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The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix (formally the Grosser A1 Preis von Österreich 2002) was a
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
motor race held on 12 May 2002 at the A1-Ring in
Spielberg, Styria Spielberg (formerly: Spielberg bei Knittelfeld) is a city located in the Bezirk Murtal in Styria, Austria. General The city of Spielberg, with a population of about 5,000 inhabitants, is located north of the Mur in the east of Aichfeld, bet ...
, Austria. It was the sixth round of the
2002 Formula One World Championship The 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 56th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 3 March and ended on 13 October after seventeen races. In the Drivers' Championship, Michael Schumacher finished first or second in eve ...
and the 25th Austrian Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship.
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
driver
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
won the 71-lap race starting from third position. His teammate
Rubens Barrichello Rubens "Rubinho" Gonçalves Barrichello (, ; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . He currently competes full-time in the Brazilian Stock Car Pro Series, driving the No. 111 Toy ...
finished second, and
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech S ...
took third for the Williams team. Michael Schumacher, who was the winner of four of the five preceding races in the season, led the World Drivers' Championship prior to the Grand Prix with his team Ferrari leading the World Constructors' Championship. Barrichello started the race from the
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
after recording the fastest lap in qualifying; Williams driver
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kart ...
started second, but was passed by Michael Schumacher in the first corner. Barrichello maintained the lead through most of the race until Ferrari invoked
team orders In motor racing, team orders is the practice of teams issuing instructions to drivers to deviate from the normal practice of racing against each other as they would against other teams' drivers. This can be accomplished either in advance, simply ...
on him to allow Michael Schumacher to win the race on the final lap and improve his standing in the World Drivers' Championship. It was his fourth victory in a row in the 2002 season and the 58th of his career. The safety car was deployed twice during the race, which included a major accident on lap 28 involving
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
driver
Takuma Sato , nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
and
Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld (born 10 May 1977) is a German professional racing driver. Despite scoring regular podium finishes in with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams, and in and with BMW in Formula One, BMW Sauber, Heidfeld never won a rac ...
of the
Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it u ...
team, who both sustained light injuries. At the post-race podium ceremony Michael Schumacher implored Barrichello to mount the stand reserved for the race winner and gave the first-place trophy to his teammate. That led the
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA; Formula One's governing body) to fine Ferrari, Michael Schumacher and Barrichello $1 million on 26 June; each paid a third immediately, while the remainder was suspended. Following a review, the FIA banned the practice of team orders beginning with the
2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
; they began again allowing the practice following the 2010 championship. The win increased Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 27 points over Montoya in second place. Ralf Schumacher came fourth to maintain third place, and Barrichello moved past
David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
of the
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
team to fourth. In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari further extended their advantage over Williams to 16 points. McLaren were another 36 points behind in third with eleven races remaining in the season.


Background

The 2002
Austrian Grand Prix The Austrian Grand Prix (german: Großer Preis von Österreich) is a Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile sanctioned motor racing event that was held in , –, –, and then returned to the Formula One calendar in . History The A ...
was the 6th of 17 motor races in the
2002 Formula One World Championship The 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 56th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It began on 3 March and ended on 13 October after seventeen races. In the Drivers' Championship, Michael Schumacher finished first or second in eve ...
, and the 25th time it formed part of the championship. The 71-lap race was held at the 9-turn
A1 Ring The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Styria, Austria. The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from to . It was later ...
in
Spielberg, Styria Spielberg (formerly: Spielberg bei Knittelfeld) is a city located in the Bezirk Murtal in Styria, Austria. General The city of Spielberg, with a population of about 5,000 inhabitants, is located north of the Mur in the east of Aichfeld, bet ...
, on 12 May. With very few sections requiring drivers competitors to slow down, the track gives teams an opportunity to push their engines to their full potential. 70 percent of the lap can be driven at full racing speed, although the circuit's relatively high altitude of offers less oxygen to feed the combustion engines, reducing their performance by approximately seven percent. Before the race,
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
driver
Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; ; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles (tied with Lewis ...
led the Drivers' Championship with 44 points.
Juan Pablo Montoya Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born September 20, 1975) is a Colombian racing driver. He won the International F3000 championship in 1998, the CART FedEx Championship Series in 1999 in his debut year in the series, and the IMSA WeatherTech S ...
and
Ralf Schumacher Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver. He is the younger brother of seven-time Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher, and the pair are the only siblings to each win Formula One races. Schumacher began kart ...
of the Williams team were second and third with 23 and 20 points, respectively. Driving for
McLaren McLaren Racing Limited is a British motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. McLaren is best known as a Formula One constructor, the second oldest active team, and the second most successful Formul ...
,
David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (; born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver from Scotland, later turned presenter, commentator and journalist. Nicknamed 'DC', he competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between and , taking 13 Grand Prix vi ...
was fourth with nine points, and
Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver. He won the 2009 Formula One World Championship when he drove for the Brawn GP team. After his F1 career, he became champion of the 2018 season of the Super GT ...
for
Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...
was a further point behind in fifth. Ferrari led the Constructors' Championship with 50 points, seven ahead of Williams in second place. McLaren with 13 points were third, with Renault and
Sauber Sauber Motorsport AG is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who progressed through hillclimbing and the World Sportscar Championship to reach Formula One in . After operating it u ...
tied for fourth with eight points apiece. Michael Schumacher, who had won four of the opening five Grands Prix in 2002, was strongly considered by the British press, bookmakers, and former drivers
Gerhard Berger Gerhard Berger (born 27 August 1959) is an Austrian former Formula One racing driver. He competed in Formula One for 14 seasons, twice finishing 3rd overall in the championship ( and ), both times driving for Ferrari. He won ten Grands Prix, ach ...
and
Niki Lauda Andreas Nikolaus "Niki" Lauda (22 February 1949 – 20 May 2019) was an Austrian Formula One driver and aviation entrepreneur. He was a three-time Formula One World Drivers' Champion, winning in , and , and is the only driver in Formula ...
the favourite to win the Austrian Grand Prix, an event he had not won in four previous attempts. He said of his chances in Austria, "We believe we have a very competitive package overall but it's a question of how good the others can be". He expressed confidence he could challenge for victory saying, "I certainly won't be approaching this race any differently than the others. And with two almost perfect races behind us, I'm obviously looking forward to the Austrian Grand Prix with a lot of confidence." Montoya stated he would be better able to challenge Ferrari at the A1-Ring recalling the team's strong form in 2001 despite scoring no points, "I am pretty confident that in Austria we will be quite strong, certainly stronger than in he prior race in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, so I am looking forward to it." For the Grand Prix, a total of 11 teams (each representing a different constructor) each entered two race drivers, with no changes from the season entry list. In technical developments, Sauber introduced a revised evolution of its Ferrari 050 engine that the team had used in the first five races of the 2002 championship. The team installed a new aerodynamic package that included a revised undertray, front wing and altered bodywork around the cover of the C21's engine. The Ferrari, McLaren and Williams teams brought new front brake air intakes. Williams also used an upgraded front wing on its FW24, which was characterised by a curved profile.


Practice

There were four practice sessions preceding Sunday's race, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The first practice session was held in cool and overcast weather. Michael Schumacher was fastest with a lap of 1 minute, 11.072 seconds with approximately ten minutes remaining. His teammate Barrichello,
Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (, born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver. He competed in 15 seasons of Formula One between 2002 and 2017, where he scored 11 Grand Prix victories, 41 podiums and finished as championship runner-up in 2008 by one poin ...
and
Nick Heidfeld Nick Lars Heidfeld (born 10 May 1977) is a German professional racing driver. Despite scoring regular podium finishes in with Williams Grand Prix Engineering, Williams, and in and with BMW in Formula One, BMW Sauber, Heidfeld never won a rac ...
of Sauber,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
drivers
Giancarlo Fisichella Giancarlo Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico, Giano or Fisi, is an Italian professional racing driver, also captain of the official ''Nazionale Piloti'' association football team (composed of the racing drivers). He has d ...
and
Takuma Sato , nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...
, Coulthard, Arrows'
Heinz-Harald Frentzen Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He competed in multiple disciplines including Sportscars, Formula One and DTM. He had his most success in Formula One, entering over 150 Grands Prix and winning three. ...
, and the
British American Racing British American Racing (BAR) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership with Honda which l ...
(BAR) duo of
Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve ( born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian professional racing driver and amateur musician who won the 1997 Formula One World Championship with Williams. In addition to Formula One (F1) he has competed in various ot ...
and
Olivier Panis Olivier Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver. Panis raced in Formula One for ten seasons, earning his first and only win at the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix for the Ligier team. He is the father of racing driver Aurél ...
, were second through tenth. Some drivers—including Barrichello, Massa and Fisichella—ran off the dusty, slippery track into a gravel trap during the session because of a low amount of grip; none sustained damage to their vehicles. Conditions became warmer and sunnier for the second practice session though rainfall threatened towards the end. The fastest times were recorded within the first 20 minutes since the track temperature was at its warmest. Barrichello set the day's fastest lap, at 1 minute, 10.549 seconds. His teammate Michael Schumacher was three-hundredths of a second slower in second position. Montoya,
Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "The Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One Wo ...
of the McLaren team,
Allan McNish Allan McNish (born 29 December 1969) is a British former racing driver, commentator, and journalist from Scotland. He is a three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2013, as well as a three-time winner of the American Le Ma ...
for
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, Arrows driver
Enrique Bernoldi Enrique Antônio Langue e Silvério de Bernoldi (born 19 October 1978) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who raced for the Arrows Formula One team in 2001 and 2002, and was the test driver for British American Racing (later Honda) be ...
,
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
's
Pedro de la Rosa Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former Formula One driver who has participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut on 7 March 1999, becoming ...
, Panis, Coulthard and Sato were third to tenth. Some drivers, including Michael and Ralf Schumacher, and McNish, again lost control of their cars and ran off to the side of the track during the session. Heidfeld's track time was curtailed after 20 minutes due to an
alternator An alternator is an electrical generator that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy in the form of alternating current. For reasons of cost and simplicity, most alternators use a rotating magnetic field with a stationary armature.Go ...
fault. Frentzen lost a quarter of an hour to familiarise himself with the track after he spun over a
kerb A curb (North American English), or kerb (Commonwealth English except Canada; see spelling differences), is the edge where a raised sidewalk or road median/central reservation meets a street or other roadway. History Although curbs have ...
and damaged his car's undertray. The third practice session took place in clear and dry weather; no drivers ventured off the less slippery circuit. Michael Schumacher used low track and ambient temperatures to become the first driver to go below 70 seconds all weekend with a lap of 1 minute, 9.001 seconds that he recorded half an hour in. His teammate Barrichello was second-fastest and Räikkönen third. Frentzen, Massa, Coulthard, Heidfeld, Panis, Button and Bernoldi followed in positions four through ten. The ambient and track temperatures had increased by the start of the fourth practice session. Several competitors made driver errors sending them into the gravel. Michael Schumacher set the track lap record of 1 minute, 8.433 seconds. Barrichello was second, and Ralf Schumacher improved to third. Montoya, Frentzen, Massa, Heidfeld, Räikkönen, Panis and Villeneuve completed the top ten. Bernoldi missed 25 minutes due to a malfunctioning gearbox. He later lost control of the rear of his car at turn two and got beached in a gravel trap before the session ended.


Qualifying

Saturday's afternoon one-hour qualifying session saw each competitor limited to twelve laps, with the starting order decided by their fastest laps. The
107% rule The 107% rule is a sporting regulation affecting Formula One racing qualifying sessions. During the first phase of qualifying, if the circuit is dry, any driver who is eliminated in the first qualifying session and fails to set a lap within 107 p ...
was in effect during this session, requiring each driver set a time within 107 per cent of the quickest lap to qualify for the race. Conditions were clear with warm air and track temperatures. Barrichello took his second
pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...
of the season and the fifth of his career with a lap of 1 minute, 8.082 seconds. He was joined on the
grid Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to: Common usage * Cattle grid or stock grid, a type of obstacle is used to prevent livestock from crossing the road * Grid reference, used to define a location on a map Arts, entertainment, and media * News g ...
's front row by Ralf Schumacher, who took his best starting position of the year. Michael Schumacher was third; he said he lost speed due to a brake problem, and traffic slowed him. He switched to the spare Ferrari for his final timed lap in an unsuccessful attempt to claim pole position, and did not earn a front-row start for the first time since the
2001 Italian Grand Prix The 2001 Italian Grand Prix (formally the Gran Premio Campari d'Italia 2001) was a Formula One motor race held on 16 September 2001 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza near to Monza, Lombardy, Italy. It was the 15th round of the 2001 Formula ...
eight races earlier. A misfiring engine prompted Montoya in fourth to switch to the spare car
setup Setup (the noun) or set up (the verb) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Set Up'' (2005 film), a 2005 Hong Kong horror film * ''Setup'' (2011 film), a 2011 action thriller heist film Music * ''Setup'' (album), a 1994 album by ...
for his teammate Ralf Schumacher; he made a minor tyre-pressure adjustment to record his fastest lap. Heidfeld took fifth, claiming he could have improved had Button not slowed his final timed lap. A lack of speed restricted the McLaren duo of Räikkönen and Coulthard to sixth and eighth; they were separated by Massa who made two driver errors in an unbalanced car through high-speed turns. Panis was ninth-fastest as de la Rosa slowed his final timed lap. Toyota's
Mika Salo Mika Juhani Salo (born 30 November 1966) is a Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One between and . His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumacher ...
in tenth had a minor
understeer Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Oversteer is what occurs when a car turns (steers) by more than the amount commanded by the driver. Conversely, understeer is what occu ...
. Frentzen in 11th spun on oil and removed some bodywork components from his car in a gravel trap. His vehicle was later repaired to continue driving. His Arrows' teammate Bernoldi followed in 12th and expressed satisfaction with his car's balance. Traffic slowed Button on his four timed laps and left him 13th. McNish and Toyota located a car setup tailored to suit him, and took 14th. Fisichella ran a new engine in qualifying and took 15th with a car setup suited for used front and new rear tyres.
Jarno Trulli Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian racing driver. He regularly competed in Formula One from 1997 to 2011, driving for Minardi, Prost, Jordan, Renault, Toyota, Lotus Racing and Team Lotus. His best result in the World Drivers' Cham ...
had a major engine failure through turn nine and lost control of his Renault on oil. The session was stopped for 11 minutes for track marshals to dry the oil. Trulli returned to the garage and used the spare Renault setup for his teammate Button and took 16th after minor braking problems. Villeneuve used a new set of tyres for qualifying; he was uncomfortable with his car's setup and was 17th. A handling imbalance created an unbalanced car for Sato in 18th. Jaguar's de la Rosa and
Eddie Irvine Edmund Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland. He competed in Formula One between 1993 and 2002, and finished runner-up in the 1999 World Drivers' Championship, driving for Scuderia Ferrari. He b ...
filled the grid's tenth row: de la Rosa had a rear suspension fault caused by an
exhaust Exhaust, exhaustive, or exhaustion may refer to: Law *Exhaustion of intellectual property rights, limits to intellectual property rights in patent and copyright law **Exhaustion doctrine, in patent law ** Exhaustion doctrine under U.S. law, in p ...
overheating it and Irvine removed his front wing in a collision with the rear of Bernoldi's vehicle into turn one.
Minardi Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal followin ...
drivers Mark Webber and
Alex Yoong Alexander Charles Yoong Loong (; born 20 July 1976), is a Malaysian professional racing driver of Chinese and English parentage. Yoong began his career in saloon cars before moving into the Proton one-make series. He later raced in single-sea ...
started from the eleventh row: Webber optimised his PS02's balance so it ran without any issues on its tyres during the session, and intermittent rear brake locking destabilised Yoong's car causing him to spin after leaving the pit lane.


Qualifying classification


Warm-up

A half-hour warm-up session took place on Sunday morning, in clear and warm weather. All drivers fine-tuned their race setups for the weather and drove their spare cars. Barrichello had the fastest lap of 1 minute and 10.876 seconds and his teammate Michael Schumacher was second. Massa, Frentzen, Heidfeld, Bernoldi, Coulthard, Villeneuve, Räikkönen and Irvine completed the top ten. While the session saw no major incidents, Ralf Schumacher entered the gravel traps at the two of the track's corners. After the warm-up session, Montoya predicted several drivers would run wide on a
rumble strip Rumble strips (also known as sleeper lines or alert strips) are a road safety feature to alert inattentive drivers of potential danger, by causing a tactile vibration and audible rumbling transmitted through the wheels into the vehicle interior. ...
located to the outside of the circuit, which extended from turn one to the first portion of the
straight Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, an LGBT person who does not exhibit the appearance or mannerisms of the gay stereotype * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * Str ...
driving towards turn two, to increase the top speed of their cars.
Ron Dennis Ronald Dennis Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 1 June 1947) is a British people, British businessman and Official British Business Ambassador for the United Kingdom. He is best known for his former role as owner, CEO, chairman and founder ...
, the team principal of McLaren, argued Ferrari should allow their drivers to race each other without the imposition of
team orders In motor racing, team orders is the practice of teams issuing instructions to drivers to deviate from the normal practice of racing against each other as they would against other teams' drivers. This can be accomplished either in advance, simply ...
favouring one driver over the other as had happened in the 2001 race.


Race

The race began at 14:00 local time. It ran for 71 laps over a distance of . The weather was clear and dry. The air temperature was and the track temperature ranged from . Barrichello made a brisk start to maintain the lead into the first turn. While he provided room for drivers to pass him, none did. Behind Barrichello, his teammate Michael Schumacher made a fast start to slot into second position and Heidfeld rose from fifth to third having overtaken Ralf Schumacher on the outside. Räikkönen and Massa, meanwhile, drew alongside and Massa steered onto the grass dropping to tenth. Further back, Bernoldi made contact with the rear of his teammate Frentzen; both cars continued as Bernoldi entered the pit lane after the first lap. At turn two, an increase in speed led de la Rosa's
throttle A throttle is the mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases (by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term ''throttle'' ...
pick-up to start to cut out. He slowed, and retired in the pit lane at the end of the lap. In the meantime, Villeneuve experienced a minor loss of car control and hit Frentzen's car on the inside. The collision sent Frentzen into a gravel trap from which he slowly extricated himself. At the end of the first lap, Barrichello led his teammate Michael Schumacher, Heidfeld, Ralf Schumacher, Montoya and Coulthard. Heidfeld ran wide at Castrol Kurve at the beginning of the second lap and the Williams pair of Ralf Schumacher and Montoya demoted him to fifth. Barrichello and Michael Schumacher began to pull away from the rest of the field. There were overtakes further down the field. On lap two, Salo passed Button for eighth. Villeneuve overtook his teammate Panis for 14th position and Frentzen passed Webber on lap three. During the next lap Yoong lost two places to his teammate Webber, and Frentzen. Bernoldi retired from the race with a broken front wing and front brake pipe. Räikkönen in seventh retired at the side of the track with an engine failure on lap six. On lap seven Villeneuve passed McNish for tenth place, then ran wide. He made a second, successful attempt on the eighth lap, passing McNish who opted against a challenge. That same lap, Massa entered the pit lane to join the list of retirees with a failed left-rear
suspension Suspension or suspended may refer to: Science and engineering * Suspension (topology), in mathematics * Suspension (dynamical systems), in mathematics * Suspension of a ring, in mathematics * Suspension (chemistry), small solid particles suspend ...
; it failed in turn two, causing the Sauber C21's right-front wheel to lift from the tarmac surface and its undertray to scrape along it. Villeneuve made a pass on Fisichella for ninth place on lap ten. Not long after Villeneuve overtook Button for eighth position. By the same lap, Barrichello led by a second over his teammate Michael Schumacher, who in turn was 17 seconds ahead of Ralf Schumacher. Further down the order, Frentzen put a rear wheel on the grass at the final corner on lap 16. He lost control of his car, spun through 180 degrees and rolled backwards in front of the race leaders. Frentzen fell to 18th position, behind the Minardi cars of Webber and Yoong. He passed Yoong to return to 17th position on the 18th lap. One lap later, Villeneuve overtook Salo on the inside for seventh place and blocked Salo's attempted counter-move. As the Ferraris extended their lead over Ralf Schumacher, the stewards informed the BAR team on the 23rd lap Villeneuve had incurred a drive-through penalty as they deemed him at fault for the collision with Frentzen on lap one. Lap 24 saw the safety car's first deployment by the race director: Panis' engine seized without warning on the start/finish straight. His rear wheels locked, spun to the centre of the track and avoided hitting the barrier. Track marshals removed Panis' car from the circuit as he returned to the pit lane. The Ferrari and Williams' teams employed different pit stop strategies—the Ferrari team planned for two stops whereas the Williams team planned one. The Ferrari team called Barrichello and Michael Schumacher into the pit lane for their first
pit stop In motorsports, a pit stop is a pause for refuelling, new tyres, repairs, mechanical adjustments, a driver change, as a penalty, or any combination of the above. These stops occur in an area called the pits, most commonly accessed via a pit la ...
s; Schumacher drove more slowly than Barrichello to allow their mechanics to service the latter's car first. Barrichello retained the lead as Michael Schumacher yielded second to Ralf Schumacher. The safety car was withdrawn at the conclusion of the 27th lap and Barrichello led at the restart. Soon after, a major accident prompted the safety car's second deployment on lap 28. As the field entered the right-hand turn two situated atop a hill, Heidfeld noticed smoke coming from Yoong's Minardi and applied his cold brakes heavily, locking his rear wheels and sending him out of control about from the
apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex ...
. He veered into the grass at approximately as his car spun 180 degrees; the grass did not slow him, and was launched over the crest of a hill. Montoya on the inside was about to lap Sato's slower car at turn two, with the latter ahead at the apex. At high speed, Heidfeld narrowly avoided hitting Montoya's front wing, and the rear of his Sauber sustained a
side collision A side collision is a vehicle crash where the side of one or more vehicles is impacted. These crashes typically occur at intersections, in parking lots, and when two vehicles pass on a multi-lane roadway. Occurrences and effects For fatali ...
against the right-hand sidepod of Sato's car, causing heavy damage to both vehicles and littering carbon fibre and titanium debris over a wide area of track. Heidfeld's rear structure and titanium gearbox punctured a hole in Sato's car; his knees struck the steering column breaking it in half. Both drivers were sent into a gravel trap and came to a stop there. A visibly shaken Heidfeld was extricated from his car by track marshals with a heavily bruised left leg. After Sato's car absorbed enough energy in the accident, he remained in it with soft-tissue damage to his right thigh, but did not lose consciousness; a section of the Sauber's rear crash structure penetrated the side of the Jordan's monocoque just below Sato's right knee and his
helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
was squeezed between the car's
head restraint Head restraints (also called headrests) are an automotive safety feature, attached or integrated into the top of each car seat, seat to limit the rearward movement of the adult occupant's head, relative to the torso, in a Traffic collision, col ...
, both of which stopped him leaving his car. The
Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; en, International Automobile Federation) is an association established on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users. It is the governing body for ...
(FIA, Formula One's governing body) safety and medical delegate
Sid Watkins Eric Sidney Watkins (6 September 1928 – 12 September 2012), commonly known within the Formula One fraternity as Professor Sid or simply Prof, was an English neurosurgeon. Born in Liverpool, Watkins enrolled at the University of Liverpoo ...
and his team took ten minutes to remove Sato from the car and treated him at the crash site before transporting him by ambulance to the track's medical centre. From there, Sato and Heidfeld were flown by helicopter to Graz University Hospital, for overnight observation and precautionary x-ray scans. Under safety car conditions, every team apart from Ferrari and Williams brought their drivers to the pit lane for additional fuel and a set of tyres. After 20 minutes, the race restarted at lap 36's end when the safety car entered the pit lane. Barrichello led Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard and Fisichella. On lap 37, Webber passed his teammate Yoong for 13th. Villeneuve passed Fisichella for sixth place at the start of the 38th lap. On the same lap, Irvine entered the pit lane to retire with hydraulics failure. Two laps later, Villeneuve caught and overtook Coulthard at turn one for fifth. Coulthard lost sixth place to Fisichella after driving on oil and off the circuit on the 45th lap. On the same lap Trulli pulled over at the end of the pit lane wall on the main straight to retire from with a loss of fuel pressure. Yoong retired with fire visible from the rear of his Minardi soon after. Green flag pit stops began on lap 47. Ralf Schumacher made a pit stop and dropped to fifth position. His teammate Montoya remained on the track for another four laps and used more fuel in an attempt to overtake Ralf Schumacher. Montoya entered the pit lane for tyres on the 51st lap. He returned to the race in fourth position, ahead of his teammate Ralf Schumacher. Villeneuve was elevated to third position until a pit stop on lap 53 demoted him to ninth. Montoya and Ralf Schumacher returned to third and fourth respectively. Barrichello entered the pit lane for the second time on the 61st lap. His fuel stop took 6.2 seconds and he exited in second place. His teammate Michael Schumacher led lap 62 and made his second pit stop at the end of the lap. He returned to the race in second position; Barrichello returned to first. On the 63rd lap, Ferrari team principal
Jean Todt Jean Todt (; born 25 February 1946) is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and then Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed chief executive offic ...
invoked team orders on Barrichello to relinquish the victory to his teammate Michael Schumacher. This would improve Schumacher's position in the World Drivers' Championship with a win earning him ten points. Ferrari advised Barrichello they would terminate his contract if he failed to do so. Barrichello radioed Todt of a promise he made not to relinquish a victory to a driver. This prompted Todt to reply to Barrichello he was required to obey his instruction in order to preserve Ferrari's "best interests". Personnel on the Ferrari pit gantry observed the television screens and noticed Michael Schumacher could not get close enough to pass Barrichello in the final seven laps. At the start of the final lap, Barrichello led his teammate Michael Schumacher by one second. As Barrichello entered the final corner, Ferrari technical director
Ross Brawn Ross James Brawn (born 23 November 1954) is a British Formula One managing director, motor sports and technical director. He is a former motorsport engineer and Formula One team principal, and has worked for a number of Formula One teams. Serv ...
informed Michael Schumacher over the radio his teammate would yield to him. When Barrichello braked in the final to comply with Ferrari's instruction, Michael Schumacher slowed more than his teammate because he had hoped that no team orders would be applied. Schumacher passed Barrichello for his fourth win in a row in 2002, and the 58th of his career in a time of 1 hour, 33 minutes and 51.562 seconds at an average speed of . Barrichello was 0.182 seconds behind in second position with Montoya 17.7 seconds adrift in third. Montoya's teammate Ralf Schumacher finished in fourth place. Fisichella was fifth and took the first two points of the season for the Jordan team. Coulthard took the final point in sixth position, ahead of Button's Renault and the Toyota cars of Salo and McNish. A loss of hydraulic pressure caused Villeneuve's engine to fail on the final lap; he was classified tenth. Frentzen and Webber for the Arrows and Minardi teams were the final finishers, albeit two laps behind the race winner.


Post-race

The Ferrari team were booed, jeered, whistled at and given a thumbs down signal by the crowd in ''
parc fermé ''Parc fermé'', literally meaning "closed park" in French, is a secure area at a motor racing circuit wherein the cars are driven back to the pits post- and sometimes pre-race. Area For example, according to the FIA Formula One regulations, th ...
'' and on the podium. Michael Schumacher insisted Barrichello mount the first step on the podium, as "
Deutschlandlied The "" (; "Song of Germany"), officially titled "" (; "The Song of the Germans"), has been the national anthem of Germany either wholly or in part since 1922, except for a seven-year gap following World War II in West Germany. In East German ...
" was played. Schumacher then stood beside his teammate when
Il Canto degli Italiani "" (; "The Song of the Italians") is a canto written by Goffredo Mameli set to music by Michele Novaro in 1847, and is the current national anthem of Italy. It is best known among Italians as the "" (, "Mameli's Hymn"), after the author of the ...
played.
Wolfgang Schüssel Wolfgang Schüssel (; born 7 June 1945) is an Austrian People's Party politician. He was Chancellor of Austria for two consecutive terms from February 2000 to January 2007. While being recognised as a rare example of an active reformer in conte ...
, the
Chancellor of Austria The chancellor of the Republic of Austria () is the head of government of the Republic of Austria. The position corresponds to that of Prime Minister in several other parliamentary democracies. Current officeholder is Karl Nehammer of the Aus ...
, presented the winner's trophy to Schumacher who proceeded to give it to Barrichello. Barrichello's race engineer Gabriele Delli Colli joined him on the podium to receive the winning manufacturer's award. Later, in the press conference, where loud boos were heard, Barrichello said of the situation, "I'm going through a period of a very good time of my life. I'm becoming a better person, a better driver, so there's no point in arguing. I think my determination will bring me a lot more wins, so that's the way I see it, so there's no point arguing." Michael Schumacher said he understood Ferrari's decision, "the team is investing a lot of money for one sort of target and imagine in the end it wouldn't be enough by this amount of points, how stupid would we look?" Montoya said the two safety car periods allowed him to pass his teammate Ralf Schumacher, "Ralf was quite quick out of the pits as well, but I managed to get a few laps in really quick right before the stop and that was enough." Sato and Heidfeld were deemed fit to compete at the
Monaco Grand Prix The Monaco Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigiou ...
held two weeks later after passing fitness tests. Sid Watkins told
Eddie Jordan Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championshi ...
, the owner of the Jordan team, that Sato had "a miraculous escape", leading Jordan to remark, "Somebody up there likes him". Sato said he had not observed Heidfeld approaching him, "When I opened my eyes I could see my legs were squashed by the damaged monocoque and I could see the ground through the hole. Although there was some pain, I knew nothing was broken. The car did a great job of saving me – I hear there was nothing left of it." Heidfeld admitted he was at fault for causing the crash, "I saw a cloud of tyre smoke as
lex Lex or LEX may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lex'', a daily featured column in the ''Financial Times'' Games * Lex, the mascot of the word-forming puzzle video game ''Bookworm'' * Lex, the protagonist of the word-forming puzzle video ga ...
Yoong braked really hard and early ahead of us, and maybe I pressed the pedal too hard as a result while the brakes were still cool. The car got away from me and next thing I knew I was going backwards down the grass." That the injuries Sato sustained in the accident were minor was cited as a consequence of improved safety standards undertaken by the FIA, racing teams and medical experts since the 1970s. Ralf Schumacher praised his car for allowing him to finish fourth, "Due to the action packed race and the different strategies it is difficult to say how big Ferrari's advantage really was here on the A1-Ring. We have to continue to work hard, this much is clear." Fisichella commented on his fifth-place finish, "It's been a very, very good day for me, as I didn't expect to score points. But, the most important thing is that Takuma is alright. It felt fantastic when I crossed the line and I would like to say thank you to the team, especially because we made the right pit stop decision." The race result increased Michael Schumacher's lead in the Drivers' Championship to 27 points over Montoya in second. Ralf Schumacher was third with 23 points. Barrichello overtook Coulthard for fourth with 12 points. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari further extended their advantage over the Williams team to 16 points. McLaren maintained third position with 14 points. The Renault and Sauber teams continued to hold fourth and fifth places with eleven races left in the season.


Team orders

Ferrari's use of team orders to determine the finishing order overshadowed the race. ''
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
'' cited it as the most "particularly blatant" application of team orders applied to favour one driver over another since Coulthard relinquished first position to his McLaren teammate
Mika Häkkinen Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "The Flying Finn", is a Finnish former racing driver. He won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. Häkkinen is one of three For ...
in the final laps of the
1998 Australian Grand Prix 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
to comply with a prior agreement. Australian commentator
Darrell Eastlake Darrell Eastlake (11 July 1942 – 19 April 2018) was an Australian radio and television presenter, commentator and sports journalist, best known for his long association with the Nine Network. Prior to his media career, Eastlake worked as a Qan ...
, despite being a supporter of Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, claimed that it was the "most bloody disgraceful thing I've ever seen in my life" and Schumacher "should have had the balls to move aside and let Barrichello win". Ferrari were heavily condemned by fans on the internet, some members of the Formula One community, the world press, and
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Fernando Henrique Cardoso Fernando Henrique Cardoso (; born 18 June 1931), also known by his initials FHC (), is a Brazilian sociologist, professor and politician who served as the 34th president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2002. He was the first Brazi ...
of Brazil. Some Formula One figures held different views, including the Williams pair of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher as well as Irvine, who all stated their belief Michael Schumacher should not be apportioned blame for winning the Grand Prix through team orders.
Jody Scheckter Jody David Scheckter (born 29 January 1950) is a South African business proprietor and former motor racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 1972 to 1980, winning the Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari. Scheckter remains the only Afr ...
, the 1979 world champion and Ron Dennis defended Ferrari's application of team orders as a means of enhancing Michael Schumacher's position in the championship. The day after the race, the FIA summoned Ferrari and its drivers to a meeting of the
FIA World Motor Sport Council The World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) is a major organ within the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's governance structure. Its primary role is amending current regulations and drafting new regulations for all of international motor spor ...
in Paris on 26 June to explain why the team ordered Barrichello to yield the victory to Michael Schumacher and their actions on the podium. At a press conference on 24 May, FIA president
Max Mosley Max Rufus Mosley (13 April 1940 – 23 May 2021) was a British racing driver, lawyer, and president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), a non-profit association which represents the interests of motoring organisations and ...
stated while Ferrari had not transgressed the regulations concerning team orders, the meeting would establish the appropriate punishment in the event a panel deemed if any rules were broken, "There are rules about interfering with competition but we established a long time ago that team orders are allowed." That same day, Mosley said on the FIA's behalf he wrote a letter of apology to Schüssel. At the meeting, the FIA deemed Ferrari to have transgressed series regulations when Michael Schumacher chose not to mount the first position on the podium and handed the trophy given to him by the Chancellor of Austria to his teammate Barrichello. The council also determined the team had not committed any violation when it invoked team orders on Barrichello to relinquish the victory to Michael Schumacher. It imposed a fine of $1 million on Ferrari, Michael Schumacher and Barrichello, half of which was paid immediately and divided into equal amounts between the trio; the remainder was suspended for one year on the condition a similar offence did not occur. Neither a points deduction nor a race ban were imposed. In response Mosley established a four-member working group to discuss team orders and invited the public to lend their opinion on the practice on the FIA's website. The FIA accepted feedback from 5 July to 1 September, which was passed on to the working group. They reviewed it and gave their recommendations to the governing body. At a meeting of the 26-member Formula One Commission on 28 October, it was confirmed "team orders that interfere with the race result" would be barred from the
2003 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
onwards. Thereafter, teams employed coded messages to loophole the rule on team orders. During the
2010 German Grand Prix The 2010 German Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Grosser Preis Santander von Deutschland 2010) was a Formula One motor race held on 25 July at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It was the eleventh round of the 20 ...
, Ferrari employed a "coded message" to invoke team orders allowing driver
Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...
to pass Massa and win the race. The parallels between how Michael Schumacher and Alonso won those races was the catalyst of the FIA rescinding the regulation barring team orders because it was deemed difficult to enforce. Todt admitted to ''
La Stampa ''La Stampa'' (meaning ''The Press'' in English) is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin, Italy. It is distributed in Italy and other European nations. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. History and profile The paper was fou ...
'' in December 2010 he should have avoided invoking team orders on Barrichello due to his subsequent belief Michael Schumacher would have won the championship without significant competition. Brawn reiterated Todt's opinion to British magazine ''
Autosport ''Autosport'' is a global motorsport publishing brand headquartered based in Richmond, London. It was established in 1950 at the same time as the origins of the Formula One World Championship. Autosport began life as a weekly magazine in 1950 ...
'' seven years later and stated the negative consequences for Formula One outweighed the positives, calling it "on reflection ... it was a mistake."


Race classification

Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold.


Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings *Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.


Footnotes


References


External links

* Official 2002 Austrian Grand Prix results fro
FIA website
an
Formula1 website
* Formula One Database > 2002 Austrian Grand Prix – Qualifyin

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Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...
Austrian Grand Prix May 2002 sports events in Europe Formula One controversies