2002 Brazilian Grand Prix

The 2002 Brazilian Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the XXXI Grande Prêmio do Brasil, was the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 31 March 2002.'Brazilian GP, 2002', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr683.html, (Accessed 14/11/2019) The race would see Michael Schumacher claim a dominant victory courtesy of using the latest Bridgestone tyres, outfoxing the rest of the field.
However, the German ace would have to fight his way to the head of the field after qualifying, for he was beaten to pole position by Juan Pablo Montoya of . Schumacher duly claimed second ahead of his brother Ralf, while the two and the two s got ahead of Rubens Barrichello in the second .
The start of the race would dictate the rest of the afternoon, with Michael Schumacher able to draw alongside Montoya on the run to the first corner. The #1 Ferrari subsequently dived inside the #6 Williams to seize the lead, aided by the fact that Montoya ran wide.
Yet, Montoya did not fall too far behind the German ace, and duly got into the slipstream of Schumacher on the run to Descina do Logo, turn four. Unfortunately the Colombian racer would misjudge his braking point and smack into the back of the Ferrari as he tried to dive to the inside of the left-hander, resulting in the Williams losing its front wing.
Montoya's plummet down the order would leave Schumacher with a healthy lead at the head of the field, with brother Ralf assuming second place. Behind, Barrichello stormed his way up the order on home turf, taking Kimi Räikkönen, David Coulthard, Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli on successive laps.
Indeed, by lap six the Brazilian was also clear of Ralf Schumacher, and charging off to challenge his teammate Michael for the lead. After eight laps the #1 Ferrari moved aside to let the sister car take the lead, prompting huge cheers from the home fans, with Schumacher safe in the knowledge that his Brazilian teammate was on a low fuel load due to opting for a three-stop strategy.
Yet, just three laps later Barrichello was out of the race completely after a hydraulic failure, leaving Schumacher at the head of the pack. Behind, Ralf Schumacher ran in a lonely second, while behind it was all-out war between Renault and McLaren, with Räikkönen and Coulthard trying hard to get back ahead of Trulli and Button.
As the race wore on many began to question when race leader Schumacher would make his stop, most assuming that his pace was down to being on a two-stop, compared to the Michelin runners' usual one-stop. However, as the laps ticked by it soon became clear that the Ferrari was indeed on a one-stop, ending any hope that the scarlet car could be defeated.
Schumacher would only lose the lead for five laps as he made his stop, rejoining in second behind his brother before Ralf made his lone stop on lap 44. With that the race for victory was over, with the Schumacher brothers easing to a familial one-two, with Michael allowing Ralf to close to within a second by the end of the final tour.
Behind, the Renault/McLaren fight ended with just one car apiece left healthy at the end of the race, with Coulthard ultimately emerging ahead to complete the podium. Button duly claimed fourth despite some late pressure from his Williams replacement Montoya, while Mika Salo had a quietly satisfying run to sixth for .
==Background==
Victory had ensured that Ralf Schumacher leapt up the order in the early Championship table, ending the second weekend of the season in third on ten points. That left him four shy of his Championship leading brother Michael, with the German ace himself two ahead of Ralf's teammate Juan Pablo Montoya. Elsewhere, Kimi Räikkönen slipped to fourth ahead of Eddie Irvine and Jenson Button, with ten drivers on the score sheet.
In the Constructors Championship the one-two for had propelled the Anglo-German alliance to the top of the pack, establishing an eight point lead. hence slipped to second on fourteen points, although they still held a significant ten point margin over third placed . Elsewhere, , and were all level on three points, while and completed the early score sheet.
===Entry list===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Michael Schumacher 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2002 	 	051 3.0 V10 	
2 	Rubens Barrichello 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F1-2001 	 	050 3.0 V10 	
3 	David Coulthard 	West McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-17 	 	FO 110M 3.0 V10 	
4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	West McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-17 	 	FO 110M 3.0 V10 	
5 	Ralf Schumacher 	BMW Williams F1 Team 	 	FW24 	 	P82 3.0 V10 	
6 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	BMW Williams F1 Team 	 	FW24 	 	P82 3.0 V10 	
7 	Nick Heidfeld 	Sauber Petronas 	 	C21 	 	02A 3.0 V10 	
8 	Felipe Massa 	Sauber Petronas 	 	C21 	 	02A 3.0 V10 	
9 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	DHL Jordan Honda 	 	EJ12 	 	RA002E 3.0 V10 	
10 	Takuma Sato 	DHL Jordan Honda 	 	EJ12 	 	RA002E 3.0 V10 	
11 	Jacques Villeneuve 	Lucky Strike BAR Honda 	 	004 	 	RA002E 3.0 V10 	
12 	Olivier Panis 	Lucky Strike BAR Honda 	 	004 	 	RA002E 3.0 V10 	
14 	Jarno Trulli 	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 	 	R202 	 	RS22 3.0 V10 	
15 	Jenson Button 	Mild Seven Renault F1 Team 	 	R202 	 	RS22 3.0 V10 	
16 	Eddie Irvine 	Jaguar Racing 	 	R3 	 	CR-3 3.0 V10 	
17 	Pedro de la Rosa 	Jaguar Racing 	 	R3 	 	CR-3 3.0 V10 	
20 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	Orange Arrows 	 	A23 	 	CR-3 3.0 V10 	
21 	Enrique Bernoldi 	Orange Arrows 	 	A23 	 	CR-3 3.0 V10 	
22 	Alex Yoong 	KL Minardi Asiatech 	 	PS02 	 	AT02 3.0 V10 	
23 	Mark Webber 	KL Minardi Asiatech 	 	PS02 	 	AT02 3.0 V10 	
24 	Mika Salo 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF102 	 	RVX-02 3.0 V10 	
25 	Allan McNish 	Panasonic Toyota Racing 	 	TF102 	 	RVX-02 3.0 V10 	
Source:'Brazil 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Qualifying Report===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Gap 	Ave. Speed
1 	6 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	 	1:13.114 	— 	212.167 km/h
2 	1 	Michael Schumacher 	 	1:13.241 	+0.127s 	211.799 km/h
3 	5 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	1:13.328 	+0.214s 	211.548 km/h
4 	3 	David Coulthard 	 	1:13.565 	+0.451s 	210.867 km/h
5 	4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:13.595 	+0.481s 	210.781 km/h
6 	14 	Jarno Trulli 	 	1:13.611 	+0.497s 	210.735 km/h
7 	15 	Jenson Button 	 	1:13.665 	+0.551s 	210.580 km/h
8 	2 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	1:13.935 	+0.821s 	209.811 km/h
9 	7 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	1:14.233 	+1.119s 	208.969 km/h
10 	24 	Mika Salo 	 	1:14.443 	+1.329s 	208.380 km/h
11 	17 	Pedro de la Rosa 	 	1:14.464 	+1.350s 	208.321 km/h
12 	8 	Felipe Massa 	 	1:14.533 	+1.419s 	208.128 km/h
13 	16 	Eddie Irvine 	 	1:14.537 	+1.423s 	208.117 km/h
14 	9 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	1:14.748 	+1.634s 	207.529 km/h
15 	11 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	1:14.760 	+1.646s 	207.496 km/h
16 	25 	Allan McNish 	 	1:14.990 	+1.876s 	206.860 km/h
17 	12 	Olivier Panis 	 	1:14.996 	+1.882s 	206.843 km/h
18 	20 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	1:15.112 	+1.998s 	206.524 km/h
19 	10 	Takuma Sato 	 	1:15.296 	+2.182s 	206.019 km/h
20 	23 	Mark Webber 	 	1:15.340 	+2.226s 	205.899 km/h
21 	21 	Enrique Bernoldi 	 	1:15.355 	+2.241s 	205.858 km/h
22 	22 	Alex Yoong 	 	1:16.728 	+3.614s 	202.174 km/h
107% Time: 1:18.232 	107% Time: 1:18.232 	107% Time: 1:18.232 	107% Time: 1:18.232 	107% Time: 1:18.232 	107% Time: 1:18.232 	107% Time: 1:18.232
Source:'Brazil 2002: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)'2002 Grande Premio do Brasil - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2002/races/722/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)'2002 Grande Premio do Brasil - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2002/races/722/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)'2002 Grande Premio do Brasil - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2002/races/722/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)'2002 Grande Premio do Brasil - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2002/races/722/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)'2002 Grande Premio do Brasil - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2002/races/722/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)'2002 Grande Premio do Brasil - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2002/races/722/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)'2002 Grande Premio do Brasil - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2002/races/722/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 14/11/2019)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
*Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
** Barrichello and Sato had their fastest lap times deleted for ignoring a red light in the pitlane during practice.
===Grid===
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	1 	Michael Schumacher 	 	71 	1:31:43.663 	2 	10
2 	5 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	71 	+0.588s 	3 	6
3 	3 	David Coulthard 	 	71 	+59.109s 	4 	4
4 	15 	Jenson Button 	 	71 	+1:06.883 	7 	3
5 	6 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	 	71 	+1:07.563 	1 	2
6 	24 	Mika Salo 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	10 	1
7 	16 	Eddie Irvine 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	13 	
8 	17 	Pedro de la Rosa 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	11 	
9 	10 	Takuma Sato 	 	69 	+2 Laps 	19 	
10* 	11 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	68 	Engine 	15 	
11 	23 	Mark Webber 	 	68 	+3 Laps 	20 	
12* 	4 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	67 	Wheel 	5 	
13 	22 	Alex Yoong 	 	67 	+4 Laps 	22 	
Ret 	7 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	61 	Brakes 	9 	
Ret 	14 	Jarno Trulli 	 	60 	Engine 	6 	
Ret 	8 	Felipe Massa 	 	41 	Collision 	12 	
Ret 	25 	Allan McNish 	 	40 	Spin 	16 	
Ret 	12 	Olivier Panis 	 	25 	Gearbox 	17 	
Ret 	20 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	25 	Suspension 	18 	
Ret 	21 	Enrique Bernoldi 	 	19 	Suspension 	21 	
Ret 	2 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	16 	Hydraulics 	8 	
Ret 	9 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	6 	Engine 	14 	
Source:'Brazil 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
** Villeneuve and Räikkönen were both still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.
==Milestones==
* Rubens Barrichello made his 150th Grand Prix start.'3. Brazil 2002', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 14/11/2019)
* 20th Grand Prix starts for Enrique Bernoldi, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Räikkönen.'2002 Brazilian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2002&gp=Brazilian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 14/11/2019)
* Juan Pablo Montoya recorded the twentieth pole position for a engine.
* 55th career victory for Michael Schumacher.
** It was also Schumacher's 100th podium finish.
* claimed their 146th win as a constructor and engine supplier.
* Ralf Schumacher claimed the 40th podium finish for a BMW engine.
==Standings==
Michael Schumacher extended his Championship lead after his second win of the campaign, moving eight clear at the head of the pack. Ralf Schumacher, meanwhile, had moved into second ahead of his teammate Juan Pablo Montoya, with those three the only drivers in double figures. Behind, Jenson Button climbed into fourth ahead of the two , with eleven drivers on the score sheet.
In the Constructors Championship had done enough to hold their Championship lead, although their advantage had been cut to six points. hence still loomed large in their mirrors, moving onto 24 points, with McLaren-Mercedes already a distant third, sixteen behind their Italian rivals. Behind, were sat in fourth ahead of and , while remained ahead of .
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Michael Schumacher 	24 	
2 	Ralf Schumacher 	16 	1
3 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	14 	1
4 	Jenson Button 	6 	2
5 	Kimi Räikkönen 	4 	1
6 	David Coulthard 	4 	12
7 	Eddie Irvine 	3 	2
8 	Mark Webber 	2 	1
9 	Nick Heidfeld 	2 	1
10 	Mika Salo 	2 	1
11 	Felipe Massa 	1 	1
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	30 	
2 	 	24 	
3 	 	8 	
4 	 	6 	1
5 	 	3 	1
6 	 	3 	
7 	 	2 	
8 	 	2 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
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References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Brazilian Grand Prix
Category:2002 Grands Prix
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Formula One races in Brazil