The first two races of the 2003 Formula 1 season had been won by McLaren drivers, with Ferrari, a common presence on the podium for the past few seasons, had been struggling with new FIA rules fulfilling its promises of making races closer and more competitive. One new rule change, that was aimed at cutting costs rather than stopping Ferrari’s dominance, was that teams were only permitted to bring a one solitary wet-weather tyre compound to a race weekend. In an attempt to cover all eventualities, tyre companies decided to take intermediate compounds to Interlagos, a decision that would be a crucial factor in the race’s outcome.
In final qualifying on the Saturday, Rubens Barrichello delighted his home fans by putting his Ferrari on pole position. The McLarens of David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen were second and fourth respectively, with Michael Schumacher seventh, sacrificing a good position on the grid for a different strategy in the hope of a more competitive race. The real story of qualifying was Mark Webber who put his Jaguar third on the grid, and could’ve taken pole himself but for a mistake on turn 9 on his last flying lap.
2003 Brazilian Grand Prix: Confusion Reigning in the Rain
On race day, the heavens opened and, due to the severity of the rain and the intermediates being the only wet weather tyre, the race began under the safety car, and it stayed out for a further seven laps. When the safety car eventually pulled in, Barrichello opted to bunch up the pack well after the exit of the final turn. It proved to be an error on Barrichello’s part, as he was immediately overtaken by Coulthard into turn one. Raikkonen passed Barrichello in the same place a lap later, who began to drop behind the Michelin runners, with William’s Juan Pablo Montoya, who started ninth, soon up to third. Raikkonen soon caught his team-mate, and once again chose turn one as his overtaking spot, easily moving into the lead.
As the race began to unfold, it became apparently that the turn 3 Curva de Sol, was the most affected by the weather. Several cars aquaplaned and spun into retirement, the first being Justin Wilson of Minardi on lap 16. On lap 25, Montoya also lost control into the corner, and was joined, and subsequently collected, by the Jaguar of Antonio Pizzonia before Montoya even got out of his Williams. Not even Schumacher was invincible to the corner, and he also was sent into the wall two laps later. The second Minardi of Jos Verstappen and Jenson Button’s BAR soon found themselves in the same wall, with Mark Webber the only driver who spun there who was able to regain control of his car and rejoin the race.
Barrichello, having put in a consistently fast drive after falling behind at the start, overtook Coulthard for the lead on lap 44, but just three laps later, having built-up a 20 second cushion over Coulthard, he retired with a fuel systems failure, his bad luck at his home race continuing. Coulthard pitted soon afterwards, leaving Raikkonen in the lead of the race again, however a mistake whilst exiting turn 11 let Giancarlo Fisichella, who had pitted for fuel on lap 7 whilst the safety car was still out, took the lead in his Jordan on lap 54. At the end of the same lap, the safety car was redeployed after a big accident sent Mark Webber into the wall coming into the pit straight. A lap later, and despite waved yellow flags, Fernando Alonso, at full speed, drove straight into a stray tyre from Webber’s car, and careened into the barriers, leaving more wreckage and debris on the circuit.The red flag was deployed and the race was stopped.
Due to the rule of a two lap count-back, no one was quite sure who the race winner was. Jordan and Fisichella, whose car caught fire in the pit-lane, adding to the sense of drama that was omnipresent throughout the race, were sure they had won, but the stewards declared Raikkonen the winner. Alonso was classified third despite his accident, yet did not feature on the podium due to injuries he sustained.
In the days after the race, evidence showed that Fisichella had just begun his 56th lap at the time of the red flag being deployed. The evidence was shown at the FIA court in Paris, and on April the 11th, five days after the race, Fisichella was handed the win, meaning that, on the 700th F1 World Championship event, not one driver was standing on the correct step of the podium.
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