Jump to content

2002 Canadian Grand Prix

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
2002 Canadian Grand Prix
Race 8 of 17 in the 2002 Formula One World Championship
← Previous raceNext race →
Race details
Date 9 June 2002
Official name XL Grand Prix Air Canada
Location Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Course Street circuit
Course length 4.361 km (2.710 miles)
Distance 70 laps, 305.270 km (189.686 miles)
Weather Mostly fine and humid with temperatures reaching a maximum of 24.1 °C (75.4 °F)
Wind speeds up to 8 km/h (5.0 mph)[1]
Attendance 117,000[2]
Pole position
Driver Williams-BMW
Time 1:12.836
Fastest lap
Driver Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW
Time 1:15.960 on lap 50
Podium
First Ferrari
Second McLaren-Mercedes
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 2002 Canadian Grand Prix was the eighth round of the 2002 Formula One season and was held on 9 June 2002 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Michael Schumacher won his sixth Grand Prix of the season and his fifth Canadian Grand Prix win. Schumacher fended off the challenges of Juan Pablo Montoya, who later retired, and his teammate Rubens Barrichello, whose race strategy cost him a chance of victory and demoting him to third. Fresh off his victory at Monaco, David Coulthard finished second in the race and earned his fourth podium finish of the season.

Background

[edit]

The Canadian Grand Prix is the first race of the season were the cars run in a low downforce configuration. The previous Canadian Grand Prix, Ralf Schumacher in the Williams won comfortably from Michael Schumacher thanks to the power of the BMW engine. However this time, it is believed that Ferrari have closed the gap considerably in terms of engine power and therefore expect a showdown between the 2 teams with tyres playing a major role in the outcome of the race. Behind those two teams, no one will come close but expect a fight between Sauber, Renault, McLaren and possibly the Honda runners.

The previous week before the race, all the Formula 1 teams were testing. With the exception of Minardi, all the teams were testing at Silverstone but due to changing weather conditions, it was hard to read anything into the times. Ferrari were also testing at Monza while BAR had a private session at Circuit Paul Ricard to test the new components to be used here and that includes a new engine, gearbox and aero package. Minardi also conducted a 2-day test at Vairano.

Qualifying

[edit]

Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams secured his third pole position of the season and the sixth of his career after seeing off a close challenge from world championship leader, Michael Schumacher. Montoya posted a 1m 12.836s to beat his arch-rival Schumacher by just 0.182s.

Montoya was the only driver to break the 1m 13s barrier and he did it twice. Schumacher`s chances of retaliating at the end of the session were spoiled by a few spots of rain that affected one or two parts of the track. Montoya quoted, "The car has been very competitive so far, and the tyres play a very important role. It is going to be an interesting race tomorrow where strategy and tyres will be important factors."

Michael Schumacher`s teammate Rubens Barrichello lined up third, despite an accident during Saturday morning final free practice session and a spin towards the end of qualifying. He starts just ahead of Michelin drivers Ralf Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen. Ralf Schumacher, the winner of the previous Canadian Grand Prix had a technical problem, meant that he had to switch to the T-car which was set for Montoya. Ralf quoted, "The T-car was set up for Juan but I have managed to take the best out of it anyway. I am confident for the race, also because I am sure that Michelin are competitive here."

David Coulthard in the McLaren and Jarno Trulli in the Renault were the other Michelin drivers to crack the top 10. It was a dramatic session for Trulli, who was hindered when he smashed his race chassis into one of the circuit`s concrete retaining walls and had to return the crippled car to the pit lane before switching to his team`s spare chassis for his final run.

Jenson Button in the Renault led the remaining Michelin runners, ahead of Eddie Irvine, Pedro de la Rosa, Mika Salo, Allan McNish, Mark Webber and Alex Yoong. De la Rosa had to abort one run because of a spin. Yoong failed to complete the last of four qualifying laps because a technical problem forced him to pull off the track.

Local favourite Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR started ninth, his best grid position of the season. Italian Giancarlo Fisichella gave the Jordan team heart by posting his first top-six qualifying performance of the season, but his teammate Takuma Sato's session was ruined by a spectacular engine failure.

Qualifying classification

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Lap Gap
1 6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1:12.836
2 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:13.018 +0.182
3 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:13.280 +0.444
4 5 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1:13.301 +0.465
5 4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.898 +1.062
6 9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Honda 1:14.132 +1.296
7 7 Germany Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1:14.139 +1.303
8 3 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:14.385 +1.549
9 11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 1:14.564 +1.728
10 14 Italy Jarno Trulli Renault 1:14.688 +1.852
11 12 France Olivier Panis BAR-Honda 1:14.713 +1.877
12 8 Brazil Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 1:14.823 +1.987
13 15 United Kingdom Jenson Button Renault 1:14.854 +2.018
14 16 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth 1:14.882 +2.046
15 10 Japan Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda 1:14.940 +2.104
16 17 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth 1:15.089 +2.253
17 21 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi Arrows-Cosworth 1:15.102 +2.266
18 24 Finland Mika Salo Toyota 1:15.111 +2.275
19 20 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth 1:15.115 +2.279
20 25 United Kingdom Allan McNish Toyota 1:15.321 +2.485
21 23 Australia Mark Webber Minardi-Asiatech 1:15.508 +2.672
22 22 Malaysia Alex Yoong Minardi-Asiatech 1:17.347 +4.511
107% time: 1:17.935
Sources:[3][4]

Race

[edit]

Montoya got the jump at the start, to lead into the first hairpin, with Barrichello slotting in ahead of Michael Schumacher for second. Räikkönen moved up to fourth ahead of Ralf Schumacher, while a good start elevated Coulthard ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Giancarlo Fisichella. Montoya's lead only lasted for the opening lap, however, as the Colombian ran wide at the final chicane, allowing Barrichello the run into the first corner, and the race lead. The Ferrari driver began to gradually extend his lead, but with the Brazilian on a two-stop strategy, he would need to make up a comfortable margin to be able to retain it after the stops. However, his strategy went up in smoke on lap fifteen, when the Safety Car was deployed for Villeneuve's stranded BAR, whose engine had failed.

Montoya used this break to make his first stop, emerging in fifth place, while Barrichello stayed out in the lead. However, fate seemed to be smiling on the Colombian, as he quickly passed Räikkönen and Ralf Schumacher after the two delayed each other at the final chicane. Barrichello made his first stop on lap 26 dropping down the field as Michael Schumacher inherited the lead until his stop 12 laps later. This allowed Montoya back into the lead for a second time, but Schumacher resumed just 3.6 seconds behind, with the Williams driver still needing to make another stop. That he did fourteen laps later, but he had been unable to exploit his lighter car and rejoined nearly nine seconds behind the championship leader. However, Montoya had no chance of a straight race with the German, as the problematic BMW powerplant forced the Williams driver to make an early exit. Both Saubers and Toyota's Mika Salo received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane while Minardi's Alex Yoong received a 10-second stop-go penalty for the same reason.[5]

With Montoya out, Schumacher was able to take it easy, while his teammate set about Coulthard for second position, after the Scot had passed both Barrichello and Räikkönen during the pit stops. However, the Brazilian was unable to find a way past, and had to settle for the third spot on the podium, with Räikkönen taking fourth position 30 seconds behind. Fisichella took his third consecutive fifth-place finish, with Trulli claiming the final point. Williams' miserable day was completed when Ralf Schumacher's fuel hose failed during his pit stop, necessitating another a visit to the pits, which would drop him to seventh. Having failed to finish any of the previous eight Grand Prix, Olivier Panis took a morale boosting eighth position, ahead of Felipe Massa's Sauber. Takuma Sato made up for his Monaco crash with a conservative tenth-place finish, ahead of Mark Webber and Nick Heidfeld, who was forced to take two drive-through penalties after his speed-limiter failed. Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Alex Yoong completed the finishers.

Frentzen's teammate Enrique Bernoldi was an early casualty after a persistent vibration, while Pedro De La Rosa's Jaguar survived an early skirmish with McNish, but later retired as a result of gearbox dramas. The second Jaguar of Irvine only lasted twelve laps longer before its engine blew, while neither Toyota made the finish either; Mika Salo succumbed to brake problems, while McNish spun off. Britain's Jenson Button was the final retirement of the race with an engine failure five laps from the end.

Canada had been seen as one of Williams' best chances to close on Ferrari, but as the Italian team took fourteen points, they left empty-handed. This was Ferrari's 150th Formula 1 victory.[6][7][8]

Race classification

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 70 1:33:36.111 2 10
2 3 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 70 +1.132 8 6
3 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 70 +7.082 3 4
4 4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 70 +37.563 5 3
5 9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Honda 70 +42.812 6 2
6 14 Italy Jarno Trulli Renault 70 +48.947 10 1
7 5 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 70 +51.518 4  
8 12 France Olivier Panis BAR-Honda 69 +1 Lap 11  
9 8 Brazil Felipe Massa Sauber-Petronas 69 +1 Lap 12  
10 10 Japan Takuma Sato Jordan-Honda 69 +1 Lap 15  
11 23 Australia Mark Webber Minardi-Asiatech 69 +1 Lap 21  
12 7 Germany Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 69 +1 Lap 7  
13 20 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Arrows-Cosworth 69 +1 Lap 19  
14 22 Malaysia Alex Yoong Minardi-Asiatech 68 +2 Laps 22  
15 15 United Kingdom Jenson Button Renault 65 Gearbox 13  
Ret 6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 56 Engine 1  
Ret 25 United Kingdom Allan McNish Toyota 45 Spin 20  
Ret 16 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth 41 Overheating 14  
Ret 24 Finland Mika Salo Toyota 41 Brakes 18  
Ret 17 Spain Pedro de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth 29 Gearbox 16  
Ret 21 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi Arrows-Cosworth 16 Suspension 17  
Ret 11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 8 Engine 9  
Sources:[4][9][10]

Championship standings after the race

[edit]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Weather information for the "2002 Canadian Grand Prix"". The Old Farmers' Almanac. Retrieved 2013-06-26.
  2. ^ F1 Racing. July 2002.
  3. ^ "2002 Canadian GP - Qualifying Results". NewsOnF1. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Grand Prix of Canada". FIA.com. Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  5. ^ "2002 Canadian GP - Penalties". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  6. ^ "F1 News - Schumacher racks up Ferrari's 150th win". crash.net. Crash Media Group Ltd. 10 June 2002. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  7. ^ "Schumacher scores Ferrari's 150th win in Canada". carmag.co.za. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22.
  8. ^ "Schumacher spearheads Ferrari's 150th win". dawn.com. 11 June 2002. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  9. ^ "2002 Canadian GP - Race Results". NewsOnF1. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  10. ^ "2002 Canadian Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 25 June 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  11. ^ a b "Canada 2002 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
[edit]


Previous race:
2002 Monaco Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
2002 season
Next race:
2002 European Grand Prix
Previous race:
2001 Canadian Grand Prix
Canadian Grand Prix Next race:
2003 Canadian Grand Prix