2002 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2002 Monaco Grand Prix (formally the Grand Prix de Monaco 2002 ) [ 3 ] was a Formula One motor race held on 26 May 2002 at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo . It was the seventh race of seventeen in the 2002 Formula One World Championship , and the 60th Monaco Grand Prix . McLaren 's David Coulthard won the 78-lap race after starting from second position. Ferrari 's Michael Schumacher finished in second and Williams 's Ralf Schumacher was third.

Following the event, Michael Schumacher strengthened his World Drivers' Championship lead to 33 championship points . Ralf Schumacher's third-place finish put him tied for second in the championship standings with teammate Montoya, who retired from the race due to an engine failure. With ten races remaining in the season, Ferrari increased their World Constructors Championship advantage over Williams to 18 points.

The 2002 Monaco Grand Prix was the 7th of the 17 rounds in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and the 60th edition of the event. It was held at the 19-turn 3.370 km (2.094 mi) Circuit de Monaco between La Condamine and Monte Carlo on 26 May. [ 2 ] [ 4 ] Going into the race, Ferrari 's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 54 championship points , ahead of Williams 's Juan Pablo Montoya on 27 and his teammate Ralf Schumacher on 23. Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was fourt...

Following the Austrian Grand Prix on 12 May, [ 6 ] the teams tested at various European racing circuits to prepare for the Monaco Grand Prix. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] The British American Racing (BAR), Jordan , Renault and Williams teams tested variously between 14 and 18 May at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Spain. [ 10 ] [ 8 ] [ 11 ] Sauber tested for four days at a shortened configuration of the Circuit Paul Ricard in France, joined by Arrows , McLaren and Toyota for the final three days. [ 7 ] [ 12 ]...

Many were upset when Barrichello was told by Ferrari to hand the win over to his teammate Michael Schumacher at the end of the previous round in Austria. [ 21 ] Despite the controversy, Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt said the public would be eager to observe his team's next actions. [ 21 ] Michael Schumacher, who had won five of the preceding six races, [ 22 ] said he intended to outpace Barrichello in Monaco and did not anticipate being jeered by the crowd. [ 23 ] Coulthard finished fifth ...

There were eleven teams (each representing a different constructor ) with two drivers each for the Grand Prix, with no changes from the season entry list . [ 25 ] Although no team used the drastic measures seen the previous year, several teams made aerodynamic changes to their cars in an effort to generate as much downforce as possible on the constrained Monaco circuit. [ 26 ] Ferrari fitted new front and rear wings while McLaren modified the MP4-17 car's lower bodywork. [ 26 ] To increase downf...

After taking Friday off—a feature of the Grand Prix timetable that was unique to Monaco— [ n 1 ] [ 38 ] the third practice session on Saturday morning took place in warm and sunny weather. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] Barrichello led with a 1:18.385 lap set late in the session, 0.086 seconds faster than teammate Michael Schumacher. Montoya, Trulli, Button, Ralf Schumacher, Räikkönen, Coulthard, Frentzen and Fisichella rounded out the top ten. [ 39 ] Although McNish and Webber ran off the track and onto the Sai...

Fisichella drove the fastest Honda -powered car to 11th. [ 55 ] Heavy traffic prevented Frentzen from managing a clear run and he qualified 12th. [ 48 ] [ 53 ] Massa qualified in 13th, ahead of his Sauber teammate Nick Heidfeld in 17th. [ 46 ] Massa's engine emitted smoke from the engine's left-hand bank of cylinders, [ 44 ] but reported decent car balance and grip. [ 48 ] According to Villeneuve, 14th, his car performed well on a set of scrubbed tyres but worse on new ones. [ 48 ] Bernoldi impr...

Coulthard was unable to extend his lead at the front of the field and the top four were tightly bunched as they pulled away. [ 66 ] [ 67 ] On lap six, Button received a drive-through penalty for jumping the start. [ 63 ] He took the penalty on the following lap and fell to the back of the field. [ 68 ] Montoya attacked Coulthard for the lead, while Michael Schumacher battled Montoya for second, [ 66 ] the latter driving aggressively. [ 22 ] Ralf Schumacher, however, held back because of the unpr...

Three laps later, Salo was slowing due to a flailing rear left tyre tread, and Frentzen braked later than him as he exited the tunnel and into the chicane, passing him for eighth. [ 62 ] [ 65 ] Fisichella then failed to pass his teammate Sato, forcing Massa to cut the chicane, although he was not penalised because he gained no competitive advantage. Sato passed Salo on the inside into Mirabeau corner for ninth on lap 21 and Fisichella followed on the same lap. [ 63 ] [ 67 ] Sato received team or...

Meanwhile, Bernoldi was racing Massa for 10th when Massa appeared to have problems accelerating out of tighter turns. Bernoldi was the fastest driver on the start/finish straight , passing Massa into Sainte Devote corner at the beginning of lap 29. [ 62 ] [ 63 ] [ 66 ] Massa locked his tyres in Bernoldi's slipstream , hitting the rear of Bernoldi's car and pushing him down the Sainte Devote corner escape road. Neither driver retired as a result but Bernoldi fell to 16th and Massa to 18th after r...

On lap 32, [ 63 ] Yoong collided with the wall after running over debris at the Casino Square corner entry. He damaged the suspension and drove slowly to the pit lane, retiring from the Grand Prix. [ 64 ] [ 67 ] Montoya had been struggling to keep up with Coulthard due to tyre issues, and he steadily fell back, delaying Schumacher. [ 66 ] [ 67 ] The stewards handed Massa a drive-through penalty for colliding with Bernoldi. [ 70 ] [ 68 ] On lap 40, Barrichello was battling Räikkönen for sixth whe...

Michael Schumacher was the first of the leaders to make a pit stop on lap 44. His 8.5-second stop dropped him to fourth, behind Ralf Schumacher but ahead of Frentzen. [ 62 ] [ 66 ] [ 67 ] On the same lap, the stewards imposed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty on Barrichello for his collision with Räikkönen. However, he also received a drive-through penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit of 60 km/h (37 mph). [ 63 ] [ 71 ] On lap 47, Montoya suddenly slowed on the start/finish straight, all...

The top three drivers appeared in Prince Rainier III of Monaco 's royal box to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in the following press conference . [ 27 ] Coulthard commented on the victory, "It's unbelievable. I feel fantastic because naturally we've had a difficult start to the season. It was looking pretty difficult for us to win a Grand Prix and our hopes were pinned on coming to Monaco that we could have a good performance." [ 76 ] Michael Schumacher praised McLaren and said he...

Coulthard's victory was well received in the paddock. [ 52 ] McLaren technical director Adrian Newey called Coulthard's win "a happy surprise" and that Monaco had been "the race at which we felt we had the best chance, the one that most suited our car, so it's nice to get the job done." [ 77 ] McLaren CEO Ron Dennis was pleased for McLaren but acknowledged it would be difficult for the team for the remainder of the season. [ 77 ] Frentzen hailed Coulthard's win and Michael Schumacher finishing s...

Trulli said scoring his first championship points of the season was a positive, but believed he could have finished on the podium if he had not been delayed by Heidfeld. [ 81 ] Fisichella was delighted to finish fifth, saying, "I expected do well here as I am confident on this circuit, especially when the car is going well." [ 82 ] Irvine congratulated his former team Jordan on finishing fifth while team owner Eddie Jordan remarked, "We're back in the land of the living now." [ 83 ] Frentzen was...

Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold .

43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E  /  43.7346500°N 7.421333°E  / 43.7346500; 7.421333