2003 French Grand Prix

  2003 French Grand Prix

Race details
Race 10 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One season
Date	6 July 2003
Official name	LXXXIX Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France
Location	Magny-Cours, France
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.411 km (2.74 mi)
Distance	70 laps, 308.77 km (191.8 mi)
Weather	Cloudy, Air: 26 °C (79 °F), Track 35 °C (95 °F)
Attendance	101,537
Pole position
Driver	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW
Time	1:15.019
Fastest lap
Driver	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW
Time	1:15.512
Podium
First	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW
Second	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW
Third	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Lap leaders

Juan Pablo Montoya finished 2nd and set the fastest lap of the race.

Ralph Firman finished 15th in his Jordan EJ13.

Kimi Räikkönen took 4th in his McLaren MP4-17.

The 2003 French Grand Prix (formally the Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 July 2003 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. It was the tenth race of the 2003 Formula One season. The 70-lap race was won by Ralf Schumacher driving for the Williams team after starting from pole position. Juan Pablo Montoya finished second in the other Williams car, with Michael Schumacher third driving for Ferrari. Ralf Schumacher's victory was his second consecutive win of the season having won the preceding European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

As a consequence of the race, Michael Schumacher extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to eight points over Kimi Räikkönen, with Ralf Schumacher a further three points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Williams reduced the gap to Ferrari from thirteen points to three points.

This was the first French Grand Prix held at the upgraded version of Magny-Cours, having made Château d'Eau a sharper right hand corner, and a complete modification of the Lycée section, becoming a very sharp right hand turn after the back straight which then leads to a difficult final chicane next to the pit entrance. The pit lane was also significantly shortened as a result of the upgrades.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1 Time	Q2 Time	Gap
1	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	1:29.327	1:15.019
2	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	1:28.988	1:15.136	+0.117
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:27.929	1:15.480	+0.461
4	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:29.120	1:15.533	+0.514
5	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:28.937	1:15.628	+0.609
6	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	1:29.024	1:15.967	+0.948
7	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:29.455	1:16.087	+1.068
8	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:27.095	1:16.166	+1.147
9	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:25.178	1:16.308	+1.289
10	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	1:24.175	1:16.345	+1.326
11	15	Antônio Pizzonia	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:24.642	1:16.965	+1.946
12	16	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	1:24.651	1:16.990	+1.971
13	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	1:26.975	1:17.068	+2.049
14	17	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	1:30.371	1:17.077	+2.058
15	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	1:24.042	1:17.445	+2.426
16	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Petronas	1:26.151	1:17.562	+2.543
17	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Ford	1:28.502	1:18.431	+3.412
18	12	Ralph Firman	Jordan-Ford	1;23.496	1:18.514	+3.495
19	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi-Cosworth	1:20.817	1:18.709	+3.690
20	18	Justin Wilson	Minardi-Cosworth	Time deleted	1:19.619	+4.600

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	70	1:30:49.213	1	10
2	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	70	+13.813	2	8
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	70	+19.568	3	6
4	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+38.047	4	5
5	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+40.289	5	4
6	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	70	+1:06.380	9	3
7	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	69	+1 Lap	8	2
8	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	69	+1 Lap	10	1
9	16	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	69	+1 Lap	12
10	15	Antônio Pizzonia	Jaguar-Cosworth	69	+1 Lap	11
11	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	69	+1 Lap	13
12	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Petronas	68	+2 Laps	16
13	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	68	+2 Laps	15
14	18	Justin Wilson	Minardi-Cosworth	67	+3 Laps	20
15	12	Ralph Firman	Jordan-Ford	67	+3 Laps	18
16	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi-Cosworth	66	+4 Laps	19
Ret	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	45	Engine	6
Ret	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	43	Engine	7
Ret	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Ford	42	Engine	17
Ret	17	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	23	Out of fuel	14
Source:[1]

Notes

• This race was Ralf Schumacher's 6th and final victory of his Formula One career.
• As of 2016, this is the last race in which Williams achieved a 1-2 finish.
• This race ended David Coulthard's 5 consecutive fastest laps in France, which began in the 1998 race.
• Jos Verstappen ended up quickest after the first qualifying session due to a drying track. This was the only time a Minardi topped the timesheets at a race weekend.^[2]
• Justin Wilson's time after Q1 was deleted after scrutineering found his car was 2 kg underweight. It was 1:20.968 which at the time was good enough for 2nd place giving Minardi a 1-2.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 64 2 Kimi Räikkönen 56 3 Ralf Schumacher 53 4 Juan Pablo Montoya 47 5 Rubens Barrichello 39

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 103 2 Williams-BMW 100 3 McLaren-Mercedes 85 4 Renault 52 5 BAR-Honda 13

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

1. "2003 French Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
2. "Provisional pole for Verstappen in French GP qualifying". Motorsport.com. 15 May 2013.

External links

• Comments on 2003 French GP

Coordinates: 46°51′51″N 3°09′49″E / 46.86417°N 3.16361°E