2002 Spanish Grand Prix
The 2002 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 April 2002 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain. It was the fifth round of the 2002 Formula One World Championship and was held before 100,000 spectators. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher won the 65-lap race from pole position. Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya finished in second and McLaren's David Coulthard was third.
Heading into the race, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship and his team Ferrari led the World Constructors Championship. He started on pole position after setting the quickest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session, and he led every lap of the race to win his fourth race of the season and 57th of his career. Montoya finished second 35.630 seconds behind, despite a botched second scheduled pit stop, and Coulthard finished third, another 6.993 seconds back, his second podium of the season.
Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship increased to 21 championship points following the race. Montoya's second-place finish moved him past his teammate Ralf Schumacher, who retired from the Grand Prix. Ferrari extended their World Constructors' Championship lead over Williams to seven championship points with twelve races remaining in the season.
Background
The 2002 Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth round of seventeen in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and took place on 28 April 2002 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain, close to Barcelona. Heading into the race, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 34 championship points, followed by the Williams pair of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya. Renault's Jenson Button was fourth with 8 championship points and Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was fifth on 6. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 40 championship points, three ahead of Williams in second. McLaren were third with nine championship points, followed by Renault on nine and Jaguar with three.Following the on 14 April, the teams tested their racing setups, aerodynamics, car components, tyres and electronics at European circuits in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix. The Arrows, British American Racing, Jaguar, Jordan, Minardi, Renault, Sauber and Williams teams spent three days testing at Northamptonshire's Silverstone Circuit. McLaren and Toyota spent three days at Italy's Mugello Circuit, while Ferrari spent four days at the same track. Ferrari also tested for three days at Italy's Monza Circuit, and also spent a day at their private test facility, the Fiorano Circuit.
Michael Schumacher, the pre-race favourite, had won three of the past four races in the 2002 season and had won the Spanish Grand Prix three times in 10 entries. He stated that Ferrari would be focused on the race in Spain and would take a race-by-race approach, despite him scoring eight more championship points than at this point last season. Michael Schumacher added Ferrari were confident the potential of the F2002 would be demonstrated more in Spain. Despite being 17 championship points behind Michael Schumacher, Montoya maintained a positive attitude, "We still have a chance at fighting back. It is a matter of who can evolve the car quicker. I don't know if I can beat Michael here but you never know." Coulthard finished sixth in the San Marino Grand Prix, but he was looking forward to racing in Spain after three days of testing at Mugello.
There were eleven teams with two drivers each for the Grand Prix, with no changes from the season entry list. Ferrari updated their F2002 cars with new torsion bars, modified the screens behind the front wheels, and introduced new front and rear wings. McLaren improved the MP4-17's rear suspension layout while Williams received a more powerful BMW engine and a new rear wing. Cosworth and Honda both introduced new improved versions of their engines; Jaguar used the more powerful Cosworth engine in the race, while Arrows used the old engine specification. Mercedes introduced a new, more reliable engine specification for the McLarens, increasing power and driveability.
Practice
Two one-hour practice sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday preceded the race. The first practice session on Friday morning was held in sunny and humid weather. The Ferraris led practice due to the track's fast, long bends, while McLaren and Williams were behind due to car balance concerns. Michael Schumacher was fastest with a lap time of 1:20.681, 0.061 seconds faster than teammate Barrichello. Sauber's Felipe Massa, McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen, Renault's Jarno Trulli, Arrows's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Coulthard, Massa's teammate Nick Heidfeld, Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella and Arrows's Enrique Bernoldi completed the top ten. Some drivers lost control of their cars and went off the circuit during the session. Jordan's Takuma Sato was the only driver who did not set a lap because he stopped his car after the pit lane exit shortly after the session began due to an electrical connection failure to an engine sensor. He was not allowed to continue with the session since the usage of spare cars was prohibited before qualifying.In the second practice session, which took place later in the afternoon and sunny conditions, Michael Schumacher set the day's fastest lap time of 1:20.380. Frentzen was second-fastest, 0.070 seconds slower. Button, Barrichello, BAR's Olivier Panis, Bernoldi, Räikkönen, Fisichella, Massa and Trulli rounded out the top ten. At the first chicane, Michael Schumacher raced wide towards the gravel trap's edge, but he returned to the race circuit and continued. Trulli lost control of his Renault, forcing him to apply opposite lock in the track's second sector. He ran into the gravel trap, but avoided colliding with the barrier and returned to the circuit to continue.
Conditions were cool and overcast for the third practice session on Saturday morning. Two-thirds through practice, Barrichello set the quickest lap of 1:18.048. His teammate Michael Schumacher was 0.386 seconds behind in second. Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, the Sauber pair of Heidfeld and Massa, Räikkönen, Button, Montoya and Montoya were in positions three through ten. 17 minutes in, Minardi's Mark Webber struck a small bump on the start/finish straight, and as the PS02 car rose into the air, the front wing from the drop plates mounting the rear wing to the nose cone detached at the upper ends. The wing folded under Webber's car and shattered, leaving carbon fibre debris on the start/finish straight. Webber maintained control of his car and returned to the pit lane. The session was immediately halted for eight minutes to allow marshals to clear the track of debris from Webber's car. Minardi used a different front wing design for the final practice session later in the morning.
It became slightly warmer for the final session. Although no other driver better Barrichello's third session effort, he led despite not lapping faster. Heidfeld went second-quickest with 15 minutes remaining. In positions three to ten were Michael Schumacher, Coulthard, Button, Frentzen, Räikkönen, Massa, Panis and Bernoldi. Sato lost control of his car's rear midway through Renault corner, spinning 360 degrees through the gravel trap. He crashed lightly head-on into the tyre barrier, dislodging the nose cone. Montoya lost control of his car under braking for La Caixa corner but continued.
Qualifying
Each driver was allowed twelve laps during Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, with starting positions determined by the drivers' quickest laps. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107% of the quickest lap time in order to qualify for the race. Qualifying took place in dry and cloudy conditions with low humidity. After modifying his Ferrari in the garage after his opening two runs, Michael Schumacher took his third pole position of five races in the season and 46th of his career, setting a new track lap record of 1:16.364 shortly before qualifying ended, lapping almost two seconds faster than his pole lap from 2001. Barrichello led after his first two runs, holding pole until his teammate's final lap, starting second. He made an error at turn 13 on his first two runs and may have run wide at turn 12 on his fastest lap, despite improved wind conditions. Williams took the second row following overnight work and testing of changes in the morning free practice sessions. Ralf Schumacher led early on before falling to third after Williams modified his car. Montoya noticed an engine ignition misfire in his race car after leaving the garage, so Williams decided to switch him to the spare car. His fastest time on his last run in the final minute placed him fourth. Montoya's lap demoted Räikkönen to fifth, who qualified ahead of his teammate Coulthard for the second consecutive Grand Prix. Räikkönen ran sideways after hitting the inside kerbing at Campsa corner, but he regained control of his McLaren on the grass and resumed driving. Button had a minor oversteer in the high-speed turns and secured sixth in the final minute. Coulthard, seventh, aborted his third run owing to excess understeer in turn three and was set for a top-six finish until the last minute. Heidfeld's Ferrari qualifying engine and a setup change to boost his car's performance in high-speed turns were enough for eighth.Trulli was only ahead of the Minardi cars for most of qualifying, driving the spare Renault to ninth. He made a mistake on his second run and returned to the pit lane before abandoning his next run due to a stoppage. Frentzen put his faster Arrows car into tenth. Despite being in the top ten for most of qualifying, Massa was 11th due to late improvements by other drivers. He made an error at turn four on his third run and again on his final run. Fisichella was the fastest Honda-powered driver in 12th. Panis, 13th, lost two of his four runs due to on-track issues, and the halt and loss of track time prevented him from identifying a more suitable setup. Bernoldi had some understeer but secured 14th, his best qualifying effort to date. Jaguar's Eddie Irvine overcame his car's major aerodynamic deficiencies and provisionally qualified 15th. BAR's Jacques Villeneuve, 16th, lacked grip. Pedro de la Rosa, Irvine's teammate, finished 17th thanks to a better racing setup, more grip in the tyres, and warmer asphalt temperatures. Toyota's Mika Salo and Allan McNish qualified 18th and 20th. McNish lost control of his Toyota's rear exiting the final corner after hititng a bump; he avoided hitting the inside concrete barrier at the pit lane entry and continued. Sato in 19th failed to match his teammate's pace because he drove a nervous car and had traffic on his second run in the second sector. The Minardi pair of Webber and Alex Yoong qualified 21st and 22nd. Yoong ran wide through the final corner and his front wing detached from the car on the kerbs, lifting the car into the air. The wing was on the racing line, so qualifying was stopped for four minutes to clear debris from Yoong's car, which returned to the pit lane.