2003 Japanese Grand Prix

2003 Japanese Grand Prix
2003 Japanese Grand Prix
Race 16 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date	12 October 2003
Official name	2003 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
Location	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	5.807 km (3.608 miles)
Distance	53 laps, 307.573 km (191.117 miles)
Weather	Cloudy, Air: 22 °C (72 °F), Track 25 °C (77 °F)
Attendance	329,000
Pole position
Driver	Rubens Barrichello ;
Time	1:31.713
Fastest lap
Driver	Ralf Schumacher
Time	1:33.408
Podium
First	Rubens Barrichello ;
Second	Kimi Räikkönen ;
Third	David Coulthard ;
	Lap leaders ;

Last updated July 19, 2024

The 2003 Japanese Grand Prix (formally the 2003 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 12 October 2003 at the Suzuka Circuit. It was the sixteenth and final round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship, as well as the 29th Japanese Grand Prix. The 53-lap race was won by Rubens Barrichello driving for Ferrari after starting from pole position. Kimi Räikkönen, who started the race from eighth position, finished second in a McLaren car, with David Coulthard third in the other McLaren.

Barrichello's win saw Ferrari clinch their 13th Constructors Championship title, the team's fifth title in a row, with Barrichello's team-mate Michael Schumacher finishing eighth to secure his record-breaking 6th World Driver's Championship surpassing the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio in 1957. This was also Schumacher's fourth consecutive World Driver's title, matching the record set by Fangio in 1957.^[2]

This event also notably marked the last race for cars using launch control and fully-automatic gearboxes, since their reintroduction at the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix. The FIA banned these two electronic driver aid systems ahead of the 2004 season. This was also the final Grand Prix for 3-time race winner Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jos Verstappen, father of future world champion Max Verstappen.

Report

Background

Heading into the final race of the season, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher was leading the World Driver's Championship standings with 92 points; McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen was second on 83 points, 9 points behind Schumacher. A maximum of 10 points were available, which meant that Räikkönen could still win the title. Schumacher only needed an eighth-place finish to become Driver's Champion even if Räikkönen won the race. Räikkönen needed to win and Schumacher not to score a single point in order for him to become Driver's Champion.^[3]

There was one driver change heading into the race. Having been a driver for the BAR-Honda team for most of the season, Jacques Villeneuve pulled out of the Grand Prix after asking to be released by the team and was replaced by the team's test driver Takuma Sato.^[4]

Sato had been confirmed as a driver for the team for the 2004 season in the days running up to the race and would drive alongside Jenson Button.^[5]

Friday drivers

Three teams in the 2003 Constructors' Championship had the right to run a third car on Friday's additional testing. These drivers did not compete in qualifying or the race.

Constructor	Nat	Driver
Renault		Allan McNish
Jordan-Ford		Satoshi Motoyama
Minardi-Cosworth		Gianmaria Bruni

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1 Time	Q2 Time	Gap
1	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:30.758	1:31.713
2	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams–BMW	1:31.201	1:32.412	+0.699
3	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	1:32.256	1:32.419	+0.706
4	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	1:31.908	1:32.862	+1.149
5	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:30.624	1:33.044	+1.331
6	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar–Cosworth	1:31.305	1:33.106	+1.393
7	5	David Coulthard	McLaren–Mercedes	1:30.482	1:33.137	+1.424
8	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren–Mercedes	1:30.558	1:33.272	+1.559
9	17	Jenson Button	BAR–Honda	1:32.374	1:33.474	+1.761
10	15	Justin Wilson	Jaguar–Cosworth	1:32.291	1:33.558	+1.845
11	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	1:31.783	1:33.632	+1.919
12	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Petronas	1:31.892	1:33.896	+2.183
13	16	Takuma Sato	BAR–Honda	1:31.832	1:33.924	+2.211
14	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:30.464	1:34.302	+2.589
15	12	Ralph Firman	Jordan–Ford	1:33.057	1:34.771	+3.058
16	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan–Ford	1:33.313	1:34.912	+3.199
17	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi–Cosworth	1:34.836	1:34.975	+3.262
18	18	Nicolas Kiesa	Minardi–Cosworth	1:36.181	1:37.226	+5.513
19	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams–BMW	1:30.343	No time
20	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	1:30.281	No time
Source:^[6]

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	53	1:25:11.743	1	10
2	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+11.085	8	8
3	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	53	+11.614	7	6
4	17	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	53	+33.106	9	5
5	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	53	+34.269	20	4
6	16	Takuma Sato	BAR-Honda	53	+51.692	13	3
7	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	53	+56.794	3	2
8	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	53	+59.487	14	1
9	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	53	+1:00.159	11
10	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	53	+1:01.844	4
11	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	53	+1:11.005	6
12	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	52	+1 Lap	19
13	15	Justin Wilson	Jaguar-Cosworth	52	+1 Lap	10
14	12	Ralph Firman	Jordan-Ford	51	+2 Laps	15
15	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi-Cosworth	51	+2 Laps	17
16	18	Nicolas Kiesa	Minardi-Cosworth	50	+3 Laps	18
Ret	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Ford	33	Out of fuel	16
Ret	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	17	Engine	5
Ret	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Petronas	9	Engine	12
Ret	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	9	Hydraulics	2
Source:^[7]

Notes

Takuma Sato finished 6th in his one and only race of the season.
Ralf Schumacher spun 3 times in this race, once with his brother Michael.
This was the last time to date that the Japanese Grand Prix was the final round of the season.
Last race for Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jos Verstappen, Justin Wilson, Nicolas Kiesa and Ralph Firman.
This was David Coulthard's final podium until the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix.

Championship standings after the race

Bold text and an asterisk indicates the World Champions.

Drivers' Championship standings

+/–	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Michael Schumacher*	93
	2	Kimi Räikkönen	91
	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	82
1	4	Rubens Barrichello	65
1	5	Ralf Schumacher	58
Source: ^[8]

Constructors' Championship standings

+/–	Pos	Constructor	Points
	1	Ferrari*	158
	2	Williams-BMW	144
	3	McLaren-Mercedes	142
	4	Renault	88
1	5	BAR-Honda	26
Source: ^[8]

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

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References

↑ "Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
↑ "Japanese GP - Sunday - Race Notes". grandprix.com. 12 October 2003. Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
↑ "Deciding the World Championship". grandprix.com. 7 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
↑ "Villeneuve pulls out of Japan's GP". CNN International. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
↑ "Sato replaces Villeneuve". BBC Sport (BBC). 7 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
↑ "2003 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying". Motorsport Stats. 30 October 2019.
↑ "2003 Japanese Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
1 2 "Japan 2003 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

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[1] "Formula 1 Honda Japanese Grand Prix 2022 – Media Kit" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 October 2022.

[grandprixcomracenotes-2] "Japanese GP - Sunday - Race Notes". grandprix.com. 12 October 2003. Archived from the original on 2014-04-29. Retrieved 6 May 2013.

[3] "Deciding the World Championship". grandprix.com. 7 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.

[4] "Villeneuve pulls out of Japan's GP". CNN International. 9 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.

[5] "Sato replaces Villeneuve". BBC Sport (BBC). 7 October 2003. Retrieved 6 May 2013.

[6] "2003 Japanese Grand Prix – Qualifying". Motorsport Stats. 30 October 2019.

[7] "2003 Japanese Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.

[Championship-8] 1 2 "Japan 2003 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

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