Michael Schumacher secured his first victory of the season on this day in 2003, day after his mother died, and was also the last race for the ultra-successful Ferrari F2002, which won 15 of the 19 races.
After the fantastic 2002 season in which Schumacher finished all races on the podium and Ferrari celebrated in 15/17 races, the new rules and the new season brought an exciting fight at the top of the grid. The new F2003GA was not ready for the start of the season, but the modified F2002 was still the fastest car out there.
Schumacher won second pole position in four races in 2003 on Saturday, but brother Ralf was only 0.014 seconds slower in the BMW Williams FW25. That evening, Schumacher’s mother passed away, but they both decided to race on Sunday.
Ralf passed Michael at the start, but his older brother fought back very quickly after he stayed longer in the first stint and took the lead after the pitstop. Championship leading Raikkonen qualified sixth with more fuel and two stop strategy (the Schumacher brothers and Barrichello went for three stops).
San Marino GP F1 2003 Imola start (Photo: Ferrari)When Michael got ahead of Ralf, he did not have the trouble to keep the lead and finish ahead of Raikkonen who finished second and kept the lead in the driver’s championship. The third was Barrichello in the second Ferrari F2002.
Ferrari had a problem with Barrichello’s last pitstop and the Brazilian did not manage to pass Raikkonen din the last stint despite having a faster car with fresher tyres. Ralf retained fourth place after Barrichello overtook him in the last stint and Coulthard was fifth in the second McLaren.
Alonso finished sixth for Renault ahead of Montoya in the second Williams and Button in BAR Honda.
STARTING GRID
| 1 | 1 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:22.327 | – |
| 2 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams/BMW | 1:22.341 | 0.014 |
| 3 | 2 | R.Barrichello | Ferrari | 1:22.557 | 0.230 |
| 4 | 3 | J.P.Montoya | Williams/BMW | 1:22.789 | 0.462 |
| 5 | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar/Cosworth | 1:23.015 | 0.688 |
| 6 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:23.148 | 0.821 |
| 7 | 16 | J.Villeneuve | BAR/Honda | 1:23.160 | 0.833 |
| 8 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:23.169 | 0.842 |
| 9 | 17 | Jenson Button | BAR/Honda | 1:23.381 | 1.054 |
| 10 | 20 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 1:23.460 | 1.133 |
| 11 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber/Petronas | 1:23.700 | 1.373 |
| 12 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:23.818 | 1.491 |
| 13 | 21 | C.da Matta | Toyota | 1:23.838 | 1.511 |
| 14 | 10 | H-H.Frentzen | Sauber/Petronas | 1:23.932 | 1.605 |
| 15 | 15 | Antônio Pizzonia | Jaguar/Cosworth | 1:24.147 | 1.820 |
| 16 | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 1:24.190 | 1.863 |
| 17 | 11 | G.Fisichella | Jordan/Ford | 1:24.317 | 1.990 |
| 18 | 18 | Justin Wilson | Minardi/Cosworth | 1:25.826 | 3.499 |
| 19 | 12 | Ralph Firman | Jordan/Ford | 1:26.357 | 4.030 |
| 20 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Minardi/Cosworth | – | – |
RACE RESULTS
| 1 | 1 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 62 | 1:28:12.058 | |
| 2 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren/Mercedes | 62 | 1:28:13.940 | 1.882 |
| 3 | 2 | R.Barrichello | Ferrari | 62 | 1:28:14.349 | 2.291 |
| 4 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams/BMW | 62 | 1:28:20.861 | 8.803 |
| 5 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren/Mercedes | 62 | 1:28:21.469 | 9.411 |
| 6 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 62 | 1:28:55.747 | 43.689 |
| 7 | 3 | J.P.Montoya | Williams/BMW | 62 | 1:28:57.329 | 45.271 |
| 8 | 17 | Jenson Button | BAR/Honda | 61 | 1:28:13.071 | 1 lap |
| 9 | 20 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 61 | 1:28:31.807 | 1 lap |
| 10 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber/Petronas | 61 | 1:28:33.715 | 1 lap |
| 11 | 10 | H-H.Frentzen | Sauber/Petronas | 61 | 1:28:34.809 | 1 lap |
| 12 | 21 | C.da Matta | Toyota | 61 | 1:29:01.343 | 1 lap |
| 13 | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 61 | 1:29:13.272 | 1 lap |
| 14 | 15 | Antônio Pizzonia | Jaguar/Cosworth | 60 | 1:29:23.841 | 2 laps |
| 15 | 11 | G.Fisichella | Jordan/Ford | 57 | 1:23:03.822 | Engine |
| (15) | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar/Cosworth | 54 | 1:19:26.442 | Halfshaft |
| (16) | 12 | Ralph Firman | Jordan/Ford | 51 | 1:15:04.924 | Engine |
| (17) | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Minardi/Cosworth | 38 | 56:26.591 | Electrical |
| (18) | 18 | Justin Wilson | Minardi/Cosworth | 23 | 34:26.930 | Retired |
| (13) | 16 | J.Villeneuve | BAR/Honda | 19 | 27:47.702 | Hydraulics |
Fastest lap: Michael Schumacher – 1:22.491 (lap 17)
San Marino GP F1 2003 Imola finish line – Michael Schumacher wins (Photo: Ferrari)DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 4/16 RACES
| 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | 32 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 8 |
| 2 | David Coulthard | 19 | 10 | – | 5 | 4 |
| 3 | Michael Schumacher | 18 | 5 | 3 | – | 10 |
| 4 | Fernando Alonso | 17 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | Rubens Barrichello | 14 | 8 | – | 6 | |
| 6 | Ralf Schumacher | 13 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 |
| 7 | Giancarlo Fisichella | 10 | – | – | 10 | – |
| 8 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 10 | 8 | – | – | 2 |
| 9 | Jarno Trulli | 9 | 4 | 4 | 1 | – |
| 10 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | 7 | 3 | – | 4 | – |
| 11 | Jacques Villeneuve | 3 | – | – | 3 | – |
| 12 | Jenson Button | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 |
| 13 | Nick Heidfeld | 1 | 1 | – | – | |
| 14 | Mark Webber | 0 | – | – | ||
| 15 | Olivier Panis | 0 | – | |||
| 16 | Cristiano da Matta | 0 | – | – | – | |
| 17 | Ralph Firman | 0 | – | – | – | |
| 18 | Jos Verstappen | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 19 | Antônio Pizzonia | 0 | – | – | – | – |
CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
| 1 | McLaren/Mercedes | 51 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 12 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 32 | 5 | 11 | – | 16 |
| 3 | Renault | 26 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 3 |
| 4 | Williams/BMW | 23 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | Jordan/Ford | 10 | – | – | 10 | – |
| 6 | Sauber/Petronas | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | – |
| 7 | BAR/Honda | 6 | – | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 8 | Toyota | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 9 | Jaguar/Cosworth | 0 | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | Minardi/Cosworth | 0 | – | – | – | – |
San Marino GP F1 2003 Imola podium – Schumacher, Raikkonen, Barrichello (Photo: Ferrari)
