page_title: 2002 Australian Grand Prix
section_title: Race
hierarchical_section_title: 2002 Australian Grand Prix / Race
caption_attribution_description: Ralf Schumacher, Indianapolis, 2002
context_page_description: The 2002 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 March at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. With 127,000 people in attendance, the race was the first of the 2002 Formula One World Championship and the 18th edition of the race in Formula One. Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the 58-lap race from starting in second position. Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams finished second and Kimi Räikkönen took third for the McLaren team.
  Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello qualified on pole position by recording the fastest lap in qualifying. He retired at the start of the race, when he braked early for the first corner, catching out Williams driver Ralf Schumacher, who hit the rear of Barrichello's car. Six drivers were involved in a separate incident. The safety car was deployed for four laps to clear the track. McLaren's David Coulthard led the first ten laps until an error on lap eleven allowed Michael Schumacher to pass him. Montoya then passed Schumacher for first place at the beginning of lap twelve. He kept the lead until he ran wide and Michael Schumacher overtook him to reclaim it.
context_section_description: The weather at the start was dry and overcast with the air temperature between 15 to 18 °C (59 to 64 °F) and the track temperature from 20 to 23 °C (68 to 73 °F). One-hundred and twenty-seven thousand people attended the event. Sato drove the spare Jordan EJ12 car set up for his teammate Fisichella; after warm-up the Jordan team rectified an electrical problem that rendered its clutch inoperable. Before the race commenced at 14:00 local time, Frentzen and Bernoldi stalled their stationary cars and marshals and mechanics extricated them to the pit lane.
  Ralf Schumacher used the grip on the outside to pass Michael Schumacher for second position and challenged the heavily fuelled Ferrari of Barrichello for the lead. As Michael Schumacher turned left to provide himself with the best possible entry for Brabham corner, his teammate Barrichello switched lanes twice to try and block Ralf Schumacher, who responded by turning to the centre in anticipation that momentum would move him into the lead. Barrichello braked early for Brabham turn and caught out Ralf Schumacher, who struck the rear of Barrichello's car at about 240 km/h (150 mph). He launched over the Ferrari, grazed Barrichello's helmet, careened 100 m (330 ft) and rested against the tyre wall. Barrichello's rear wing was removed from his car, spinning broadside to a stop and caused an eight-car accident. His teammate Michael Schumacher and Räikkönen drove onto the grass to avoid a collision, as Fisichella hit the Sauber cars of Heidfeld and Massa, causing Button, Panis and McNish to get caught up in the incident. Villeneuve, Salo, Webber, Irvine, de la Rosa, Yoong and Sato negotiated their way through the crash scene.
  The drivers involved in the crash returned to the pit lane in anticipation that the race would be stopped and could drive their spare cars for a restart. However, the FIA race director Charlie Whiting did not stop the race and order a restart since no driver was injured. He deployed the safety car with the damaged cars moved and debris cleared. This left Coulthard in the lead, followed by Trulli, Montoya, Michael Schumacher, Irvine and de la Rosa. At the conclusion of lap two, Räikkönen entered the pit lane for a 48-second pit stop to remove debris from the rear underbody of his McLaren. Webber's differential and traction control began to malfunction on lap three. On the same lap, Frentzen ignored a red light instructing drivers to remain in the pit lane until further notice and ventured onto the circuit. The safety car was withdrawn at the conclusion of the fifth lap and Coulthard led Trulli and Montoya. Going into Whiteford turn, Montoya drew close to Trulli and slid wide on oil laid on the circuit. Michael Schumacher used Montoya's error to overtake him for third place. Further down the field, Räikkönen moved from eleventh to ninth position.
  Coulthard began to pull away from the rest of the field, increasing his lead to four-and-a-half seconds by lap seven. That same lap, Sato overtook de la Rosa for sixth place, as Webber lost seventh position to Räikkönen. At the back, Bernoldi rejoined the race after switching from his race car to the spare Arrows vehicle. Trulli blocked Michael Schumacher from passing him for second into Brabham corner on the eighth lap, allowing Montoya to gain on Schumacher; he was not close enough to affect a pass. There were overtakes further down the field: Räikkönen passed de la Rosa and Sato as Villeneuve overtook Webber for ninth. During lap nine, Trulli lost control of the rear of his Renault on oil at the exit to Jones turn, and broke his suspension in a collision with the inside barrier. Because Trulli was stopped on the centre of the track, the safety car was deployed for the second time to allow marshals to move his car. When the safety car was withdrawn at the end of the 11th lap, an electrical fault distracted Coulthard, causing him to miss a gear change, lock his brakes, and understeer wide onto the grass entering Prost turn. He fell to fifth.
  Michael Schumacher moved into the lead with Montoya second and Irvine thir
caption: Ralf Schumacher made contact with the rear of Barrichello's car and retired with heavy car damage at the start of the race.
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