2003 Formula 1 World Championship Review
Michael Schumacher's historic sixth World Championship is just one of many memorable highlights in theOfficial Reviewof F1's eventful 2003 season. Compiled from official broadcast coverage including excerpts from post-race interviews and qualifying pole-winners, this annual survey offers concise summaries of all 16 races from Australia (where Finland's Kimi Räikkönen scored a pivotal victory for McLaren) to Japan, where Rubens Barrichello secured a win for himself, the constructor's championship for Ferrari, and all-time greatest honors for his teammate, the über-German Schumacher. Brazil was crazy all around, with sporadic rain, frequent tire changes, a spectacular wipeout by Renault's Fernando Alonso (who still earned a third-place finish), and a judgment-decided victory for Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella. (Better use of graphics and narration would clarify race-to-race transitions, but knowledgeable F1 fans probably won't notice this forgivable flaw.)"Schumi" scored an emotional victory at San Marino just hours after his mother's death, and won again in Italy (including his fastest-ever lap), Austria, Canada, and the rainy-day U.S. GP (while brother Ralf won the European and French GPs). Ferrari's new "shark-vented" F2003GA debuted at Imola; Juan Pablo Montoya challenged the championship with a win at Monaco (where 2002-to-2003 track changes are shown in split-screen from the cockpit of JPM's Williams); and Alonso's first-place finish at Hungary made him the youngest-ever GP winner. Despite numerous revisions in regulations and Ferrari's mid-season protest over apparent Michelin tire-width violations (judges dismissed the claim while Michelin corrected its tire size), the 2003 F1 season achieved its commercial goal with huge crowds, wacky highlights (remember that kilted loony on the track at Silverstone?), celebrity appearances, climactic races, intense competition from Williams, McLaren, and Renault (to contrast Ferrari's dominance in 2002), and the amazing achievement of Schumacher, now indisputably the greatest driver (statistically speaking) in the history of Formula One.--Jeff Shannon