Formula 1 Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The 2003 Canadian Grand Prix officially known as the Grand Prix Air du Canada 2003, was the eighth round of the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Canada, on 15 June 2003.[1] The race would see Michael Schumacher claim victory and the Championship lead, having battled past the two Williams-BMWs.[1]

Indeed, the two Williams-BMWs had proved unbeatable in qualifying, with Ralf Schumacher beating Juan Pablo Montoya to pole position as they secured a front-row lock-out.[1] Michael Schumacher would hence be left to claim third ahead of Fernando Alonso, while Championship leader Kimi Räikkönen would start from the pitlane after failing to set a time.[1]

The start of the race saw Ralf Schumacher and Montoya duel for the lead, while Michael Schumacher fended off the attentions of Alonso.[1] However, the #1 Ferrari's bid to hold the Spaniard off would aided by a lunge from the sister car of Rubens Barrichello, with the Brazilian tagging the rear of the Renault to send it into a small slide, while also damaging his own front wing.[1]

Otherwise it was a fairly clean opening lap, until Antônio Pizzonia wiped out Jarno Trulli at the hairpin having been caught out by the Italian's early braking.[1] The rest of the field picked their way through the chaos, with Justin Wilson emerging in thirteenth amid the chaos.[1]

Onto the second lap and Barrichello's front wing suddenly fell apart, forcing him to stop at the end of the lap.[1] However, a more significant moment ahead would see Montoya spin out of second place when challenging teammate Ralf Schumacher for the lead, the Colombian racer tumbling behind Michael Schumacher, Alonso and Mark Webber.[1]

With that the race became a battle of strategy, with the Schumacher brothers running with a couple of seconds between them, while Alonso ran in third ahead of a resurgent Montoya.[1] Webber, meanwhile, had become an early victim of Montoya's recovery charge, the Jaguar-Ford Cosworth lacking straight-line speed compared to the Williams-BMW combo, and would hence slip back out of the lead "fight".[1]

A two stop race was the order of the day for the leaders, and it would be Michael Schumacher who gained the initiative in the first round, staying out one lap longer than his brother.[1] That extra lap on low fuel saw the the #1 Ferrari demolish Ralf's small advantage, and hence emerge from the pitlane a fraction of a second ahead of the #4 Williams.[1]

Alonso, meanwhile, would slip behind Montoya, while Räikkönen took advantage of his one-stop strategy to climb into the points, fighting with Barrichello and David Coulthard for fifth.[1] Indeed, the Finn's emergence as a title contender was being solidified as he passed the #2 Ferrari, only for a tyre failure on lap 35 to end his hopes of a solid point finish.[1]

With that the race was over, with the second round of stops doing little more than increasing Michael Schumacher's advantage.[1] Indeed, the German ace would have enough pace in hand that he could ease up in the closing stages, meaning the two Williams', as well as Alonso, would move within a couple of seconds of the #1 Ferrari.[1]

Yet, they would never get the chance to strike, with Schumacher flashing across the line to claim a ominous victory ahead of brother Ralf and Montoya.[1] Alonso himself was satisfied with fourth ahead of Barrichello, Räikkönen bounced back to sixth ahead of Webber, while Olivier Panis survived a mid-race wave of retirements to claim the final point for Toyota.[1]

Background[]

Kimi Räikkönen managed to extend his tight Championship lead as a result of his second place finish in Monaco, leaving the Principality on 48 points. Michael Schumacher was still a major threat in second, however, and was sat just four points behind as the halfway point in the season rapidly approached. Behind, Fernando Alonso had moved back ahead of Rubens Barrichello, while race winner Juan Pablo Montoya completed the top five at the head of a trio of drivers on 25 points.

In the Constructors Championship McLaren-Mercedes had once again gained the high-ground, although they had only re-established a two point lead. Ferrari hence remained in serious contention to retain their crown, while Williams-BMW had gained on both after Montoya's triumph. They were still 21 points behind, however, and had Renault in close attendance.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2003-GA Ferrari 052 3.0 V10 B
2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2003-GA Ferrari 052 3.0 V10 B
3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom BMW Williams F1 Team Williams FW25 BMW P83 3.0 V10 M
4 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom BMW Williams F1 Team Williams FW25 BMW P83 3.0 V10 M
5 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-17D Mercedes FO 110P 3.0 V10 M
6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-17D Mercedes FO 110P 3.0 V10 M
7 Italy Jarno Trulli France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R23 Renault RS23 3.0 V10 M
8 Spain Fernando Alonso France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R23 Renault RS23 3.0 V10 M
9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber Petronas Sauber C22 Petronas 03A 3.0 V10 B
10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber Petronas Sauber C22 Petronas 03A 3.0 V10 B
11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan Ford Jordan EJ13 Ford Cosworth RS1 3.0 V10 B
12 Ireland Ralph Firman Ireland Jordan Ford Jordan EJ13 Ford Cosworth RS1 3.0 V10 B
14 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Jaguar Racing Jaguar R4 Ford Cosworth CR-5 3.0 V10 M
15 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia United Kingdom Jaguar Racing Jaguar R4 Ford Cosworth CR-5 3.0 V10 M
16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR 005 Honda RA003E 3.0 V10 B
17 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR 005 Honda RA003E 3.0 V10 B
18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Italy Trust Minardi F1 Team Minardi PS03 Ford Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10 B
19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Italy Trust Minardi F1 Team Minardi PS03 Ford Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10 B
20 France Olivier Panis Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF103 Toyota RVX-03 3.0 V10 M
21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF103 Toyota RVX-03 3.0 V10 M
Test Drivers for Free Practice Sessions
34 United Kingdom Allan McNish France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R23 Renault RS23 3.0 V10 M
Source:[2]

Pre-Race Testing[]

Pos. No. Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 8 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 1:15.483 52
2 15 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:16.253 +0.770 48
3 14 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:16.469 +0.986 42
4 7 Italy Jarno Trulli France Renault 1:16.629 +1.146 49
5 34 United Kingdom Allan McNish France Renault 1:16.726 +1.243 46
6 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Ford Cosworth 1:17.156 +1.673 38
7 12 Ireland Ralph Firman Ireland Jordan-Ford Cosworth 1:17.426 +1.943 41
8 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:17.852 +2.369 28
9 18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:18.495 +3.012 31
Source:[3]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Q1 Report[]

Q2 Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap
Q1 Q2
1 4 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:38.210 1:15.529
2 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:37.479 1:15.923 +0.394s
3 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:31.969 1:16.047 +0.518s
4 8 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 1:35.173 1:16.048 +0.519s
5 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari 1:30.925 1:16.143 +0.614s
6 14 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:36.699 1:16.182 +0.653s
7 20 France Olivier Panis Japan Toyota 1:37.313 1:16.598 +1.069s
8 7 Italy Jarno Trulli France Renault 1:41.413 1:16.718 +1.189s
9 21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Japan Toyota 1:38.244 1:16.826 +1.297s
10 10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:35.776 1:16.939 +1.410s
11 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:36.463 1:17.024 +1.495s
12 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:32.778 1:17.086 +1.557s
13 15 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:38.255 1:17.337 +1.808s
14 16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:44.702 1:17.347 +1.818s
15 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:37.426 1:18.014 +2.485s
16 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Ford Cosworth 1:38.617 1:18.036 +2.507s
17 17 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:38.109 1:18.205 +2.676s
18 18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 1:38.088 1:18.560 +3.031s
19 12 Ireland Ralph Firman Ireland Jordan-Ford Cosworth 1:34.759 1:18.692 +3.163s
NC 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:35.373
Source:[4][5][6]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 1 ______________
Ralf Schumacher 2
______________ Juan Pablo Montoya
Row 2 3 ______________
Michael Schumacher 4
______________ Fernando Alonso
Row 3 5 ______________
Rubens Barrichello 6
______________ Mark Webber
Row 4 7 ______________
Olivier Panis 8
______________ Jarno Trulli
Row 5 9 ______________
Cristiano da Matta 10
______________ Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Row 6 11 ______________
David Coulthard 12
______________ Nick Heidfeld
Row 7 13 ______________
Antônio Pizzonia 14
______________ Jacques Villeneuve
Row 8 15 ______________
Jos Verstappen 16
______________ Giancarlo Fisichella
Row 9 17 ______________
Jenson Button 18
______________ Justin Wilson
Row 10 19 ______________
Ralph Firman* 20
______________ Kimi Räikkönen*
  • * Firman and Räikkönen would start the race from the pitlane.[6]

Race[]

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 2003 Canadian Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 70 1:31:13.591 3 10
2 4 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-BMW 70 +0.784s 1 8
3 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Williams-BMW 70 +1.355s 2 6
4 8 Spain Fernando Alonso France Renault 70 +4.481s 4 5
5 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari 70 +1:04.261 5 4
6 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Italy Ferrari 70 +1:10.502 20 3
7 14 Australia Mark Webber United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 69 +1 Lap 6 2
8 20 France Olivier Panis Japan Toyota 69 +1 Lap 7 1
9 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 68 +2 Laps 15
10* 15 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 66 Brakes 13
11* 21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Japan Toyota 64 Suspension 9
Ret 18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 60 Gearbox 18
Ret 17 United Kingdom Jenson Button United Kingdom BAR-Honda 51 Gearbox 17
Ret 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 47 Gearbox 11
Ret 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 47 Engine 12
Ret 7 Italy Jarno Trulli France Renault 22 Damage 8
Ret 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Ford Cosworth 20 Gearbox 16
Ret 12 Ireland Ralph Firman Ireland Jordan-Ford Cosworth 20 Engine 19
Ret 16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Honda 14 Brakes 14
Ret 10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 6 Electronics 10
Source:[7]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Victory propelled Michael Schumacher into the lead of the Championship for the first time in 2003, overhauling Kimi Räikkönen to establish a three point advantage. Indeed, the damage to the Finn's title ambitions could have been a lot worse, with the pair set to be the main title pretenders heading into the second half of the season. Behind, Fernando Alonso was twenty off the lead in third ahead of Ralf Schumacher, with Rubens Barrichello in fifth.

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari moved back ahead of McLaren-Mercedes, and had established a nine point lead. The Scuderia hence started the second half of the campaign as the favourites, although both Ferrari and McLaren had been drawn in by Williams-BMW. Indeed, the second of the Anglo-German alliances was now just twelve off of McLaren after their double podium, setting up a potential three-way fight for the crown.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Germany Michael Schumacher 54 ▲1
2 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 51 ▼1
3 Spain Fernando Alonso 34
4 Germany Ralf Schumacher 33 ▲3
5 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 31
6 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 31 ▼1
7 United Kingdom David Coulthard 25 ▼1
8 Italy Jarno Trulli 13
9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 10
10 United Kingdom Jenson Button 8
11 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 7
12 Australia Mark Webber 6
13 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 3
14 Brazil Cristiano da Matta 3
15 France Olivier Panis 1 ▲2
16 Germany Nick Heidfeld 1 ▼1
17 Ireland Ralph Firman 1 ▼1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 85 ▲1
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 76 ▼1
3 United Kingdom Williams-BMW 64
4 France Renault 47
5 Ireland Jordan-Ford Cosworth 11
6 United Kingdom BAR-Honda 11
7 Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 8
8 United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 6
9 Japan Toyota 4
10 Italy Minardi-Ford Cosworth 0

Only point scoring drivers are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 'Canadian GP, 2003', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr705.html, (Accessed 11/12/2019)
  2. 'Monaco 2003: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2003/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 10/12/2019)
  3. 'Canada 2003: Friday Testing', pitpass.com, (Pitpass, 2003), https://web.archive.org/web/20100213081622/http://pitpass.com/src/seasons/2003/gp/canada/times/fri_test.html, (Accessed 04/11/2021)
  4. 'Grand Prix Air Canada 2003 - QUALIFYING 1', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2003/races/744/canada/qualifying-1.html, (Accessed 11/12/2019)
  5. 'Grand Prix Air Canada 2003 - QUALIFYING 2', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2003/races/744/canada/qualifying-2.html, (Accessed 11/12/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 'Canada 2003: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2003/canada/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 11/12/2019)
  7. 'Canada 2003: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2003/canada/classement.aspx, (Accessed 11/12/2019)
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 '2003 Canadian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2003&gp=Canadian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 11/12/2019)
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 '8. Canada 2003', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2003/canada.aspx, (Accessed 11/12/2019)
V T E 2003 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • Williams • McLaren • Renault • Sauber • Jordan • Jaguar • BAR • Minardi • Toyota
Engines BMW • Cosworth • Ferrari • Ford • Honda • Mercedes • Petronas • Renault • Toyota
Drivers M. Schumacher • 2 Barrichello • 3 Montoya • 4 R. Schumacher • 4 Gené • 5 Coulthard • 6 Räikkönen • 7 Trulli • 8 Alonso • 9 Heidfeld • 10 Frentzen • 11 Fisichella • 12 Firman • 12 Baumgartner • 14 Webber • 15 Pizzonia • 15 Wilson • 16 Villeneuve • 16 Sato • 17 Button • 18 Wilson • 18 Kiesa • 19 Verstappen • 20 Panis • 21 Da Matta
Other Drivers Badoer • Beretta • Bruni • Davidson • De la Rosa • Lotterer • Massa • McNish • Montagny • Paffett • Wurz • Zonta
Cars Ferrari F2002B • Ferrari F2003-GA • Williams FW25 • McLaren MP4-17D • Renault R23 • Renault R23B • Sauber C22 • Jordan EJ13 • Jaguar R4 • BAR 005 • Minardi PS03 • Toyota TF103
Tyres Bridgestone • Michelin
Races Australia • Malaysia • Brazil • San Marino • Spain • Austria • Monaco • Canada • Europe • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Italy • United States • Japan
See also 2002 Formula One Season • 2004 Formula One Season • Category
V T E Canada Canadian Grand Prix
Circuits Mosport Park (1967, 1969, 1971–1974, 1976–1977), Mont-Tremblant (1968, 1970), Montreal (1978–1986, 1988–2008, 2010–present)
CircuitGillesVilleneuve
Races 196719681969197019711972197319741976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023
v·d·e Nominate this page for Featured Article
Advertisement