Following last year's fiasco, Michael Schumacher returned to Austria with a point to prove and nothing, not even fire, could stop him from securing his second consecutive victory at the A1-Ring. This time, however, the win was well deserved and last year's jeers became cheers. Atlas F1's Pablo Elizalde reviews the entire weekend's events and results from sixth round of the 2003 season

He may not yet be in the Drivers' World Championship lead, but his rivals must begin to wonder what it will take to stop Michael Schumacher from walking away with his sixth title this year. Water, oil, and even fire did not do the trick in Austria, and despite being two points behind in the standings after the first six races of the 2003 season, Schumacher's performance at the A1-Ring showed (again) that it will take a lot of right circumstances to avoid what seems unavoidable.

Schumacher looked like a man on a mission all weekend, hardly ever giving his rivals a chance to shine either in qualifying or the race. Some would say that the Ferrari driver was aiming to put to rest the memories of the 2002 controversy, showing that he does not need any team orders to win a race at the Styrian track. Perhaps that was an additional motivating factor for the German, but the truth is that Schumacher is almost always as intense as he was in Austria, and unless his car breaks down it's very hard to stop him.

The Austrian Grand Prix was a good example of why the five-time Champion will go down into the history books as the most successful driver in the history of the sport. He almost went off the track in the rain, he slid wide over spilled oil, and his car caught fire during his first pitstop, but, metaphorically speaking, he never took his eyes off the ball and the end result was his third consecutive victory of the season.

The win was all the more sweet for Schumacher after last year's team orders scandal, and the Ferrari driver was clearly relieved to win on merit at a race track where he had only won once and thanks to teammate Rubens Barrichello moving over for him. Nevertheless, and not for the first time in his career, luck was a key element in handing Schumacher his 67th Formula One victory. "I don't know if you can call me a lucky man. I think I was unlucky to have the problem," he said after the race.

Luck aside, what may be the last Austrian Grand Prix for some time showed Ferrari's F2003-GA was basically all they had hoped for both in terms of speed and, perhaps more importantly this year, reliability. Schumacher clinched pole position despite getting his car almost perpendicular to the road on his flying lap; in the race he lost some 10 seconds during the fire incident and still managed to win. Looking at the facts, Ferrari have all the reasons to be optimistic.

Perhaps the new car is not as dominant as the F2002, but with Schumacher at the wheel, Ferrari's rivals will need to raise their game substantially, and soon, if they are to stand a chance against the German. That's where the new McLaren comes in.

Kimi Raikkonen again looked like Schumacher's main rival to this year's title, and his great start to the season is still paying dividends, although he has a lot to thank for to the new points system. If the Finn is capable of getting qualifying right like he did in Austria, he is likely to present a tough challenge to Schumacher this season, although a lot will depend on the performance of the new MP4-18 that was tested for the first time today.

However, unless the car hits the ground running it is unlikely that it will be raced before the season's half point, and by then Ferrari and Schumacher could be already in the lead with a car that will surely be faster and perhaps more reliable, if that's possible.

If McLaren fail to raise to the challenge with their new car the season could gradually turn into a cakewalk for Schumacher and Ferrari, as Williams and Renault are already too far behind - and too inconsistent - to be taken into account in a season where finishing in the top three in each race is likely to be crucial.

If in Spain it was Renault - read Fernando Alonso - who put Ferrari under pressure, in Austria it was the British team - read Juan Pablo Montoya - who looked like the force to be reckoned with. After a couple of sombre performances in the last few races, the Colombian was back in top form and, although his race was doomed from the start, he looked like a potential winner until his BMW engine let go.

As it turned out, the Williams/BMW partnership lost a good opportunity to make amends amid mutual accusations of who is to blame for not having won a race since March last year. All the talk about BMW supplying a different team or even creating their own seems to be just part of the negotiation process, and Sunday's failure is likely to play in favour of the Grove-based outfit as the talks to extend their partnership continue. The reality, however, is that Williams have finished on the podium only once in 2003 and the off-track issues are not helping them rectify the situation.

As expected due to the nature of the A1-Ring, Renault were unable to keep their momentum going. Driving errors and a mechanical failure in Alonso's case compromised their chances of a better result, although in a race that was always going to be one of damage limitation they could be happy with the fact that Williams only scored two points more than them.

Outside the top four, BAR and Jaguar again looked to be ahead of the rest of field and, after shining in qualifying, they both left Austria encouraged after a strong performance in the race. Jenson Button's showing was especially encouraging for BAR, and his fourth place, although distant, is the best possible result considering the pace of the leaders.

Qualifying Analysis

Qualifying for the Austrian Grand Prix showed why you can never rule out Michael Schumacher, as the German pulled a metaphorical rabbit from his hat to grab his fourth pole position out of six races just when seconds earlier he had almost lost the back of his Ferrari.

"You get a picture of how a lap will go and I was really concerned that he wouldn't be able to do it," said Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn. "He made an error at turn two and lost time and I thought that was it - we would not be on pole. But he somehow pulled it back. Maybe he found the quickest way through turn two - the rally style."

Schumacher's recovery to beat Kimi Raikkonen's time also showed Ferrari's real advantage over their rivals at the A1-Ring after the German had dominated the first qualifying session with an advantage of a second over his non-Ferrari Championship rivals.

Like in previous races, there were some unusual faces at the top of the times, which implies some of the top runners occupied unusual positions. The most disappointing performances came from David Coulthard and Fernando Alonso, both making costly driving mistakes that compromised their chances for the race. The same applied to Mark Webber and Jacques Villeneuve who, after an impressive showing on Friday, dropped the ball in the final session.

Of those unusually high up the grid, Nick Heidfeld was the main surprise with his fourth fastest time, while Jaguar's Antonio Pizzonia put on the best performance of the season to silence, at least temporarily, his detractors following his slow start to the season.

The Grid

1. Michael Schumacher Saturday time: 1:09.150
Friday Qualifying: 1st, 1:07.908

Following last year's fiasco, Schumacher was back with a vengeance and he looked like he wanted to dominate the weekend from start to finish. Aided by the F2003-GA, the German driver was untouchable on Friday, and only a major wobble coming into the second corner on his flying lap on Saturday stopped him from claiming a more dominant pole position. "I am still surprised that I did not spin," admitted the German, who despite the scare stayed on track and finished 0.039 ahead of Raikkonen.

2. Kimi Raikkonen Saturday time: 1:09.189
Friday Qualifying: 9th, 1:08.978

As he admitted himself, Raikkonen finally managed to get a qualifying together this season. As a result, the McLaren driver came closer than ever to scoring his first Formula One pole position, only to be denied by Michael Schumacher. The Finn, however, returned to the front row of the grid for the second time in his career, something which, considering his ability to make up positions in the race, put him in a very strong place to keep his lead in the Championship.

3. Juan Pablo Montoya Saturday time: 1:09.391
Friday Qualifying: 6th, 1:08.839

Having struggled for pace on Friday due to understeering problems, Williams and Montoya opted to change their set-up approach for Saturday, and the gamble paid off, as the Colombian finally found the pace missing and could equal his best qualifying result of the season. Montoya had already showed his pace in the warm-up, where he finished on top, and although he admitted his qualifying lap had been rather conservative the FW25 performed on par with the Ferraris and McLarens.

4. Nick Heidfeld Saturday time: 1:09.725
Friday Qualifying: 12th, 1:09.479

Sixth in 2001 and fifth in 2002, Nick Heidfeld managed to continue the trend in 2003 by posting a surprising fourth fastest time in qualifying at the A1-Ring. His performance was not only down to the small amount of fuel in his car, as he would show in the race, where he pitted first but not much earlier than other drivers who qualified behind him. Having failed to shine with his race car, Heidfeld opted to switch to the spare Sauber for the final qualifying session, and he suddenly found a second that put him more than a second ahead of teammate Frentzen.

5. Rubens Barrichello Saturday time: 1:09.784
Friday Qualifying: 2nd, 1:08.187

Always a strong performer at the A1-Ring, Barrichello's relatively poor qualifying was somewhat of a surprise. The Brazilian, on pole last year, was close to his teammate Schumacher on Friday, but had more problems to keep up with the German on Saturday's qualifying, despite topping the times in practice. He claimed he had lost some four tenths of a second in the final part of his flying lap due to the excessive graining of the front tyres.

6. Jarno Trulli Saturday time: 1:09.890
Friday Qualifying: 11th, 1:09.450

Aided by a new specification engine that allegedly reduced (although not by much) the gap to that of their main rivals, Trulli showed that Renault were exaggerating a bit when playing down their chances at the A1-Ring. As underpowered as the R23 is, Trulli demonstrated the efficiency of the Renault package with a solid drive that surprised the team, who claimed they were expecting to qualify outside the top 10.

7. Jenson Button Saturday time: 1:09.935
Friday Qualifying: 5th, 1:08.831

Seventh position was a disappointing result for Button, who was hoping for better following strong performances all weekend. The BAR driver was hampered by a hydraulics problem in practice that cost him valuable time ahead of final qualifying. His run was not perfect either and, suffering from a oversteery car, he went too wide at the final corner, losing a lot of valuable time that probably cost him a couple of positions.

8. Antonio Pizzonia Saturday time: 1:10.045
Friday Qualifying: 9th, 1:09.024

Pizzonia finally found a reason to be encouraged by making it into the top ten for the first time this season. His performance both on Friday and Saturday also served to show that Jaguar are making real progress in terms of speed and that it's not only Mark Webber's skills what's making them look better. The Australian's disastrous lap also allowed Pizzonia to finish ahead of his teammate for the second time this season, but most importantly it put the Brazilian in a strong position to get his first F1 points.

9. Giancarlo Fisichella Saturday time: 1:10.105
Friday Qualifying: 10th, 1:09.281

Following his poor showing in Spain, Fisichella was back to form in Austria and extracted almost the maximum out of his underperforming Jordan, dominating his teammate Firman all weekend. But for an error at the end of his qualifying lap, the Italian could have managed to get into the top eight, although he stayed confident he was on a better strategy than some of the drivers ahead of him.

10. Ralf Schumacher Saturday time: 1:10.279
Friday Qualifying: 20th, no time

Going out first on Saturday was never going to allow Schumacher to fight for a position in the top five, and he admitted he was happy to make it into the top ten following his error on Friday. The Williams driver lost control of his car on his flying lap and ended up in the gravel of the Gosser Kurve. Having outqualified Montoya in the last two races, Schumacher never seemed to be too comfortable in Austria, failing to match the pace of the Colombian during most of the weekend.

11. Olivier Panis Saturday time: 1:10.402
Friday Qualifying: 14th, 1:09.764

Panis and Toyota had a tough time finding the right set-up for the TF103 at the A1-Ring, and especially on Friday things looked grim for the Frenchman. In final qualifying and after solving some problems with the handling of his car, Panis was happier, although the time lost on the first day probably cost him a few tenths that could have helped him get into the top ten.

12. Jacques Villeneuve Saturday time: 1:10.618
Friday Qualifying: 4th, 1:08.680

Like his teammate Button, Villeneuve had looked very strong on Friday thanks to the improving 004 chassis from the BAR team. In the grid-deciding session, however, the Canadian spoiled his chances of a good result with a very untidy lap in which he went wide at the first and final corners, in the meantime kicking a lot of dust that would compromise the grip of the four drivers that came after him.

13. Cristiano da Matta Saturday time: 1:10.834
Friday Qualifying: 16th, 1:10.370

Considering it was the first time he was racing at the A1-Ring, da Matta's effort was pretty remarkable, finishing only two places behind his more experienced teammate. Like Panis, the Brazilian suffered the most on Friday, when his team did not seem to be able to find the right set-up for the car. On Saturday things improved slightly, but the Toyota continued to lack the necessary grip to aim for better things.

14. David Coulthard Saturday time: 1:10.893
Friday Qualifying: 8th, 1:08.947

The Scot continued with his trend of poor qualifying performances, and it's no wonder he is losing touch with the Championship leaders. After qualifying 12th in San Marino and eighth in Spain, Coulthard completed his worst performance of the year to put himself in 14th position, not the ideal place to fight for a podium finish. Like Raikkonen, Coulthard struggled for pace on Friday, but unlike the Finn he was unable to recover on Saturday, going very wide at the end of his flying lap.

15. Heinz-Harald Frentzen Saturday time: 1:11.307
Friday Qualifying: 15th, 1:10.055

As usual on a different strategy to teammate Heidfeld, Frentzen could do nothing to match the pace of his younger compatriot, although he could have been closer had he not struggled with the balance of his Sauber, which made his C22 too understeery. His job was not made easier by a puncture in the warm-up that forced him to replace a front tyre.

16. Ralph Firman Saturday time: 1:11.505
Friday Qualifying: 19th, 1:11.171

After scoring his first points at the Spanish Grand Prix, the Austrian race brought Firman back to his early season reality, being overshadowed by Fisichella for the most part of the weekend. The British rookie made an error on his flying lap on Friday, going out at the final corner and crossing the finish line backwards. In the final session he also made a slight mistake on the same corner and finished more than a second behind his teammate.

17. Mark Webber Saturday time: 1:11.662
Friday Qualifying: 3rd, 1:08.512

Webber was perhaps the most disappointed man at the end of Saturday. After another blistering lap that had put him up in third position on Friday, the Jaguar driver threw it all away with a less-than-inspired lap on Saturday. The Australian's lap was compromised right at the first corner, where he went extremely wide. Webber admitted he was unhappy with Villeneuve, who had made the track very slippery with all the dirt he had kicked in.

18. Justin Wilson Saturday time: 1:14.508
Friday Qualifying: 18th, 1:11.056

Qualifying was a nightmare for Wilson, and even without making any significant driving errors the Briton finished nearly three seconds behind Webber with a lap that was more than half a second off the 107% time. After a crash in practice, Wilson was forced to use the spare Minardi for qualifying, and due to some massive oversteering he could not match his pace from Friday, where he had done pretty well.

19. Fernando Alonso Saturday time: 1:20.113
Friday Qualifying: 13th, 1:09.680

For the first time this season, Alonso made a noticeable driving error and the end result was a qualifying position that must have reminded him of his Minardi days. Although the Renault driver struggled for pace in Friday's first session, he was looking set for a top six spot on Saturday when the back end of his car snapped at the Niki Lauda corner and he was unable to save it. He continued his lap and finished 10 seconds off the pace before admitting he had tried too hard.

20. Jos Verstappen Saturday time: no time
Friday Qualifying: 17th, 1:10.894

Like teammate Wilson, Saturday qualifying was a nightmare for Verstappen, who did not even manage to complete his flying lap after his Minardi's gearbox broke down at the exit of the first corner. The most positive aspect of his weekend was the pace showed in Friday qualifying, when he was around half a second off the pace of the closest rival. Other than that, the Dutchman had little to celebrate.

The Race

Both Fernando Alonso and Mark Webber decided to start from the pitlane following their torrid qualifying, although Jaguar would compromise Webber's chances of a better result with a silly mistake. The Milton Keynes team refuelled his car before the start of the warm-up lap, something that would cost Webber a stop-and-go penalty later in the race.

With some threatening skies covering the A1-Ring and when everybody was ready to go, the start had to be aborted after da Matta stalled his engine due to a problem with his launch control system. With the Brazilian at the back of the grid, there was a second attempt to start the race, only for da Matta to stall his car again to the irritation of mechanics and drivers alike.

Some 20 minutes after the scheduled time, the start finally took place, and Michael Schumacher took full advantage of his pole position to make it clearly in the lead at the usually problematic first corner. This time, however, and probably thanks to the extended run-off area there were no incidents and everybody was able to get through the first corner.

Schumacher was followed by Montoya, who made a better start than Raikkonen, with Barrichello in fourth, Button in fifth, and Heidfeld, Pizzonia and Trulli behind. Schumacher was already flying when the race director deployed the Safety Car due to Jos Verstappen's Minardi, which lasted only a few seconds before breaking down on the straight. The race was restarted on lap five after some mind games from Schumacher, who irritated Montoya by brake-testing him before the race got under way again.

Lapping more than half a second faster than his rivals, Schumacher began to pull away easily, setting a series of consecutive fastest laps that would open the gap to Montoya to around five second by the tenth lap. Raikkonen followed closely behind despite his engine not running perfectly after the team were forced to change a cracked valve in parc ferme in order to avoid starting from the back of the grid.

Heidfeld was the first man to pit, from fifth position, on lap 13, triggering the first round of stops. The Sauber driver's stop also marked the start of a short cloudburst that would cause some serious scares among the drivers. Schumacher survived one at the end of the straight, while Trulli was not so lucky and spun at the same point, although he was able to continue.

With the slippery track, Montoya closed the gap to Schumacher to less than four seconds, while Barrichello was also struggling in the other Ferrari, his gap to Raikkonen opening considerably. The rain, however, stopped quickly and the track was dry again soon.

Montoya was the first of the leaders to make his first stop on lap 20, and although the pitstop was smooth, Williams knew by then that the Colombian's fate was already sealed. "After 20 laps we knew he couldn't finish because we saw the water pressure going down continuously and it was clear he couldn't make it," explained BMW's Mario Theissen.

Barrichello was next to pit, but due to a problem with the rig, the Brazilian lost some 10 seconds that saw him return to the track in sixth position. His teammate Schumacher came into the pits two laps later and the drama unfolded. Apparently due to some remaining fuel following Barrichello's stop, the nozzle caught fire, which became bigger instants later. As the mechanics worked frantically to put it out, Schumacher did not move a muscle, staying in the car as if nothing was happening.

"I guess the mechanics thought I was a little bit too cool and they warmed me up," he joked. "I thought they did a great job under the circumstances to control everything. I had a little doubt for a moment whether we had a problem with the fire and how serious it was."

When the fire was put out, and some 10 seconds later than planned, Schumacher returned to the track right behind Raikkonen, who had pitted on the same lap. Montoya was in the lead for some laps, with a four-second gap to Raikkonen, who was doing his best to keep Schumacher behind.

In a second, however, Schumacher's situation changed completely, as at the same time Montoya's engine let go, he was able to pass Raikkonen, regaining a lead that he would no longer relinquish. Schumacher began to pull away from Raikkonen, while Barrichello had managed to move back to third after passing Button, who was running strongly with the BAR. Having started from the pitlane with a lot of fuel onboard, Fernando Alonso had moved back to sixth behind Ralf Schumacher by lap 35.

Alonso finally pitted on lap 38, dropping back to eighth behind Villeneuve and Coulthard, who had slowly made his way up into the points. After setting the fastest lap of the race and opening a gap of more than eight seconds to Raikkonen, Schumacher pitted again, this time without any problems, and rejoined the race behind Barrichello, who was slowly closing in on Raikkonen. Button was still fourth, with Ralf in fifth, while further back Alonso's charge to the front came to an end when his engine expired at the end of the main straight.

The oil spilled by Alonso caused some serious scares, especially to both the Schumacher brothers, who ran very wide at the exit of the first corner. Despite that, Schumacher Sr. continued in the lead after Raikkonen made his second stop on lap 49 and Barrichello followed suit on the next lap. After the second round of stops, Button continued running in fourth ahead of Ralf and Coulthard, although the Scot would move ahead of the German, who went off the track briefly on lap 57.

With Schumacher clearly in the lead, the focus was on the fight for second place, as Barrichello was managing to close the gap to Raikkonen. With seven laps to go, the Ferrari driver was right behind the Finn's rear wing. The Brazilian, however, had only one real attempt of passing Raikkonen, and although for a second Barrichello was in front, the McLaren driver managed to keep the inside line at the Niki Lauda corner, retaining not only his position, but also the Championship lead that would have gone to Schumacher otherwise.

"I'm a bit disappointed not to win. I'm pleased that I managed to keep the lead in the Championship even though it is getting smaller," said the Finn, who was followed by Barrichello, on the lower step of the podium for the third time in row. Button, Coulthard, Ralf, Webber and Trulli, who salvaged a point for Renault, completed the top eight.

But the day belonged to Michael Schumacher, who lifted a weight off his shoulders following last season's debacle, turning the jeers into cheers on a day when neither his rivals nor all kinds of disasters were able to stop the German champion.

"I feel like a winner now," he said.

Race Results

Pos  Driver        Team-Engine       Tyres   Time        
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari            (B)     1h 24:04.888
 2.  Raikkonen     McLaren Mercedes   (M)     +      3.362
 3.  Barrichello   Ferrari            (B)     +      3.951
 4.  Button        BAR Honda          (B)     +     42.243
 5.  Coulthard     McLaren Mercedes   (M)     +     59.740
 6.  R.Schumacher  Williams BMW       (M)     +   1 lap   
 7.  Webber        Jaguar Cosworth    (M)     +   1 lap   
 8.  Trulli        Renault            (M)     +   1 lap   
 9.  Pizzonia      Jaguar Cosworth    (M)     +   1 lap   
10.  da Matta      Toyota             (M)     +   1 lap   
11.  Firman        Jordan Ford        (B)     +   1 lap   
12.  Villeneuve    BAR Honda          (B)     +   1 lap   
13.  Wilson        Minardi Cosworth   (B)     +   2 laps  
 
Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:08.337, lap 41

Not Classified/Retirements:

Driver        Team                   On Lap
Fisichella    Jordan Ford       (B)    61   
Heidfeld      Sauber Petronas   (B)    47   
Alonso        Renault           (M)    45   
Montoya       Williams BMW      (M)    33   
Panis         Toyota            (M)     7   
Verstappen    Minardi Cosworth  (B)     1   
Frentzen      Sauber Petronas   (B)   DNS

World Championship Standing, Round 6:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1. Raikkonen     40       1. Ferrari           64
 2. M.Schumacher  38       2. McLaren-Mercedes  63
 3. Barrichello   26       3. Renault           35
 4. Alonso        25       =  Williams-BMW      35
 5. Coulthard     23       5. Jordan-Ford       11
 6. R.Schumacher  20       =  BAR-Honda         11
 7. Montoya       15       7. Sauber             8
 8. Fisichella    10       8. Jaguar-Cosworth    4
 =  Trulli        10       9. Toyota             3
10. Button         8
11. Frentzen       7
12. Webber         4
13. Villeneuve     3
 =  da Matta       3
15. Heidfeld       1
 =  Firman         1

Pos  Driver        Team                  Lap  Time              
 1.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  41   1:08.337      
 2.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  44   1:08.913 + 0.576
 3.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  68   1:08.966 + 0.629
 4.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  45   1:09.423 + 1.086
 5.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  64   1:09.626 + 1.289
 6.  Villeneuve    BAR-Honda        (B)  64   1:09.764 + 1.427
 7.  Button        BAR-Honda        (B)  22   1:09.828 + 1.491
 8.  Pizzonia      Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  67   1:09.978 + 1.641
 9.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  28   1:10.112 + 1.775
10.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)  40   1:10.246 + 1.909
11.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  68   1:10.358 + 2.021
12.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)  67   1:10.466 + 2.129
13.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas  (B)  12   1:10.516 + 2.179
14.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  34   1:10.526 + 2.189
15.  Firman        Jordan-Ford      (B)  68   1:10.659 + 2.322
16.  Fisichella    Jordan-Ford      (B)  60   1:11.019 + 2.682
17.  Wilson        Minardi-Cosworth (B)  67   1:11.267 + 2.930
18.  Panis         Toyota           (M)   6   1:13.097 + 4.760

Pos  Driver        Team                  Time      Lap
 1.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  27.516   50  
 2.  Wilson        Minardi-Cosworth (B)  28.223    3  
 3.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  28.316   38  
 4.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)  28.357   43  
 5.  Button        BAR-Honda        (B)  28.541   23  
 6.  Montoya       Williams-BMW     (M)  28.787   20  
 7.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  29.103   49  
 8.  Raikkonen     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  29.337   23  
 9.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  29.357   54  
10.  Pizzonia      Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  29.496   47  
11.  Coulthard     McLaren-Mercedes (M)  29.509   20  
12.  Fisichella    Jordan-Ford      (B)  29.567   45  
13.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas  (B)  29.585   13  
14.  R.Schumacher  Williams-BMW     (M)  29.586   15  
15.  Alonso        Renault          (M)  29.838   37  
16.  Trulli        Renault          (M)  29.922   17  
17.  Wilson        Minardi-Cosworth (B)  29.946   45  
18.  Heidfeld      Sauber-Petronas  (B)  30.581   39  
19.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)  30.632   37  
20.  Button        BAR-Honda        (B)  30.913   47  
21.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  30.925   50  
22.  da Matta      Toyota           (M)  31.217   18  
23.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  31.315   30  
24.  Firman        Jordan-Ford      (B)  31.379   42  
25.  Firman        Jordan-Ford      (B)  31.482   14  
26.  Panis         Toyota           (M)  31.636    2  
27.  Wilson        Minardi-Cosworth (B)  32.162   24  
28.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  32.330   42  
29.  Fisichella    Jordan-Ford      (B)  32.909   15  
30.  Pizzonia      Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  32.997   14  
31.  Webber        Jaguar-Cosworth  (M)  33.410   15  
32.  Villeneuve    BAR-Honda        (B)  39.710   22  
33.  Barrichello   Ferrari          (B)  39.880   21  
34.  M.Schumacher  Ferrari          (B)  40.755   23  
35.  Villeneuve    BAR-Honda        (B)  91.533   49  

Lap 69: Michael Schumacher wins his 67th Grand Prix victory. Raikkonen is second and stays ahead in the World Championship. Barrichello is third with Button fourth, Coulthard fifth and Ralf Schumacher a lap down in sixth. The remaining points go to Webber in seventh and Trulli in eighth place.