2003 Monaco F1 Grand Prix Race Report & Results

Event: Monaco Grand Prix
Track: Monaco Circuit

Weather: dry, warm, sunny

Juan-Pablo MONTOYA won his 2nd F1 World Championship race at the 2003 Monaco F1 GP. The Williams-BMW driver started from 3rd on the grid and won the streets of Monte Carlo by 0.602 seconds from Kimi Raikkonen. It was the 113th win for the Williams F1 team and Montoyas 1st win of the season, his maiden Monaco victory.

Ralf pole, Williams lock the front row

Monaco on 1 June 2003 opened with Ralf Schumacher taking pole with a 1:15.259 lap, Raikkonen 0.036 seconds back and Montoya third. Trulli was fourth, Michael Schumacher fifth. The tight, twisty streets of Monte Carlo had always been kind to the perfectly-set-up qualifying car, and Williams-BMW were on it that Saturday.

Race day: Montoya masters the stops

Ralf Schumacher led the opening 20 laps but a slow pit stop cost him crucial positions on lap 20. Montoya took the lead from lap 21, was briefly headed by Raikkonen and Trulli during the middle stints, and returned to the front from lap 59 to the flag. His winning margin over Raikkonen was 0.602 seconds, one of the closest Monaco finishes of the modern era. Michael Schumacher took a well-fought third from fifth on the grid, one of his best drives of the season on a circuit where overtaking is almost impossible. Raikkonen set the fastest lap of the race on lap 49 with a 1:14.545.

Ralf fourth, Alonso fifth for Renault

Ralf Schumacher had to settle for fourth for Williams-BMW, Alonso fifth for Renault, Trulli sixth. David Coulthard could only manage seventh and Barrichello a disappointing eighth for the second Ferrari. It was a rare non-podium weekend for Ferrari, and a first Monaco win for Colombian F1.

Championship: Raikkonen back on top

Raikkonens 8 points put him back at the top of the drivers standings with 48 points, Schumacher 46, Alonso 29, Coulthard 27. Ralf Schumacher and Montoya were rising into the fight. Half the season remained, and the championship was as close as any in recent memory.

Classification 2003 Monaco F1 GP

Pos	#	Driver	Constructor	Car & Engine	Grid	Laps	Led	Time	Pts
1	3	Juan-PabloMontoya	Williams	Williams FW25BMW P83	3	78	40	1:42:19.010	10
2	6	KimiRäikkönen	McLaren	McLaren MP4/17DMercedes FO 110	2	78	6	1:42:19.612+0.602s	8
3	1	MichaelSchumacher	Ferrari	Ferrari F2003-GAFerrari 052	5	78	10	1:42:20.730+1.720s	6
4	4	RalfSchumacher	Williams	Williams FW25BMW P83	1	78	20	1:42:47.528+28.518s	5
5	8	FernandoAlonso	Renault	Renault R23Renault RS23	8	78		1:42:55.261+36.251s	4
6	7	JarnoTrulli	Renault	Renault R23Renault RS23	4	78	2	1:42:59.982+40.972s	3
7	5	DavidCoulthard	McLaren	McLaren MP4/17DMercedes FO 110	6	78		1:43:00.237+41.227s	2
8	2	RubensBarrichello	Ferrari	Ferrari F2003-GAFerrari 052	7	78		1:43:12.276+53.266s	1
9	21	Cristianoda Matta	Toyota	Toyota TF103Toyota RVX-03	10	77		+1 lap
10	11	GiancarloFisichella	Jordan	Jordan EJ13Ford RS1	12	77		+1 lap
11	9	NickHeidfeld	Sauber	Sauber C22Petronas 03A	14	76		+2 laps
12	12	RalphFirman	Jordan	Jordan EJ13Ford RS1	16	76		+2 laps
13	20	OlivierPanis	Toyota	Toyota TF103Toyota RVX-03	17	74		+4 laps
DNF	16	JacquesVilleneuve	BAR	BAR 005Honda RA003E	11	63		Engine
DNF	18	JustinWilson	Minardi	Minardi PS03Cosworth CR-3	19	29		Fuel system
DNF	19	JosVerstappen	Minardi	Minardi PS03Cosworth CR-3	18	28		Fuel system
DNF	14	MarkWebber	Jaguar	Jaguar R4Cosworth CR-5	9	16		Hydraulics
DNF	15	AntônioPizzonia	Jaguar	Jaguar R4Cosworth CR-5	13	10		Electrical
DNF	10	Heinz-HaraldFrentzen	Sauber	Sauber C22Petronas 03A	15	0		Accident
DNS	17	JensonButton	BAR	BAR 005Honda RA003E	20	0		Injured

Fastest lap: 1:14.545 min. by Kimi Raikkonen

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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