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2003 Italian Grand Prix

Coordinates: 45°36′56″N 9°16′52″E / 45.61556°N 9.28111°E / 45.61556; 9.28111
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2003 Italian Grand Prix
Race 14 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date September 14, 2003
Official name Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2003
Location Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.793 km (3.600 miles)
Distance 53 laps, 306.720 km (190.587 miles)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:20.963
Fastest lap
Driver Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari
Time 1:21.832 on lap 14
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
Williams-BMW
Third
Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 2003 Italian Grand Prix (officially known as the Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2003) was a Formula One motor race that took place on 14 September 2003 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza in Monza, Italy.[1] It was the fourteenth round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship. Michael Schumacher took pole position for the race in the Ferrari and went on to take the race win, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya for Williams and Rubens Barrichello in the other Ferrari.

With an average speed of 247.585 km/h (153.842 mph), this race stood as the fastest-ever Formula One race for 22 years, until the 2025 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.[2]

Background

[edit]

The event was held at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza for the 53rd time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 12–14 September. The Grand Prix was the fourteenth round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship and the 54th running of the Italian Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship.[3][4]

Championship standings before the race

[edit]

Going into the weekend, Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 72 points, 1 point ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya in second and 2 ahead of Kimi Räikkönen in third.[5] Williams, with 129 points, led the Constructors' Championship for the first time since their title in 1997, from Ferrari and McLaren, who were second and third with 121 and 115 points, respectively.[5]

Practice

[edit]
Like in Hungary, Zsolt Baumgartner stood in for Ralph Firman at Jordan

Three free practice sessions were held for the event.[6][7] Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello set the fastest time in the first session, ahead of teammate Michael Schumacher and McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen, in second and third places respectively.[8][9] In the second session, Schumacher was ahead of Barrichello, and David Coulthard was the McLaren in third.[10][11] Juan Pablo Montoya led the third practice session in his Williams, ahead of Michael Schumacher and stand-in teammate Marc Gené.[12][13]

Friday drivers

[edit]

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.[6]

Constructor Nat Driver
Renault United Kingdom Allan McNish
Jordan-Ford -
Minardi-Cosworth Italy Gianmaria Bruni

Qualifying

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Qualiyfing consisted of two one-hour sessions, one on Friday and one on Saturday afternoon. The first session's running order was determined by the Drivers' Championship standings, with the leading driver going first. Each driver was allowed to set one lap time. The result determined the running order in the second session: the fastest driver in the first session was allowed to go last in the second session, which usually provided the benefit of a cleaner track. Drivers were again allowed to set one lap time, which determined the order on the grid for the race on Sunday, with the fastest driver scoring pole position.[6][14]

Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Time Q2 Time Gap Grid
1 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:21.268 1:20.963 1
2 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1:20.656 1:21.014 +0.051 2
3 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:20.784 1:21.242 +0.279 3
4 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:21.966 1:21.466 +0.503 4
5 4 Spain Marc Gené Williams-BMW -1 1:21.834 +0.871 5
6 7 Italy Jarno Trulli Renault 1:22.034 1:21.944 +0.981 6
7 17 United Kingdom Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1:22.495 1:22.301 +1.338 7
8 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:23.154 1:22.471 +1.508 8
9 20 France Olivier Panis Toyota 1:22.372 1:22.488 +1.525 9
10 16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 1:22.858 1:22.717 +1.754 10
11 14 Australia Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1:21.966 1:22.754 +1.791 11
12 21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1:21.829 1:22.914 +1.951 12
13 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford 1:24.179 1:22.992 +2.029 13
14 10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 1:22.203 1:23.216 +2.253 14
15 15 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Jaguar-Cosworth 1:23.609 1:23.484 +2.521 15
16 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1:22.547 1:23.803 +2.840 16
17 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth No Time2 1:25.078 +4.115 17
18 12 Hungary Zsolt Baumgartner Jordan-Ford 1:24.872 1:25.881 +4.918 18
19 18 Denmark Nicolas Kiesa Minardi-Cosworth 1:26.299 1:26.778 +5.815 19
20 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 1:22.103 1:40.4053 +19.442 20
4 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW No time4 -1
Sources:[15][16][17]

Notes

  • ^1 - Earlier in September, Ralf Schumacher had crashed during a private test session at Monza. He was cleared by Formula One's race doctor Sid Watkins and participated in Friday testing and qualifying, but together with his team, the German decided to step back and let third driver Marc Gené stand in, ahead of the sessions on Saturday.[18][19][20][21]
  • ^2 - Jos Verstappen did not set a time in Q1 due to engine problems.[22]
  • ^3 - Fernando Alonso spun coming out of the first corner due to a problem with his traction control.[22]
  • ^4 - Ralf Schumacher initially set a lap time in Q1 (1:21.965), but his time was removed after cutting the first chicane on his flying lap.[20][23]

Race

[edit]

The race was held on 13 September 2003 and was run for 53 laps.[3][24]

Race report

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At the start, Michael Schumacher almost braked too late for the first chicane but was just able to make the first corner and hold on to his lead, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya and Jarno Trulli, who had made a very fast start from sixth on the grid. The other Renault of Fernando Alonso hit the back of Justin Wilson, who had stalled on the grid. He lost his front wing but was able to continue after making a pit stop. Attempting a pass around the outside into the second chicane, Montoya got alongside and even momentarily ahead of Schumacher, but he was slower exiting the corner and came under pressure from Trulli behind him. The Renault, however, suddenly lost hydraulic pressure and Trulli was out of the race before the first lap was over.[22]

Montoya remained close to Schumacher but never close enough to launch an attack. When Schumacher rejoined after his second pit stop, however, he saw a Williams going past. The Ferrari team, as well as the TV commentators, thought Schumacher had lost the lead, until they realized that it was the Williams of Marc Gené, who still had to pit. In the second half of the race, Montoya lost time due to backmarkers and finished more than five seconds behind Schumacher. Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Räikkönen had been fighting over third place, with the Ferrari driver holding on to take the last podium place. Gené by finishing 5th secured his first points finish since the 1999 European Grand Prix.[22]

Race classification

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Tyre Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari ‹See TfM›B 53 1:14:19.838 1 10
2 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW ‹See TfM›M 53 +5.294 2 8
3 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari ‹See TfM›B 53 +11.835 3 6
4 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes ‹See TfM›M 53 +12.834 4 5
5 4 Spain Marc Gené Williams-BMW ‹See TfM›M 53 +27.891 5 4
6 16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda ‹See TfM›B 52 +1 Lap 10 3
7 14 Australia Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth ‹See TfM›M 52 +1 Lap 11 2
8 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault ‹See TfM›M 52 +1 Lap 20 1
9 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas ‹See TfM›B 52 +1 Lap 16  
10 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford ‹See TfM›B 52 +1 Lap PL5  
11 12 Hungary Zsolt Baumgartner Jordan-Ford ‹See TfM›B 51 +2 Laps 18  
12 18 Denmark Nicolas Kiesa Minardi-Cosworth ‹See TfM›B 51 +2 Laps 19  
13 10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas ‹See TfM›B 50 Transmission 14  
Ret 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes ‹See TfM›M 45 Fuel pressure 8  
Ret 20 France Olivier Panis Toyota ‹See TfM›M 35 Brakes 9  
Ret 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth ‹See TfM›B 27 Oil leak 17  
Ret 17 United Kingdom Jenson Button BAR-Honda ‹See TfM›B 24 Gearbox 7  
Ret 21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Toyota ‹See TfM›M 3 Tyre/Spun off 12  
Ret 15 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Jaguar-Cosworth ‹See TfM›M 2 Gearbox 15  
Ret 7 Italy Jarno Trulli Renault ‹See TfM›M 0 Hydraulics 6  
Source:[25]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

[edit]

Michael Schumacher's first win since Canada saw him increasing his gap to Montoya to three points. Räikkönen was only seven points behind in third. Ralf Schumacher's withdrawal from the race, coupled with the result, ruined his chances of winning his first drivers' title as he was officially eliminated from championship contention alongside Barrichello and Alonso. Ferrari reduced the gap to Williams to four points in the Constructors' Championship; McLaren remained third with a 21-points-deficit to overcome heading into the last two races of the season.

  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
  • Competitors in bold and marked with an asterisk still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2003 Italian Grand Prix F1 Final Results". ESPN. Retrieved 2024-01-11.
  2. ^ Kelly, Sean (7 September 2025). "Facts and Stats: Verstappen wins fastest race in F1 history at Monza". Formula1.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  3. ^ a b "2003 Italian Grand Prix". MotorsportMagazine. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  4. ^ "Grands Prix Italy". StatsF1. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
  5. ^ a b Jones, Bruce (2004). "Final Tables 2003". The Official ITV Sport Guide: 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. Carlton Books. pp. 100–101. ISBN 1-84442-811-7 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ a b c Domenjoz, Luc, ed. (2003). "Sporting regulations". Formula 1 Yearbook 2003–04. Bath, Somerset: Parragon. pp. 220–221. ISBN 978-1-4054-2089-1 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "2003 Italian Grand Prix - Results and Reports". NewsOnF1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  8. ^ "2003 Italian Grand Prix - Friday Practice Session Results". NewsOnF1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  9. ^ "GRAN PREMIO VODAFONE D'ITALIA 2003 - PRACTICE 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  10. ^ "2003 Italian Grand Prix - First Saturday Practice Session Results". NewsOnF1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  11. ^ "GRAN PREMIO VODAFONE D'ITALIA 2003 - PRACTICE 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  12. ^ "2003 Italian Grand Prix - Second Saturday Practice Session Results". NewsOnF1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  13. ^ "GRAN PREMIO VODAFONE D'ITALIA 2003 - PRACTICE 3". Formula1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  14. ^ "Deciding the grid - A history of F1 qualifying formats". formula1.com. Retrieved 25 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2003 – Qualifying 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Gran Premio Vodafone d'Italia 2003 – Qualifying 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  17. ^ "2003 Italian Grand Prix Classification Grid". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  18. ^ "Ralf's accident". GrandPrix.com. 3 September 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  19. ^ "Ralf Schumacher withdrawn from Italian GP". Au.Motorsport.com. 14 September 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  20. ^ a b "Gene replaces Ralf Schumacher". GrandPrix.com. 13 September 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Ralf pulls out of Italian GP". News24.com. 13 September 2003. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  22. ^ a b c d e Elizalde, Pablo (17 September 2003). "The 2003 Italian GP Review". AtlasF1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  23. ^ "Formula-1 2003 R14 Italy Grand Prix (1st Qualifying)". Dailymotion.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  24. ^ "14. Italy 2003". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  25. ^ "2003 Italian Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  26. ^ a b "Italy 2003 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.


45°36′56″N 9°16′52″E / 45.61556°N 9.28111°E / 45.61556; 9.28111

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