Atlas F1 News Editor
The Japanese Grand Prix marked the end of the 2002 season, and to further confirm a close to perfect season, World Champion Michael Schumacher scored his 11th win of the year, securing Ferrari's 15th victory and their ninth one-two thanks to Rubens Barrichello's second place. The Ferrari men, however, were outshadowed by a small Japanese driver who made the crowd go wild. Atlas F1's Pablo Elizalde reviews the entire weekend's events and results from the final race of the year
As the German five-time champion said after the race, the results speak for themselves: 15 wins out of 17 races, nine one-twos, 221 points for Ferrari - the same amount that all the other teams combined - and nearly 7,000 kms without a single retirement for Schumacher which, considering Ferrari's level of competitiveness, can probably be considered as the most impressive of all the records that the dominant team have broken this year.
Finishing all the races in a season is already a highly impressive feat. Doing it by clinching a podium finish in every one of them is a breathless achievement whose magnitude will only be fully appreciated in the future, when Formula One and its fans shake off the feeling of boredom and disappointment left by a season that will be remembered for its wrongs as much as for its rights.
Ferrari antics throughout the year, the financial problems of some teams, several political issues, and above all, a very worrying lack of racing, turned 2002 into a season Formula One could have done without. Proposals like the driver-swapping or the weight penalties are only a reflection of how badly F1 needs a change, especially when those proposals come from the same men who, in the past years, have claimed that the sport was exciting enough for the casual observer.
Once more, the race belonged to Schumacher and Ferrari, the German putting on another majestic display of supremacy to clinch his 11th win of the season. Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello did not need to break a sweat, the Japanese circuit highlighting the superiority of the Ferrari package, to score their fifth consecutive one-two in Ferrari's most successful season ever.
"We could not ask for more," said Jean Todt after the race. "Fifteen wins, nine one-twos. Michael taking his third consecutive world title with Ferrari after 11 races and Ferrari taking their fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship after 13 races.
"Rubens took second place in the drivers' classification with one race to go and we have scored 221 points which is the same as all the other teams put together. It's hard to imagine anything better."
Hard indeed, and unless things go extremely wrong for the opposition, it's all going to be downhill from now on for Ferrari. Rivals, fans and promoters will certainly be knocking on wood to avoid Ferrari from repeating another season like this.
Of the two, McLaren look like the team on the up, and especially in qualifying the Woking-based squad proved to hold the upper hand over Williams. David Coulthard was the closest of the Ferrari rivals on Saturday, and the race was a similar affair, with Kimi Raikkonen finishing the season just like he had started it: on the podium.
After the Scot had retired with mechanical problems very early on, the Finn battled, although in the pits, with Ralf Schumacher - who was the quicker of the Williams drivers all weekend - and eventually emerged on top while the German retired with an engine problem. Unlike last year, Juan Pablo Montoya failed to shine at Suzuka, enduring a very anonymous Grand Prix.
If Michael Schumacher and Raikkonen finished the season like they had started it, the same could be said about a rookie driver who made the headlines on a day dominated by Ferrari. Mark Webber in his home Australian Grand Prix upstaged Schumacher in the opening race of the year to the delight of the Aussie fans.
As it had happened with Webber in Australia, the Japanese crowd went wild while celebrating the first point-scoring finish from one of their drivers since 1997. Whether his performance was enough to secure his seat at the team in 2003 only time will tell, but the much-needed boost certainly did not do any harm to Sato's chances.
"It makes a big difference," said a relieved Jordan after his team moved from eighth to sixth in the standings thanks to Sato's points. "Eighth is not somewhere where Jordan would like to be, we had to fight for sixth. It wasn't a great season, but it was a great ending."
Qualifying
With two years of his current contract with Ferrari still to run, and with the clear intention of staying in Formula One "quite a while longer", 15 more pole positions are something feasible for Schumacher, and more so if Ferrari can keep their current form into 2003.
On a circuit that highlights the efficiency of the Ferrari chassis and the power of its engine, Schumacher was in a class of his own once more, clinching his fifth consecutive pole position at Suzuka and the seventh out of the 12 Grands Prix he has taken part in. Schumacher only needed three of his four runs to beat teammate Rubens Barrichello by nearly half a second and to leave David Coulthard trailing by more than seven tenths as Ferrari secured their sixth front row lock out of 2002.
Benefitting from the latest tyres from Bridgestone, who were determined to dominate in their 100th Grand Prix in front of their home crowd, Schumacher also lapped more than a second faster than last year's pole position, although the circuit had been shortened some 100 feet compared to the 2001 version.
"We have a great car and that allows us to do what we are doing, which is to be faster, after all the development that Bridgestone has done it is no surprise either," said Schumacher after grabbing his seventh pole position of the season. "Basically it is great fun to throw the car through the 'esses' and to do the times we do."
Despite the lack of excitement in the fight for the top spot, qualifying saw a dramatic moment, as Toyota's Allan McNish careered off the track right after the 130R corner at around 260km/h to slam into the barriers. The Scot's car, as well as the barrier, was destroyed, but McNish was lucky enough to hit the guardrails backwards, escaping with only a few bruises.
"Basically, everything felt good through the 130R corner but the car suddenly snapped into a big oversteer and I reversed heavily into the barrier," he explained, and was forced to sit out the remaining part of the session. "My natural instinct after the crash was just to make sure everything was still in working order and thankfully it is.
"I have got to see the medical crew tomorrow morning for a check-up but I am confident for tomorrow. The best thing is to get back in the cockpit as soon as possible."
The Brazilian could do nothing to match the pace of Schumacher this time, although he could have been closer to the German, as he made a mistake at the final chicane in what turned out to be his quickest lap of the day. But Schumacher too claimed he could have gone faster.
David Coulthard was the best of the rest with the quickest of the McLarens, outqualifying teammate Kimi Raikkonen despite being one of the many drivers who lost one run due to McNish's accident. The Scot, however, was not expecting to be able to challenge the almighty Ferrari in the race.
"P3 is what you are aiming for in these circumstances as the best Michelin runner, but I don't think we can race the Ferraris," he said. Raikkonen, who had topped the times on Friday, managed to complete a good final run that saw him leapfrogging ahead of the two Williams drivers with only seconds of the session remaining.
Jordan's Takuma Sato sprung the surprise of the day with his best ever performance in front of his home crowd. The Japanese rookie, whose previous best had been a 12th place at the German Grand Prix, finally displayed the speed he was expected to show after winning the British F3 championship in style last year. Sato's seventh place, just ahead of teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, made him the quickest of the Honda runners, to the delight of the manufacturer and the crowd.
"The car was good, I was comfortable and drove exactly as I wanted to," he said. "I just nailed it! The fan support here is superb, they reacted as if I had won the race and it was just qualifying. Realistically the race is still going to be tough, but my target is to score points."
Jacques Villeneuve completed a good day for Honda, the Canadian setting the ninth fastest time with the BAR, just ahead of Jenson Button in his final race with the Renault team.
The Race
"I think I went out with style but this is not quite the way that we wanted," the Scot said. "For myself and also for all the Japanese fans it is a great disappointment because we wanted our two Toyotas as far up in the race as possible. They've got one to support now."
Before the start of the race there were also problems for Giancarlo Fisichella, whose Honda engine gave up before he was able to get his car to the starting grid. The Jordan driver was forced to rush back to the pits to get the spare machine, which did not include the latest Honda spec engine.
With no more problems the start took place under a clear sky, and pole-setter Michael Schumacher made a fantastic getaway and got miles ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello when they braked for the first corner. The Brazilian was able to keep David Coulthard at bay, while Ralf Schumacher managed to move up to fourth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen. Juan Pablo Montoya kept sixth place ahead of Takuma Sato, the Jordan driver followed by the Renaults of Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button.
The Sauber driver, returning to Grand Prix action after skipping the US Grand Prix due to the penalty imposed at Monza, would not stay in the race much longer, going off the track on the following lap, crashing against the tyre barriers in his final race for the Swiss squad.
"I got my car over the kerb exiting the Degner Curve and then I lost a bit of downforce as I was right behind Villeneuve so I just couldn't get back on the road," the rookie explained. "I'm disappointed to finish my last race for the team this way."
Up in front of the field, Schumacher began to open a gap to Barrichello, who at the same time was running faster than Coulthard. By lap five of the race, the Ferrari World Champion was nearly four seconds ahead of his teammate, while the Scot McLaren driver was already eight seconds adrift and followed closely by Ralf. Coulthard, however, would be hit by problems only two laps later, retiring from the race.
"I lost throttle at turn nine which I was told was due to a failure on one bank of the control system," Coulthard said. "I was able to get the car back to the garage but there was nothing the team could do."
The leader did not come into the pits until five laps later, when the German was already more than seven seconds ahead of Barrichello are around 25 ahead of his brother Ralf. Schumacher senior pitted for 9.4 seconds and came back out right in front of his younger brother. Barrichello was next to pit, rejoining in fourth spot, and was followed by Sato, now running in the points.
The Japanese star, however, returned to the track behind the two Renault drivers, who had benefitted from his early stop to gain on the Jordan. Raikkonen, following Ralf closely, was unable to get ahead of the German after both had made their stops, the Williams crew being more than a second quicker than the McLaren mechanics. Montoya was the final front runner to come into the pits, the Colombian rejoining in a lonely fifth place.
Once everybody had made their first stop, the order at the top of the field remained unchanged, with only Trulli gaining a position that allowed him to move into the top six.
Unaltered, Schumacher continued to increase his lead to over eight seconds to Barrichello when the second round of pitstops was again triggered by a Renault driver. This time it was seventh-place Button who pitted first. Trulli would have followed him on the next lap, but the Italian's car came to a halt right after the bridge, allowing Button to gain one position.
Sato also benefitted from the retirement of Trulli and, thanks to an increased pace after his first stop, the Japanese driver managed to emerge ahead of Button following his second stop on lap 33. After Schumacher and Barrichello pitted five laps later, the order in front remained the same, with the German leading the Brazilian by more than ten seconds.
The battle for third place also remained unchanged, Ralf staying ahead of Raikkonen, with Montoya still in a solitaire fourth in front of Sato, who had managed to open a comfortable gap to Button. The Briton, however, would move into the points with five laps remaining, when the BMW engine of Ralf's Williams exploded, depriving him of his first podium finish since the Hungarian Grand Prix.
His brother Michael allowed Barrichello to get close in the final moments of the race, but this time there was no repeat of the Indianapolis farce, and the German driver crossed clearly ahead of his teammate to secure his 11th win of the year and to seal the perfect season in the perfect way, and not even Schumacher himself is expecting to be able to repeat this year's feat.
"I expect next season to be tougher as the other teams get closer," he said. "That will be a challenge. I still think we will be in the fight for the titles and winning races but maybe we will not win races so consistently. But we don't need to be as dominant as long as we still win."
Raikkonen completed the podium for McLaren, with a disappointed Montoya crossing the line in fourth place more than half a minute behind the Ferraris. Schumacher's joy, however, was nothing compared to fifth-place man Takuma Sato, who grabbed his first Formula One points in style to the delight of the 155,000 fans that crowded the Japanese circuit.
"Unbelievable. Really incredible," said the 25-year old. "Right from the start the fans were waving flags and whatever, the whole race for 50 laps. I could see it. That meant so much to me. I could drive very comfortably, be very confident in every corner. That was a great feeling really."
Despite the powers-that-be trying to change the face of Formula One with unprecedented, and probably unrealistic, ideas, Ferrari's rivals know that it's hard work, and not knee-jerk policies, what will bring them closer to the Italian squad and help the sport recover the lost excitement. They have more than four months to turn things around.
Lap 1: At the start of the race the frontrunners all get away well and the order as they go into the first corner is Michael Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, who gets ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Juan Pablo Montoya, Takuma Sato and Jarno Trulli, the Italian up from 11th on the grid. He is followed by Jenson Button. The big losers are Fisichella who drops from eighth on the grid to 11th and Villeneuve who falls from ninth to 14th after an off in the course of the lap. At the end of the first lap Schumacher is 2.2 seconds ahead of Barrichello.
Lap 2: Villeneuve overtakes Felipe Massa to move up to 13th place.
Lap 4: At the front Michael Schumacher increases his lead to 3.5 seconds. Barrichello's lead over Coulthard is 3.1 seconds. Massa gets too close to Villeneuve and loses downforce and goes off at the Degner Curve. The Sauber then bounces over the gravel and Massa is unable to avoid going into the barriers. He is out.
Lap 7: After five fastest laps in seven laps, Schumacher's lead is up to 4.1 seconds. Coulthard slows and comes into the pits to retire. This promotes Ralf Schumacher to third, Raikkonen to fourth, Montoya to fifth and Sato into sixth.
Lap 9: Yoong has a spin in the Spoon Curve and falls behind his team mate Mark Webber.
Lap 15: Trulli is the first runner to pit, dropping from seventh place to 14th. At the back of the field Yoong spins off and retires.
Lap 16: Button stops and drops from seventh to 14th, mirroring Trulli.
Lap 18: Schumacher's lead over Barrichello is up to seven seconds while Rubens is 17 seconds ahead of Ralf Schumacher. Mika Salo, in the single Toyota, pits and falls back from ninth place to 14th.
Lap 19: The pit stops continue as seventh-placed Nick Heidfeld and ninth-placed Villeneuve both pit.
Lap 21: Barrichello stops and falls behind both Ralf Schumacher and Raikkonen. Sato also pits and Eddie Irvine moves to sixth. Pedro de la Rosa also pits.
Lap 22: Raikkonen and Irvine both pit for the first time. At the tail of the field Webber also pits.
Lap 24: Ralf Schumacher pits and so the Ferraris go back to first and second places with Montoya third. Ralf Schumacher is fourth with Raikkonen and Trulli completing the top six.
Lap 25: Montoya is the last man to pit. He drops from third to fifth and the order stabilises with the only major change from the first stint being that both Jordans have dropped places: Sato falling back from sixth to eighth and Fisichella dropping from 10th to 11th behind Salo.
Lap 28: Villeneuve, who is running 12th, retires with a blown engine.
Lap 32: The second pit stops begin with Button stopping.
Lap 33: Trulli pulls off with a mechanical failure and so Sato moves back to sixth position with Heidfeld seventh, Salo eighth and Fisichella ninth. The top 10 is completed by Button, but he is a lap behind.
Lap 40: De la Rosa retires with a mechanical problem.
Lap 41: Montoya is the last man to pit for the second time and the order is set again. Michael Schumacher leads Barrichello by 10 seconds, Ralf Schumacher is third with Raikkonen fourth, Montoya fifth and Sato sixth. Button is seventh. A lap down are Heidfeld, Salo and Irvine. Webber is the only other runner a further lap behind.
Lap 49: Ralf Schumacher pulls off with a mechanical problem in the Degner Curve. Raikkonen moves to third, Montoya to fourth, Sato to fifth and Button to sixth. This moves Jordan up to sixth in the Constructors' Championship ahead of BAR and Jaguar Racing.
Lap 53: Michael Schumacher wins his 11th victory of the year and Barrichello makes it a ninth 1-2 finish for Ferrari. The crowd however celebrates Sato's first points of his F1 career.
Perhaps with only Ferrari wanting the opposite, the 2002 season finally came to an end with last Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix and, as it was appropriate following a year of supreme dominance from the Italian squad, World Champion Michael Schumacher and his outfit put on another crushing performance to seal a year that was as close as it gets to perfection, at least statistically.
Unfortunately it is not, and the Japanese Grand Prix was just another example of it. It was not only Ferrari dominating the race from start to finish, but also the lack of action in the mid-field, which in some races this year has been the only point of interest. At Suzuka, however, and apart from Jacques Villeneuve's move over Felipe Massa in the opening laps of the race, there was not a single on-track pass.
If Ferrari ended the year on a high, for Williams and McLaren the Japanese Grand Prix was yet another confirmation of how much they will need to work throughout the winter in order to be able to, at least, fight for wins in 2003. The big problem both teams are facing is that they need to find nearly a second per lap, and at the same time improving their reliability to match the Ferrari's level. It certainly looks like the winter is going to be very long for both British squads.
In Japan, Takuma Sato moved from zero to hero with the performance that Eddie Jordan had been expecting since he said the Japanese rookie had what it takes to be a World Champion. The Jordan driver finally lived up to his boss's expectations and didn't put a foot wrong all weekend, outshining Giancarlo Fisichella both in qualifying and in the race.
There is only one important record that Michael Schumacher is yet to break in his amazing Formula One career, and although it looked like it was one of those records that would stand forever, seeing the German clinching his 50th pole position in Japan last Saturday was certainly a reminder that Ayrton Senna's 65 poles could as well be surpassed by the Ferrari driver in a near future.
Watching Schumacher drive around the track, it was obvious that the German was the most comfortable driver around the 5.8 km circuit, and his best time of 1:31.317, .432 faster than Barrichello.
The massive crash caused so much damage to the barrier that the session had to be red flagged and did not restart until more than one hour later. The delay did not disturb Schumacher, whose initial time of 1:31.825 was only bettered by himself on his second run. His quickest lap, however, was set in the dying moments of the session, when Barrichello had managed to get within three tenths of his teammate's time.
For Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya the day was bitterly disappointing. The German had to settle for fifth place more than a second behind his brother, while the Colombian's sixth position equalled his worst qualifying result of the year. Both Williams drivers complained about the poor grip of the FW24, and Montoya struggled with oversteer, also spoiling his final chance of improving by going wide at the end of qualifying.
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:31.317 229.482 km/h
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:31.749 + 0.432
3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:32.088 + 0.771
4. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:32.197 + 0.880
5. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:32.444 + 1.127
6. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:32.507 + 1.190
7. Sato Jordan Honda (B) 1:33.090 + 1.773
8. Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) 1:33.276 + 1.959
9. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:33.349 + 2.032
10. Button Renault (M) 1:33.429 + 2.112
11. Trulli Renault (M) 1:33.547 + 2.230
12. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:33.553 + 2.236
13. Salo Toyota (M) 1:33.742 + 2.425
14. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:33.915 + 2.598
15. Massa Sauber Petronas (B) 1:33.979 + 2.662
16. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:34.192 + 2.875
17. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:34.227 + 2.910
18. McNish Toyota (M) 1:35.191 + 3.874
19. Webber Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:35.958 + 4.641
20. Yoong Minardi Asiatech (M) 1:36.267 + 4.950
Feeling fine after his massive accident, Allan McNish returned to the cockpit for the warm-up and despite setting the 13th quickest time in the half-four session, the Toyota driver was not given the green light to race, as Professor Sid Watkins considered that another accident could cause more serious injuries to the bruised Scot. As it was, McNish failed to start his final Grand Prix for the Japanese squad.
Further back, Jacques Villeneuve, who had switched to the spare BAR before the start of the race, lost five places after a terrible getaway, but the Canadian would complete the only overtaking move on the second lap, passing Brazilian Felipe Massa for 13th position at the end of the straight.
With Schumacher and Barrichello lapping nearly a second quicker than third-placed Ralf, the laps went by actionless until the first round of pitstops was kicked off by Trulli who, running in seventh place, dived into the pits for the first time on lap 15. Teammate Button followed suit a lap later, the Briton rejoining the race behind his teammate after his scheduled service.
The only interesting point of the race on the following laps was the fight for 11th position between Fisichella and Villeneuve. The Italian managed to keep the Canadian at bay despite missing the chicane once, and the battle soon came to an end when, coming out of the very chicane only a lap later, Villeneuve's Honda engine let go, and with it the chances of another on-track overtaking.
"I was having a good race today, my car was well balanced and third place was only four laps away," said the German driver. "The fact that I had to retire is therefore even more painful. Now we are going to collectively concentrate on the next season in order to do a better job."
For a moment, the excitement of the Japanese crowd and the Jordan team eclipsed yet another demonstration of power from Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. It's hard to imagine that they will be stronger when the 2003 season gets under way in March next year, but their rivals will surely not be taking anything for granted anymore.
CLASSIFIED
Pos Driver Team Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h 26:59.698
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 0.506
3. Raikkonen McLaren Mercedes (M) + 23.292
4. Montoya Williams BMW (M) + 36.275
5. Sato Jordan Honda (B) + 1:22.694
6. Button Renault (M) + 1 lap
7. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 lap
8. Salo Toyota (M) + 1 lap
9. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) + 1 lap
10. Webber Minardi Asiatech (B) + 2 laps
11. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 5 laps
Fastest Lap: M.Schumacher, 1:36.125, lap 15
NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS
De la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 39 Mechanical
Fisichella Jordan Honda (B) 37 Engine
Trulli Renault (M) 32 Mechanical
Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 27 Engine
Yoong Minardi Asiatech (M) 14 Spin
Panis BAR Honda (B) 8 Mechanical
Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) 7 Mechanical
Massa Sauber Petronas (B) 3 Spin
McNish Toyota (M) - Did Not Start (Injury)
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING, ROUND 16:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 144 WC 1. Ferrari 221 CC
2. Barrichello 77 2. Williams-BMW 92
3. Montoya 50 3. McLaren-Mercedes 65
4. R.Schumacher 42 4. Renault 23
5. Coulthard 41 5. Sauber-Petronas 11
6. Raikkonen 24 6. Jordan-Honda 9
7. Button 14 7. Jaguar-Cosworth 8
8. Trulli 9 8. BAR 7
9. Irvine 8 9. Toyota 2
10. Fisichella 7 = Arrows 2
= Heidfeld 7 = Minardi-Asiatech 2
12. Massa 4
=. Villeneuve 4
14. Panis 3
15. Webber 2
= Salo 2
= Frentzen 2
= Sato 2
Pos Driver Team Lap Time
1. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 15 1:36.125
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 23 1:36.345 + 0.220
3. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 26 1:36.590 + 0.465
4. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 38 1:36.757 + 0.632
5. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 46 1:36.848 + 0.723
6. Salo Toyota (M) 20 1:37.761 + 1.636
7. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 35 1:37.840 + 1.715
8. Trulli Renault (M) 30 1:38.000 + 1.875
9. Button Renault (M) 31 1:38.046 + 1.921
10. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 24 1:38.058 + 1.933
11. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 23 1:38.217 + 2.092
12. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (B) 6 1:38.251 + 2.126
13. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 21 1:38.534 + 2.409
14. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 40 1:38.647 + 2.522
15. de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 35 1:38.836 + 2.711
16. Massa Sauber-Petronas (B) 3 1:39.954 + 3.829
17. Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 51 1:40.232 + 4.107
18. Yoong Minardi-Asiatech (M) 6 1:40.937 + 4.812
19. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 4 1:42.082 + 5.957
Pos Driver Team Time Lap
1. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 27.910 39
2. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 28.256 41
3. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 28.381 40
4. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 28.580 38
5. de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 28.667 37
6. Trulli Renault (M) 28.687 15
7. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 28.925 21
8. Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 29.060 39
9. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 29.171 22
10. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 29.197 25
11. Button Renault (M) 29.270 16
12. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 29.534 38
13. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 29.585 37
14. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 29.748 24
15. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 29.868 19
16. de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 29.885 21
17. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 29.896 35
18. Salo Toyota (M) 29.912 18
19. Salo Toyota (M) 30.270 34
20. Webber Minardi-Asiatech (M) 30.523 22
21. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 30.576 20
22. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 30.594 21
23. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 30.713 19
24. Raikkonen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 30.853 22
25. Fisichella Jordan-Honda (B) 30.856 20
26. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 31.161 35
27. Sato Jordan-Honda (B) 31.196 36
28. Button Renault (M) 32.430 32
29. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 56.848 6
30. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 6:23.085 7
The Japanese Grand Prix, Lap by Lap
Before the start of the race Allan McNish is told that he will not be allowed to start because of worries about the bruises on his knees following his huge qualifying accident on Saturday. Jacques Villeneuve switches to the BAR spare car. Giancarlo Fisichella has an engine problem during the recognition laps and has to go to the spare Jordan, which is set-up for Takuma Sato and has a less powerful engine than his race car.
Lap 5: Panis runs into a problem and drops to the back of the field. He pits with an electrical problem. He later rejoins but retires after another pit stop.
Lap 20: Michael Schumacher is the first of the frontrunners to stop. Barrichello takes the lead. Also stopping is seventh-placed Fisichella.
Lap 38: As Michael Schumacher comes in for his second stop, Fisichella goes out with a blown engine.
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