2002 Spanish Grand Prix

The 2002 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the Gran Premio Marlboro de España 2002 ) [ 3 ] was a Formula One motor race held on 28 April 2002 at the Circuit de Catalunya , Montmeló , Catalonia , Spain. It was the fifth round of the 2002 Formula One World Championship and was held before 100,000 spectators. Ferrari 's Michael Schumacher won the 65-lap race from pole position . Williams 's Juan Pablo Montoya finished in second and McLaren 's David Coulthard was third.

Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship increased to 21 championship points following the race. Montoya's second-place finish moved him past his teammate Ralf Schumacher , who retired from the Grand Prix. Ferrari extended their World Constructors' Championship lead over Williams to seven championship points with twelve races remaining in the season.

The 2002 Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth round of seventeen in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and took place on 28 April 2002 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló , Catalonia , Spain, [ 1 ] [ 2 ] close to Barcelona. [ 4 ] Heading into the race, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 34 championship points , followed by the Williams pair of Ralf Schumacher (20) and Juan Pablo Montoya (17). Renault 's Jenson Button was fourth with 8 championship poi...

Following the San Marino Grand Prix on 14 April, the teams tested their racing setups , aerodynamics, car components, tyres and electronics at European circuits in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix.. [ 4 ] [ 6 ] [ 7 ] The Arrows , British American Racing (BAR), Jaguar, Jordan , Minardi , Renault, Sauber and Williams teams spent three days testing at Northamptonshire 's Silverstone Circuit . [ 6 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ] McLaren and Toyota spent three days at Italy's Mugello Circuit , [ 7 ] while Ferrar...

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 . [ 21 ] Ferrari updated their F2002 cars with new torsion bars , modified the screens behind the front wheels, and introduced new front and rear wings. [ 22 ] McLaren improved the MP4-17 's rear suspension layout while Williams received a more powerful BMW engine and a new rear wing. Cosworth and Honda both introduced new improved versions of ...

It became slightly warmer for the final session. [ 39 ] Although no other driver better Barrichello's third session effort, he led despite not lapping faster. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] Heidfeld went second-quickest with 15 minutes remaining. [ 42 ] In positions three to ten were Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Button, Frentzen, Räikkönen, Massa, Panis and Bernoldi. [ 41 ] Sato lost control of his car's rear midway through Renault corner, spinning 360 degrees through the gravel trap. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] He crashed ...

Notes

Fisichella retired in the garage on lap six due to hydraulics failure. [ 62 ] [ 70 ] Frentzen and Panis battled for ninth place but Panis was unable to pass Frentzen. By lap 12, Michael Schumacher had increased his advantage over Ralf Schumacher to 10.4 seconds. [ 62 ] [ 71 ] Sato ran widethrough turn 12 and held the subsequent slide long enough to reach New Holland corner, but was unable to avoid the gravel trap and retired from the Grand Prix. [ 64 ] [ 67 ] The race became processional as Mich...

Michael Schumacher made his first pit stop at the end of the lap. Despite a slight fuel nozzle issue, he rejoined in first place with an 11-second lead over Montoya after a 9.4-second pit stop. [ 65 ] [ 66 ] [ 71 ] On lap 29, [ 65 ] Ralf Schumacher ran wide onto the grass at Campsa corner, causing damage to his car's front wing and removing the left-hand side bargeboard. [ 64 ] [ 67 ] [ 70 ] This required him to make an unscheduled pit stop for a replacement front wing and a new front-left tyre....

Trulli soon caught up to Button, [ 65 ] who was told to allow his teammate pass into fourth place on lap 36 due to a hydraulic issue that caused his Renault to stick in gear and then shut down in left-hand curves. [ 64 ] [ 69 ] Two laps later, Villeneuve passed Bernoldi on the inside into turn one for tenth. [ 62 ] [ 65 ] Bernoldi retired at the conclusion of lap 41 with an hydraulics leak. [ 65 ] [ 70 ] On that lap, Ralf Schumacher made a third pit stop for a new front wing to replace the old o...

Montoya made his second scheduled pit stop on lap 46. [ 62 ] [ 65 ] His pit stop became difficult since chief mechanic and lollipop holder Carl Gaden signalled Montoya to exit on the front-left side before removing the fuel nozzle from the car's rear. [ 74 ] [ 75 ] Gaden dropped the lollipop on the front of Montoya's car to stop him, Montoya disengaged the hand clutch before stalling , running over Gaden's left foot with his front-left wheel. Montoya was moved back slightly before being allowed ...

Two laps later, Massa passed Button on the inside at Elf corner but Button retook sixth at Seat corner. Both drivers continued to battle, allowing Frentzen to close up. [ 62 ] Button's faster speed on the straights allowed him to keep Massa behind him. [ 67 ] On lap 57, [ 62 ] Button ran wide in turns seven and eight, allowing Massa to pass him for sixth, followed by Frentzen for seventh. [ 64 ] [ 67 ] Five laps later, [ 62 ] Trulli abruptly slowed due to a deteriorating engine problem beyond hi...

The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in the subsequent press conference. [ 24 ] Michael Schumacher, who received the winners' trophy from Juan Carlos I , [ 76 ] praised the Bridgestone tyres for being consistent during the race and said it was the correct circuit for the Ferrari, adding, "The guys in our team have done a tremendous job over the winter and again, this circuit shows what our engineers have done." [ 77 ] Montoya said Williams...

Gaden was not seriously injured. [ 78 ] He told The Times , "I'm mad with myself. I wanted to stop the car but instinctively put my foot out and you don't stop a racing car with your foot." [ 61 ] Williams technical director Patrick Head commented, "He's a hard man, he'll survive. I think his pride is more damaged than his body." [ 69 ] Montoya apologised for running over Gaden's foot. [ 78 ] He stated the accident would have been worse had he not stopped his car fast enough. [ 79 ] Ralf Schumac...

Heidfeld stated that it had been "a really good weekend" and that his fourth-place finish was indicative of Sauber's car improvements. [ 82 ] Massa, his teammate, hailed it "a fabulous race" for himself after finishing fifth and earning his second championship point in five Grands Prix. [ 82 ] Frentzen earned his first championship point since the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix and Arrows's first since Jos Verstappen finished sixth in the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix . [ 83 ] He was ecstatic, saying, "T...

The result increased Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 21 championship points. Montoya finishing second moved him ahead of his teammate Ralf Schumacher for second. Coulthard's third-place finish put him up to fourth, while Button fell to fifth after retiring from the race. [ 5 ] Ferrari increased their lead in the World Constructors' Championship to seven championship points over Williams. McLaren and Renault retained third and fourth while Sauber moved into fifth w...

Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold .

41°34′12″N 2°15′40″E  /  41.57000°N 2.26111°E  / 41.57000; 2.26111