2003 Brazilian Grand Prix
| 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 3 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One World Championship
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| Race details | |||||
| Date | 6 April 2003 | ||||
| Official name | Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2003 | ||||
| Location | Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil | ||||
| Course | Permanent Racing Facility | ||||
| Course length | 4.309 km (2.677 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 54 laps, 232.656 km (144.566 miles) | ||||
| Scheduled distance | 71 laps, 305.909 km (190.083 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Rainy: 20 °C (68 °F) | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:13.807 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | |||
| Time | 1:22.032 on lap 46 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Jordan-Ford | ||||
| Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Third | Renault | ||||
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Lap leaders | |||||
The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally the Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2003 at Autódromo José Carlos Pace (Interlagos). It was the third round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship, the 32nd Brazilian Grand Prix and the 700th Formula One World Championship race.
The race was scheduled to run for 71 laps, but was stopped on lap 56 after two major crashes blocked the circuit. Due to confusion about the timing of the red flag, which was initially believed to have been thrown during lap 55, the win was initially awarded to Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren, with Giancarlo Fisichella of Jordan in second and Fernando Alonso of Renault in third. However, following a post-race appeal by the Jordan team, eventually heard in court, it was established that the red flag had been thrown during lap 56 and Fisichella was leading at the end of lap 54 when the race results were declared, and he was awarded the win with Räikkönen demoted to second. Alonso remained in third place; he had missed the podium ceremony at the time as he was receiving medical attention. It was attended by 120,000 spectators.
The race was Fisichella's first Grand Prix victory. It was also Jordan's fourth and final victory, and the team's 200th Grand Prix. This was the first victory for a Ford engine since the 1999 European Grand Prix, and the first victory for an Italian driver since Riccardo Patrese won the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix. This was also the last victory for a Ford-powered car to date, and marked the last time the Brazilian Grand Prix was held during the opening rounds of a Formula One season.
Although he did not win the race, Räikkönen scored more points than Coulthard, increasing his lead to nine points. Alonso improved from fifth to third with a ten point deficit over Räikkönen, while Fisichella's victory gave him his first points of the season in order to make a huge step in the championship by moving from sixteenth to fourth. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren maintained their lead, while extending it to 16 points over Renault, that claimed second following the failure of both Ferraris to finish. Fisichella's win gave Jordan their first points as well, elevating the Irish team to fifth in the standings, six behind Ferrari and Williams.