp track, but Michael Schumacher was too far away to take advantage. [ 72 ] Drivers began making pit stops to change from dry to rain tyres at the end of lap 13. [ 78 ] Bridgestone drivers used intermediate ty...

Montoya retook the lead from Coulthard on lap 14 and Michael Schumacher took second shortly after. [ 79 ] Trulli moved into third as Coulthard entered the pit lane two laps later. [ 68 ] [ 72 ] On lap 16, Montoya's lead was erased because the Michelin full wet tyres performed worse on the wet track than the Bridgestone intermediates. [ 77 ] Montoya lost cornering grip and ran wide at Abbey corner, [ 77 ] [ 79 ] allowing Michael Schumacher to pass him on the inside for the lead. [ 81 ] Michael Sc...

On lap 20, Barrichello moved in on Montoya and passed him for second at the exit of Luffield turn due to improved traction. [ 71 ] [ 72 ] Frentzen was pursuing Ralf Schumacher for sixth as the two cars were coming along the Hangar Straight, [ 71 ] [ 73 ] when his engine failed, pulling off onto the grass to retire. [ 72 ] On lap 22, Räikkönen passed Trulli for fourth while Villeneuve overtook Button for seventh a lap later. [ 72 ] By lap 23, the rain had subsided and the circuit was drying out. ...

Race

The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in the subsequent press conference. [ 33 ] Michael Schumacher said the spectators "haven't had many occasions to enjoy victories with me in my time at Silverstone" considering his lack of British Grand Prix success but described it as "a very special race today for the circumstances". [ 86 ] He also lauded his Ferrari and attributed his victory to the tyres' performance and Brawn's strategy when the rai...

Villeneuve expressed his satisfaction with his team's effort and fourth-place finish, "It was important for the team. To get two cars in the points was great. This weekend we were finally competitive. For the first race this season we were confident that we didn't need luck to be in the points. Everybody at the team needed this." [ 87 ] Richards attributed the BAR team's performance to perseverance, "If you keep plugging away and do your job well, it will come right." [ 87 ] Heidfeld stated that...

Michelin boss Pierre Dupasquier defended the company's tyres after drivers criticised their performance in comparison to Bridgestone's during the race, citing the "Ferrari phenomenon," which claimed Ferrari lapped three to four seconds faster than any other car on the wet track. [ 89 ] An engineer from a Michelin-shod team accused Dupasquier of "deluding himself," while its technical director Pascal Vasselon confirmed the company did not offer the appropriate tyre for the weather. [ 89 ] In a ne...

The result meant Michael Schumacher increased his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 54 championship points. His teammate Barrichello's second-place result moved him from equal fourth to second while Montoya remained third. Ralf Schumacher's failure to score championship points dropped him from second to fourth. [ 6 ] Ferrari further extended their World Constructors' Championship lead to 57 championship points over Williams. McLaren maintained third, with both Renault and Sauber still i...

Race

Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold .

Quick Facts

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2002 British Grand Prix Silverstone Circuit in its 2002 configuration

2002 British Grand Prix Race details[1][2]

2002 British Grand Prix Date

2002 British Grand Prix Official name

2002 British Grand Prix Location

2002 British Grand Prix Course

2002 British Grand Prix Course length

2002 British Grand Prix Distance

Table 1

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Gap
1	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	1:18.998	—
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:19.032	+0.034
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:19.042	+0.044
4	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	1:19.329	+0.331
5	4	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:20.133	+1.135
6	3	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:20.315	+1.317
7	14	Jarno Trulli	Renault	1:20.516	+1.518
8	24	Mika Salo	Toyota	1:20.995	+1.997
9	11	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	1:21.130	+2.132
10	7	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	1:21.187	+2.189

Table 2

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	60	1:31:45.015
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	60	+14.578
3	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	60	+31.661
4	11	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	59	+1 Lap
5	12	Olivier Panis	BAR-Honda	59	+1 Lap
6	7	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	59	+1 Lap
7	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Honda	59	+1 Lap
8	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	59	+1 Lap
9	8	Felipe Massa	Sauber-Petronas	59	+1 Lap
10	3	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	58	+2 Laps

Table 3

+/–	Pos	Driver	Points
nan	1	Michael Schumacher	86
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	32
nan	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	31
2	4	Ralf Schumacher	30
nan	5	David Coulthard	26
Sources:[6][93]	Sources:[6][93]	Sources:[6][93]	Sources:[6][93]

F1ABY Commentary

Does the scent of damp asphalt and Silverstone’s history truly hold the key to a driver’s ambition, or merely amplify the echoes of those who came before? Schumacher, a ghost in the machine, navigated the shadows of Senna’s legacy, securing victory with a precision born not just of skill, but of an almost unsettling awareness of the weight upon his shoulders. Barrichello, a loyal soldier, mirrored his teammate’s race, a testament to Ferrari’s unwavering strategy. Yet, Montoya’s raw aggression—a primal response to the track’s demands—suggested a different calculation, a refusal to merely chase the podium. Perhaps this was the true measure of a champion: not the outcome, but the spirit with which one confronts the relentless, unforgiving heart of Silverstone. The question remains, does a driver truly *want* to win, or simply *need* to be seen to?

The ghost of Senna still haunted Silverstone, a palpable current in the air – Michael Schumacher didn’t simply win the British Grand Prix; he exorcised the shadow of a legend, claiming victory with a ruthless precision that spoke of a man utterly consumed by the pursuit of dominance. Barrichello, a simmering volcano of frustration, followed closely, while Montoya, a raw force of nature, demonstrated a tenacity that suggested he was already plotting his ascent, a young lion testing the boundaries of the established order.

F1ABY Trivia

The air at Silverstone tasted of ozone and anticipation – a familiar cocktail for this circuit, yet tonight, laced with a subtle undercurrent of tension. Montoya’s McLaren, a beast propelled by a 3. 0-liter V10 breathing 800 horsepower, clawed its way to pole, a testament to their relentless pursuit of grip, a strategy born from meticulously analyzing the compound’s degradation rates under the British summer sun. Barrichello, in the scarlet Ferrari, settled for second, his team’s Bridgestone tires – a softer compound than Montoya’s – hinting at a calculated gamble, a willingness to push the limits of adhesion. Schumacher, ever the strategist, began from second, the 660 horsepower of his Ferrari V10 a silent promise of relentless pressure.

The rain, a sullen grey smear across Silverstone, felt less like a threat and more like a prolonged apology. Montoya’s pole position – his fifth in six races – seemed a cruel jest given the slick, treacherous conditions. It was a numerical dissonance, a stark contrast to the simmering tension between Ferrari and Williams, a rivalry that, by this point in the season, was already mapping itself onto a disturbing 3-to-1 win ratio in constructors’ points. The statistical anomaly, you see, wasn’t just the lead in the championship, but the increasingly unsettling dominance of a scarlet streak.

F1ABY Tales

The rain hadn’t relented, a sullen grey curtain drawn across Silverstone. Montoya’s helmet, slick with water and something darker – frustration, perhaps – reflected the track. He wrestled with the McLaren, a desperate dance against the relentless Ferraris. Barrichello, a shadow beside him, chewed his lip, the mechanics’ frantic adjustments a futile murmur against the rising tide of Schumacher’s dominance. A flicker of something akin to pity crossed Montoya’s face as he watched the German pull away, a solitary figure sculpted from speed and calculated aggression. The championship, it seemed, was already being written in the damp, unforgiving embrace of the British rain.

The rain, a sullen grey smear across the Silverstone sky, mirrored the quiet tension radiating from Michael Schumacher’s garage. A single, perfectly formed droplet clung to the visor of his Ferrari, a miniature, fleeting reflection of the immense pressure he carried. He hadn't spoken to his father, Karl, since the pre-race briefing. A father's gaze, particularly one forged in the crucible of motorsport, could be a brutal weapon, and today, Michael sensed a particular sharpness beneath the surface. The championship, it seemed, wasn’t merely a race against Montoya; it was a battle waged within the most fiercely guarded of human hearts.