2002 French Grand Prix
| 2002 French Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 11 of 17 in the 2002 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | July 21, 2002 | ||
| Official name | Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France | ||
| Location | Magny-Cours, France | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 4.411 km (2.641 miles) | ||
| Distance | 72 laps, 305.886 km (190.069 miles) | ||
| Weather | Warm and sunny, Air Temp: 25°C | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-BMW | ||
| Time | 1:11.985 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | |
| Time | 1:15.045 on lap 62 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
|
Lap leaders | |||
The 2002 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Magny-Cours on July 21, 2002. It was the 11th race of the 2002 Formula One season and the race in which Michael Schumacher secured his 5th World Drivers' Championship title in record time, equalling Juan Manuel Fangio's record set over 40 years before. McLaren-Mercedes drivers Kimi Räikkönen and David Coulthard finished second and third respectively.
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 |  Juan Pablo Montoya
|
Williams-BMW | 1:11.985 | — |
| 2 | 1 |  Michael Schumacher
|
Ferrari | 1:12.008 | +0.023 |
| 3 | 2 |  Rubens Barrichello
|
Ferrari | 1:12.197 | +0.212 |
| 4 | 4 |  Kimi Räikkönen
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 1:12.244 | +0.259 |
| 5 | 5 | Ralf Schumacher
|
Williams-BMW | 1:12.424 | +0.439 |
| 6 | 3 | David Coulthard
|
McLaren-Mercedes | 1:12.498 | +0.513 |
| 7 | 15 | Jenson Button
|
Renault | 1:12.761 | +0.776 |
| 8 | 14 |  Jarno Trulli
|
Renault | 1:13.030 | +1.045 |
| 9 | 16 | Eddie Irvine
|
Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:13.188 | +1.203 |
| 10 | 7 | Nick Heidfeld
|
Sauber-Petronas | 1:13.370 | +1.385 |
| 11 | 12 |  Olivier Panis
|
BAR-Honda | 1:13.457 | +1.472 |
| 12 | 8 | Felipe Massa
|
Sauber-Petronas | 1:13.501 | +1.516 |
| 13 | 11 |  Jacques Villeneuve
|
BAR-Honda | 1:13.506 | +1.521 |
| 14 | 10 |  Takuma Sato
|
Jordan-Honda | 1:13.542 | +1.557 |
| 15 | 17 |  Pedro de la Rosa
|
Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:13.656 | +1.671 |
| 16 | 24 | Mika Salo
|
Toyota | 1:13.837 | +1.852 |
| 17 | 25 | Allan McNish
|
Toyota | 1:13.949 | +1.964 |
| 18 | 23 |  Mark Webber
|
Minardi-Asiatech | 1:14.800 | +2.815 |
| 19 | 22 |  Alex Yoong
|
Minardi-Asiatech | 1:16.798 | +4.813 |
| 107% time: 1:17.023 | |||||
| DNQ | 20 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
|
Arrows-Cosworth | 1:18.497 | +6.512 |
| DNQ | 21 | Enrique Bernoldi
|
Arrows-Cosworth | 1:19.843 | +7.858 |
| DNQ | 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella
|
Jordan-Honda | — | — |
Race
Notes
- Lap leaders: Juan Pablo Montoya 30 (1–23, 36–42), Michael Schumacher 14 (24–25, 29–35, 68–72), Kimi Räikkönen 21 (26, 43–49, 55–67), David Coulthard 7 (27–28, 50–54)
- Giancarlo Fisichella crashed in a Saturday practice session and was recommended by the doctors to sit out the race. A last minute attempt to have Heinz-Harald Frentzen drive in his place fell through due to legal technicalities.
- This victory handed Michael Schumacher his 5th World Championship, equalling the record set by Argentinian Juan Manuel Fangio almost 50 years earlier. This is also the earliest that a World Championship has been clinched, with only 11 races of the season completed and 6 remaining.
- Räikkönen could have won the race, but whilst going into Adelaide hairpin in the closing stages, he locked up and ran wide after passing through the oil left by McNish's Toyota engine that had just given up on the same place, while Schumacher passed him to win.
- Schumacher's pass on Räikkönen was controversial for some time after the Grand Prix, as it was believed that Schumacher had made the pass under yellow flags from McNish's engine blow; this would have meant Schumacher would receive a penalty that would have certainly given Räikkönen the win. The FIA, however, ruled in favour of Schumacher and Ferrari.
- Both Arrows-Cosworth cars deliberately failed to qualify for the race due to financial issues. It would prove to be the team's penultimate showing at a Grand Prix weekend.
- Juan Pablo Montoya clinched a fifth consecutive pole position, a run stretching back to that year's Monaco Grand Prix; despite this, Montoya failed to win any of the five races. The Colombian driver had previously suffered consecutive retirements at the Monaco, Canadian and European events before finishing third at the British Grand Prix. In total Montoya would start seven races from pole position during the season, but was unable to secure a single victory.
- Last fastest lap: David Coulthard
- David Coulthard set the fastest lap of the French Grand Prix for the 5th consecutive year.
- Rubens Barrichello's car was left on its jacks, while the other cars started their warm-up laps.
Standings after the race
- Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2002 French Grand Prix.
- Official 2002 French Grand Prix results from FIA website and Formula1 website.