2003 Austrian F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Austrian Grand Prix
Track: Red Bull Ring

Weather: dry, hot, sunny

Michael SCHUMACHER won his 67th F1 World Championship race at the 2003 Austrian F1 GP, dramatically extinguishing a Ferrari pit-lane fire mid-race. The Ferrari driver started from pole and won at the A1-Ring by 3.362 seconds from Kimi Raikkonen. It was the 165th win for the Ferrari F1 team and Schumachers 3rd win of the season, delivered despite the near-catastrophic pit-stop drama.

Schumacher pole, Raikkonen alongside

The A1-Ring on 18 May 2003 hosted what was, at the time, its last F1 race for over a decade. Michael Schumacher took pole with a 1:09.150 lap, Raikkonen 0.039 seconds back. Montoya was third, Heidfeld a splendid fourth for Sauber, Barrichello fifth. The pole margin was tiny, but the Ferrari race-pace advantage on Sunday would be substantial.

Pit-lane fire drama, Schumacher stays composed

During Michael Schumachers second pit stop at the A1-Ring, fuel spilled from the rig and ignited around the rear of the Ferrari, sending flames licking up the sidepod and into the pit box. The Ferrari mechanics reacted with astonishing calm: the fire was extinguished, the fuel hose was reconnected, and Michael was released back into the race. He rejoined third but soon back to second, and then chased down Raikkonen for the lead over the final 20 laps. He won by 3.362 seconds. It was one of the great composed drives of his career, and the pit crews response was later cited as textbook.

Ferrari 1-3, Button strong for BAR

Raikkonen took second for McLaren, Barrichello third for Ferrari, Jenson Button a superb fourth for BAR-Honda after a strong strategic race. David Coulthard fifth, Ralf Schumacher sixth. Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap on lap 41 with a 1:08.337.

Championship: Schumacher hits the front

After six races Schumacher led the drivers championship for the first time in 2003, on 45 points, Raikkonen second on 40, Alonso third on 25, Coulthard 25. The Ferrari F2003-GA was now consistently the fastest package and Michael Schumacher was on the front. But McLaren-Renault-Williams were within striking distance, and the balance would swing back and forth for eleven more rounds.

Classification 2003 Austrian F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	1	MichaelSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari F2003-GAFerrari 052	1	69	53	1:24:04.888	10
2	6	KimiRäikkönen	McLaren	McLaren MP4/17DMercedes FO 110	2	69	7	1:24:08.250+3.362s	8
3	2	RubensBarrichello	Ferrari	Ferrari F2003-GAFerrari 052	5	69	1	1:24:08.839+3.951s	6
4	17	JensonButton	BAR	BAR 005Honda RA003E	7	69		1:24:47.131+42.243s	5
5	5	DavidCoulthard	McLaren	McLaren MP4/17DMercedes FO 110	14	69		1:25:04.628+59.740s	4
6	4	RalfSchumacher	Williams	Williams FW25BMW P83	10	68		+1 lap	3
7	14	MarkWebber	Jaguar	Jaguar R4Cosworth CR-5	17	68		+1 lap	2
8	7	JarnoTrulli	Renault	Renault R23Renault RS23	6	68		+1 lap	1
9	15	AntônioPizzonia	Jaguar	Jaguar R4Cosworth CR-5	8	68		+1 lap
10	21	Cristianoda Matta	Toyota	Toyota TF103Toyota RVX-03	13	68		+1 lap
11	12	RalphFirman	Jordan	Jordan EJ13Ford RS1	16	68		+1 lap
12	16	JacquesVilleneuve	BAR	BAR 005Honda RA003E	12	68		+1 lap
13	18	JustinWilson	Minardi	Minardi PS03Cosworth CR-3	18	67		+2 laps
DNF	11	GiancarloFisichella	Jordan	Jordan EJ13Ford RS1	9	60		Fuel system
DNF	9	NickHeidfeld	Sauber	Sauber C22Petronas 03A	4	46		Engine
DNF	8	FernandoAlonso	Renault	Renault R23Renault RS23	19	44		Engine
DNF	3	Juan-PabloMontoya	Williams	Williams FW25BMW P83	3	32	8	Engine
DNF	20	OlivierPanis	Toyota	Toyota TF103Toyota RVX-03	11	6		Suspension
DNF	19	JosVerstappen	Minardi	Minardi PS03Cosworth CR-3	20	0		Clutch
DNS	10	Heinz-HaraldFrentzen	Sauber	Sauber C22Petronas 03A	15	0		Clutch

Fastest lap: 1:08.337 min. by Michael Schumacher

About the author

Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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