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2003 French Grand Prix

Coordinates: 46°51′51″N 3°09′49″E / 46.86417°N 3.16361°E / 46.86417; 3.16361
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2003 French Grand Prix
Race 10 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One World Championship
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Race details
Date 6 July 2003
Official name LXXXIX Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France
Location Magny-Cours, France
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.411[1] km (2.741 miles)
Distance 70 laps, 308.586[1] km (191.746 miles)
Weather Cloudy, Air: 26 °C (79 °F), Track 35 °C (95 °F)
Attendance 101,537
Pole position
Driver Williams-BMW
Time 1:15.019
Fastest lap
Driver Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW
Time 1:15.512 on lap 36
Podium
First Williams-BMW
Second Williams-BMW
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders
Juan Pablo Montoya finished 2nd and set the fastest lap of the race.
Ralph Firman finished 15th in his Jordan EJ13.
Kimi Räikkönen took 4th in his McLaren MP4-17.

The 2003 French Grand Prix (formally the LXXXIX Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France) was a Formula One motor race held on 6 July 2003 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours. It was the tenth race of the 2003 Formula One season. The 70-lap race was won by Ralf Schumacher driving for the Williams team after starting from pole position, which would turn out to be his last race win in Formula One. Juan Pablo Montoya finished second in the other Williams car, with Michael Schumacher third driving for Ferrari. Ralf Schumacher's victory was his second consecutive win of the season having won the preceding European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring.

As a consequence of the race, Michael Schumacher extended his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to eight points over Kimi Räikkönen, with Ralf Schumacher a further three points behind. In the World Constructors' Championship, Williams reduced the gap to Ferrari from thirteen points to three points.

This was the first French Grand Prix held at the upgraded version of Magny-Cours, having made Château d'Eau a sharper right hand corner, and a complete modification of the Lycée section, becoming a very sharp right hand turn after the back straight which then leads to a difficult final chicane next to the pit entrance. The pit lane was also significantly shortened as a result of the upgrades.

As of 2024, this is the last 1–2 finish for Williams.

Classification

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Jos Verstappen ended up quickest after the first qualifying session due to a drying track. This was the only time a Minardi topped the timesheets at a race weekend.[2] His teammate Justin Wilson's time after Q1 was deleted after scrutineering found his car was 2 kg underweight. It was 1:20.968 which at the time was good enough for 2nd place giving Minardi a 1–2.

Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Q1 Time Q2 Time Gap
1 4 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1:29.327 1:15.019
2 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1:28.988 1:15.136 +0.117
3 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:27.929 1:15.480 +0.461
4 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:29.120 1:15.533 +0.514
5 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:28.937 1:15.628 +0.609
6 7 Italy Jarno Trulli Renault 1:29.024 1:15.967 +0.948
7 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 1:29.455 1:16.087 +1.068
8 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:27.095 1:16.166 +1.147
9 14 Australia Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1:25.178 1:16.308 +1.289
10 20 France Olivier Panis Toyota 1:24.175 1:16.345 +1.326
11 15 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth 1:24.642 1:16.965 +1.946
12 16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 1:24.651 1:16.990 +1.971
13 21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1:26.975 1:17.068 +2.049
14 17 United Kingdom Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1:30.371 1:17.077 +2.058
15 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1:24.042 1:17.445 +2.426
16 10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 1:26.151 1:17.562 +2.543
17 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford 1:28.502 1:18.431 +3.412
18 12 Republic of Ireland Ralph Firman Jordan-Ford 1:23.496 1:18.514 +3.495
19 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth 1:20.817 1:18.709 +3.690
20 18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Minardi-Cosworth Time deleted 1:19.619 +4.600
Sources:[3][4][5]

Race

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 4 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 70 1:30:49.213 1 10
2 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 70 +13.813 2 8
3 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 70 +19.568 3 6
4 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 70 +38.047 4 5
5 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 70 +40.289 5 4
6 14 Australia Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 70 +1:06.380 9 3
7 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 69 +1 lap 8 2
8 20 France Olivier Panis Toyota 69 +1 lap 10 1
9 16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 69 +1 lap 12  
10 15 Brazil Antônio Pizzonia Jaguar-Cosworth 69 +1 lap 11  
11 21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Toyota 69 +1 lap 13  
12 10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 68 +2 laps 16  
13 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 68 +2 laps 15  
14 18 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Minardi-Cosworth 67 +3 laps 20  
15 12 Republic of Ireland Ralph Firman Jordan-Ford 67 +3 laps 18  
16 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth 66 +4 laps 19  
Ret 7 Italy Jarno Trulli Renault 45 Engine 6  
Ret 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 43 Engine 7  
Ret 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford 42 Engine 17  
Ret 17 United Kingdom Jenson Button BAR-Honda 21 Out of fuel 14  
Source:[6]

Championship standings after the race

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

References

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  1. ^ a b "Grand Prix de France". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived from the original on 2010-09-15. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
  2. ^ "Provisional pole for Verstappen in French GP qualifying". Motorsport.com. 15 May 2013. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2013.
  3. ^ "2003 Mobil 1 Grand Prix of France – Qualifying 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  4. ^ "2003 Mobil 1 Grand Prix of France – Qualifying 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  5. ^ "2003 French Grand Prix Classification Grid". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  6. ^ "2003 French Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  7. ^ a b "France 2003 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 17 March 2019.
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2003 European Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
2003 season
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2003 British Grand Prix
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2002 French Grand Prix
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2004 French Grand Prix

46°51′51″N 3°09′49″E / 46.86417°N 3.16361°E / 46.86417; 3.16361