On this day in 2003 Juan Pablo Montoya won the most prestigious race in Formula 1 after beating the teammate Ralf Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen in McLaren in 2003 Monaco GP.
Montoya won from third place, one year after failing to win from pole position on the streets of Monte Carlo when Coulthard overtook him at the start and later won the race.
Ralf Schumacher won his first pole position of the season and the second in his career after the 2001 French GP – the German was 0.036 seconds faster than Raikkonen and 0.156 seconds faster than Montoya. The fourth was Trulli in Renault, fifth Michael Schumacher in Ferrari, sixth Coulthard in McLaren, seventh Barrichello in Ferrari and eighth Alonso in Renault.
Ralf retains the lead at the start, but he is lightest from the fronrunners and pits already in lap 21. Montoya followed him two laps later while Raikkonen entered the pits two laps after Columbian. Michael Schumacher was the heaviest from top6 drivers and made his first stop in lap 31 while Montoya and Raikkonen overtook Ralf after his first stop.
Michael Schumacher was third after the first stops and finished third behind Montoya and Raikkonen, which was vital for his championship hopes because Kimi increased his advantage at the top. Ralf finished just fourth after starting from pole, Alonso was fifth and Trulli sixth.
It was Williams’ first win in the 2003 season and Raikkonen continued to lead the drivers’ championship, four points ahead of Michael Schumacher, while McLaren led the constructors with two points more than Ferrari.
STARTING GRID
| 1 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams/BMW | 1:15.259 | – |
| 2 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:15.295 | 0.036 |
| 3 | 3 | J.P.Montoya | Williams/BMW | 1:15.415 | 0.156 |
| 4 | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 1:15.500 | 0.241 |
| 5 | 1 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:15.644 | 0.385 |
| 6 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren/Mercedes | 1:15.700 | 0.441 |
| 7 | 2 | R.Barrichello | Ferrari | 1:15.820 | 0.561 |
| 8 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 1:15.884 | 0.625 |
| 9 | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar/Cosworth | 1:16.237 | 0.978 |
| 10 | 21 | C.da Matta | Toyota | 1:16.744 | 1.485 |
| 11 | 16 | J.Villeneuve | BAR/Honda | 1:16.755 | 1.496 |
| 12 | 11 | G.Fisichella | Jordan/Ford | 1:16.967 | 1.708 |
| 13 | 15 | Antônio Pizzonia | Jaguar/Cosworth | 1:17.103 | 1.844 |
| 14 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber/Petronas | 1:17.176 | 1.917 |
| 15 | 10 | H-H.Frentzen | Sauber/Petronas | 1:17.402 | 2.143 |
| 16 | 12 | Ralph Firman | Jordan/Ford | 1:17.452 | 2.193 |
| 17 | 20 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 1:17.464 | 2.205 |
| 18 | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Minardi/Cosworth | 1:18.706 | 3.447 |
| 19 | 18 | Justin Wilson | Minardi/Cosworth | 1:20.063 | 4.804 |
RACE RESULTS
| 1 | 3 | J.P.Montoya | Williams/BMW | 78 | 1:42:19.010 | |
| 2 | 6 | Kimi Räikkönen | McLaren/Mercedes | 78 | 1:42:19.612 | 0.602 |
| 3 | 1 | M.Schumacher | Ferrari | 78 | 1:42:20.730 | 1.720 |
| 4 | 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams/BMW | 78 | 1:42:47.528 | 28.518 |
| 5 | 8 | Fernando Alonso | Renault | 78 | 1:42:55.261 | 36.251 |
| 6 | 7 | Jarno Trulli | Renault | 78 | 1:42:59.982 | 40.972 |
| 7 | 5 | David Coulthard | McLaren/Mercedes | 78 | 1:43:00.237 | 41.227 |
| 8 | 2 | R.Barrichello | Ferrari | 78 | 1:43:12.276 | 53.266 |
| 9 | 21 | C.da Matta | Toyota | 77 | 1:43:24.502 | 1 lap |
| 10 | 11 | G.Fisichella | Jordan/Ford | 77 | 1:43:26.017 | 1 lap |
| 11 | 9 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber/Petronas | 76 | 1:42:42.341 | 2 laps |
| 12 | 12 | Ralph Firman | Jordan/Ford | 76 | 1:43:07.630 | 2 laps |
| 13 | 20 | Olivier Panis | Toyota | 74 | 1:43:06.947 | 4 laps |
| (9) | 16 | J.Villeneuve | BAR/Honda | 63 | 1:24:59.611 | Engine |
| (14) | 18 | Justin Wilson | Minardi/Cosworth | 29 | 41:04.619 | Fuel system |
| (12) | 19 | Jos Verstappen | Minardi/Cosworth | 28 | 39:38.213 | Fuel system |
| (15) | 14 | Mark Webber | Jaguar/Cosworth | 16 | 23:39.983 | Engine |
| (14) | 15 | Antônio Pizzonia | Jaguar/Cosworth | 10 | 15:32.645 | Electrical |
| 10 | H-H.Frentzen | Sauber/Petronas | 0 | – | Spun-off | |
| 17 | Jenson Button | BAR/Honda | 0 | – | DNS | |
Fastest lap: Kimi Raikkonen – 1:14.545 (lap 49)
DRIVERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP AFTER 7/16 RACES
| 1 | Kimi Räikkönen | 48 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 8 | – | 8 | 8 |
| 2 | Michael Schumacher | 44 | 5 | 3 | – | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
| 3 | Fernando Alonso | 29 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 8 | – | 4 |
| 4 | Rubens Barrichello | 27 | 8 | – | 6 | 6 | 6 | 1 | |
| 5 | Juan Pablo Montoya | 25 | 8 | – | – | 2 | 5 | – | 10 |
| 6 | David Coulthard | 25 | 10 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 4 | 2 |
| 7 | Ralf Schumacher | 25 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | Jarno Trulli | 13 | 4 | 4 | 1 | – | – | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | Giancarlo Fisichella | 10 | – | – | 10 | – | – | – | – |
| 10 | Jenson Button | 8 | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | 5 | – |
| 11 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | 7 | 3 | – | 4 | – | – | – | – |
| 12 | Mark Webber | 4 | – | – | 2 | 2 | – | ||
| 13 | Cristiano da Matta | 3 | – | – | – | 3 | – | – | |
| 14 | Jacques Villeneuve | 3 | – | – | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| 15 | Nick Heidfeld | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | – | |
| 16 | Ralph Firman | 1 | – | – | – | 1 | – | – | |
| 17 | Antônio Pizzonia | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 18 | Olivier Panis | 0 | – | – | – | – | |||
| 19 | Jos Verstappen | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 20 | Justin Wilson | 0 | – | – | – |
CONSTRUCTORS’ CHAMPIONSHIP
| 1 | McLaren/Mercedes | 73 | 16 | 10 | 13 | 12 | – | 12 | 10 |
| 2 | Ferrari | 71 | 5 | 11 | – | 16 | 16 | 16 | 7 |
| 3 | Williams/BMW | 50 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 15 |
| 4 | Renault | 42 | 6 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
| 5 | Jordan/Ford | 11 | – | – | 10 | – | 1 | – | – |
| 6 | BAR/Honda | 11 | – | 2 | 3 | 1 | – | 5 | – |
| 7 | Sauber/Petronas | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | – | – | – | – |
| 8 | Jaguar/Cosworth | 4 | – | – | – | – | 2 | 2 | – |
| 9 | Toyota | 3 | – | – | – | – | 3 | – | – |
| 10 | Minardi/Cosworth | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
