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By that time Michael Schumacher topped the timetable and after the track was given the green light again this proved to be the fastest time of the session. In an attempt to beat the Germans time, last race's polesitter Alonso had a big moment and also hit the tyre wall. Firman was the slowest timed driver, almost half a minute slower than Schumacher to indicate how terrible the conditions really were… On Friday afternoon it was almost dry but still many drivers had trouble keeping their cars on the track. Jenson Button had a big moment when his BAR spun and shattered the distance markers for turn 5. The Ferraris did reasonably well with Barrichello taking second spot and Schumacher in fifth. Sensation of the day was Mark Webber who managed to put his Jaguar on the provisional pole. Saturday proved that this was not accidental. Webber was the last one to start his flying lap and even at two thirds of the way he was looking good to score his first pole position. But in the last section he lost time that ultimately resulted in a third place only 0.044 sec behind Barrichello's pole position. Sunday's race was almost unique! It all began with a 15-minute delay before the start. The weather conditions were just too bad and standing water was everywhere. When the field finally moved from the grid, the safety car was in front of the pack. That lasted for seven laps and from then on cars started their race Polesitter Barrichello moved off the grid first but his lead lasted no longer than the first corner, when David Coulthard dived alongside the Ferrari. Barrichello clearly suffered from the mistake Bridgestone had made by bringing intermediates instead of rain tyres to Brazil. Within two laps Raikkonen and Montoya also passed the Brazilian. Ralf Schumacher had a little collision with Jarno Trulli, but both drivers were able to continue their race. This incident was the first of many to come. Firman crashed into the Toyota of Olivier Panis when his front suspension broke under braking for turn one. The safety car came on the track to enable the debris left there to be removed. Many drivers immediately took the opportunity to pit. After the safety car pulled off the track again Montoya was the first to spin in turn 3. The public that had a seat there got value for their money because the Williams was only the first car that would end its race at this corner. Montoya was still in his car when local hero Pizzonia also spun his Jaguar off in turn 3, hitting the barrier and Montoya's car lightly. The marshals had only time to remove the Williams before the next one came sliding off. This time it was Michael Schumacher who hit the barrier backwards missing the Jaguar and a tow truck by a few metres. Again the safety car went out for a short period. After that, turn 3 still saw drivers spinning off. Jos Verstappen and Jenson Button ended their race there and caused another safety car period. Mark Webber was lucky enough to be able to continue after a spectacular spin in the now infamous corner. In the 45th lap Rubens Barrichello made the best out of his charge by taking over the lead from Coulthard. The conditions clearly favoured the intermediate tyres at that moment. The Brazilian crowd again went crazy of course. Unfortunately it did not last for long. The Ferrari broke down in turn 5, leaving Barrichello with yet another DNF in Brazil. Coulthard took over the lead but when he pitted team-mate Raikkonen was the leader again. Surprisingly Giancarlo Fisichella followed close behind. By the end of lap 54 he took the lead after a little mistake from Raikkonen and was looking good to score the first win of his career. It was not to happen. A lap later, qualifying star Webber lost control in the last corner, crashing his Jaguar badly and leaving lots of debris on the track. Fisichella was able to avoid all the pieces of Webber's car, but Fernando Alonso was not so lucky. He hit a wheel of the Jaguar and lost control at high speed. His Renault crashed very heavily into the left barrier, crossed the track and hit the right barrier too. The race was immediately red flagged and Alonso was medically assisted on the spot. Since the race was already three quarters of the way it was decided that it was over. Fisichella was the race leader when the red flag was shown. He had driven in front for an entire lap and it looked like he was the winner of the race. After a few minutes of joy and confusion, the race order at the beginning of the previous lap was used as the final result. At that time Raikkonen was still leading the Jordan driver. The Finn thus won his second race in a row and increased his championship lead. Moral winner Fisichella was of course disappointed but was also happy with second place in the 200th Grand Prix of Jordan. For the first time in modern history, we only saw two drivers on the podium and at the press conference. Alonso was the driver who was supposed to be there, but he was taken to hospital after his big shunt. Let's hope he will be fit in time for the San Marino Grand Prix. [Postscript: The FIA announced on Wednesday that Giancarlo
Fisichella may have won the Grand Prix after all following a review of
the chaotic finish to the race. Kimi Raikkonen was declared the winner
as he was leading after the 53rd lap but the FIA said it appeared Fisichella
had already started an additional lap before the race was stopped.
Click here to return to the Ferrari Happenings page.
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The
2003 Brazilian weekend started in wet and atrocious conditions. Friday
morning saw some spectacular spins resulting in only sixteen drivers setting
a time. Both Malaysian Grand Prix winner Raikkonen and Sauber's Heinz
Harald Frentzen made several pirouettes but escaped without any damage.
Local driver Pizzonia was not that lucky and caused a red flag when he
crashed his Jaguar into the barrier.
