2003 Hungarian Grand Prix
Race 13 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One World Championship
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The Hungaroring after being modified in 2003.
The Hungaroring after being modified in 2003.
Race details[1][2]
Date 24 August 2003
Official name Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003
Location Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary[3]
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.381 km (2.722 miles)
Distance 70 laps, 306.663 km (190.552 miles)
Weather Warm, dry and sunny, 28 °C (82 °F)
Pole position
Driver
Renault
Time 1:21.688
Fastest lap
Driver Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW
Time 1:22.095 on lap 37
Podium
First
Renault
Second
McLaren-Mercedes
Third
Williams-BMW
Lap leaders

The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2003 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the thirteenth round of the 2003 Formula One season. The 70-lap race was won by Renault's Fernando Alonso after starting from pole position, scoring his first F1 win and becoming at the time the youngest ever driver to win a Grand Prix, beating the previous record of Bruce McLaren.[4] This record lasted for over five years until it was beaten by Sebastian Vettel at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix. It was the first Formula One win for Renault as a constructor since the 1983 Austrian Grand Prix. It was also the first Formula One win for the Enstone-based Formula One team since 1997 German Grand Prix.

It was the first to be held under the newly revamped Hungaroring, with the main straight lengthened and the first hairpin tightened, as well as further alterations near the latter stages of the lap in order to encourage more overtaking.

Report

Friday drivers

The 3 teams in the 2003 Constructors' Championship had the right to drive a third car on Friday that were involved in additional training. These drivers did not compete in qualifying or the race.

ConstructorNatDriver
Renault United Kingdom Allan McNish
Jordan-Ford -
Minardi-Cosworth Italy Gianmaria Bruni

Practice

During practice Jordan driver Ralph Firman suffered a horrendous crash when his rear wing failed, causing his car to swap ends immediately and collide backwards into the crash barriers with such force that he was knocked unconscious and had to sit out the race. He was replaced by local driver Zsolt Baumgartner making his Formula One debut at his home Grand Prix.

Race

Alonso, starting from pole on the clean side of the track, made a clean start and lead into the first corner, while the two Williams of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya, who had started second and fourth respectively on the dirty line had difficulty getting away and were down to around tenth place by the first corner, being compounded by Schumacher's spin at the second corner.

The McLaren-Mercedes of Kimi Räikkönen managed to climb to third on the opening lap from his grid position of seventh. With Mark Webber struggling in second place, Alonso managed to gain 7s in the first three laps and 21s in the first 13 laps before being forced to pit for fuel. Webber, who had also light-fueled to a high qualifying position, also pitted. Alonso reentered the track in second place, just behind Räikkönen, while Webber dropped much further down the field. At the end of the 16th lap, Räikkönen, Barrichello and Montoya all pitted, allowing Alonso to resume his lead.

On lap 17 Jacques Villeneuve's BAR came to a halt with a hydraulic failure before Michael Schumacher pitted, and was passed by Montoya while in the pits, who had been able to do a quicker lap while not being held up by Schumacher. On the following lap, David Coulthard, the last of the front-runners, who had been in front of both Schumacher and Montoya, pitted for a very long fuel stop, re-entering behind both. On lap 19, the Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello suffered a left rear suspension failure, sending him straight on at the first corner hairpin, into the wall. The race stewards decided against deploying the safety car, preserving Alonso's 24s lead over Räikkönen, who rejoined ahead of Webber and proceeded to pull away from the Australian.

Alonso's teammate Jarno Trulli led a train of Montoya, Michael and Ralf Schumacher in a train of cars battling for fourth place, when Ralf overtook his brother on the 28th lap. Alonso and Webber were again the first to have a second fuel stop, on lap 30 and 31 respectively but this time Alonso had enough of a lead to re-enter the track ahead of Räikkönen while Webber dropped to ninth after his stop.

Sauber and Renault entering the pits.

Trulli pitted on the next lap, allowing the faster Williams duo of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher into clear air to set fast laps required to jump him, after Räikkönen rejoined after his pit stop behind them, therefore not causing any impedance. Ralf Schumacher immediately pitted on the next lap and rejoined ahead of Trulli but behind Webber who set a fast lap. Montoya set the fastest lap of the race on the next lap, and pitted on the next, exiting in front of Webber as well as Ralf Schumacher and with a clear track in front of him, became the fastest driver on the circuit. On lap 38 Michael Schumacher was in third place, with Coulthard in fourth, followed by Montoya, Webber, Ralf Schumacher and Trulli. Michael Schumacher then pitted, rejoining close behind Trulli, while Webber attempted to hold off Ralf Schumacher.

After a long first stop, third-placed Coulthard was the last to pit on lap 43, again with a long stop, indicating that he has switched to a two-stop strategy and rejoined between Trulli and Michael Schumacher. On lap 46, Ralf Schumacher finally passed Webber for fourth place, but was too far behind third-placed Montoya who had not been held up by Webber. The third round of pit stops saw no change in the order, aside from Coulthard who moved up to fifth behind Ralf Schumacher as a result of not having to pit. Alonso eventually lapped Schumacher, while Montoya spun in the latter stages of the race and had to fend off his teammate in the final laps. Alonso ended with a comfortable 16.8s lead over the second-placed Räikkönen.[5]

In the process, reigning world champion and the championship leader Michael Schumacher was lapped by the Spaniard, and only managed to salvage one point for an eighth-place finish. The second and third-place finishers Räikkönen and Montoya respectively cut his championship lead over his two rivals to just two and one point respectively.[6]

Reaction

After the race, Alonso described the win as "..a dream come true. I am 22 years old and I have my first victory. I hope I have a long career with lots more victories".[7] Jean Todt, the Ferrari team's manager, referred to their performance as "disappointing".[8]

Post-race

Following the Hungarian GP, Ferrari complained about Michelin front tyres used by its competitors, which, according to the complaint, were wider than allowed towards the end of the race and thereafter. Michelin had to narrow its tyres by the next race.

Classification

Qualifying

PosNoDriverConstructorQ1 TimeQ2 TimeGap
1 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 1:22.953 1:21.688 —
2 4 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 1:22.413 1:21.944 +0.256
3 14 Australia Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 1:22.625 1:22.027 +0.339
4 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 1:23.305 1:22.180 +0.492
5 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 1:22.892 1:22.180 +0.492
6 7 Italy Jarno Trulli Renault 1:22.358 1:22.610 +0.922
7 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 1:23.695 1:22.742 +1.054
8 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 1:23.430 1:22.755 +1.067
9 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 1:22.786 1:23.060 +1.372
10 20 France Olivier Panis Toyota 1:22.986 1:23.369 +1.681
11 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 1:23.482 1:23.621 +1.933
12 15 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Jaguar-Cosworth 1:24.343 1:23.660 +1.972
13 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford 1:24.725 1:23.726 +2.038
14 17 United Kingdom Jenson Button BAR-Honda 1:24.313 1:23.847 +2.159
15 21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Toyota 1:55.138 1:23.982 +2.294
16 16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 1:24.333 1:24.100 +2.412
17 10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 1:23.660 1:24.569 +2.881
18 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth 1:26.052 1:26.423 +4.735
19 12 Hungary Zsolt Baumgartner Jordan-Ford No time 1:26.678 +4.990
20 18 Denmark Nicolas Kiesa Minardi-Cosworth 1:27.023 1:28.907 +7.219
Sources:[9][10][11]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/RetiredGridPoints
1 8 Spain Fernando Alonso Renault 70 1:39:01.460 1 10
2 6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes 70 +16.768 7 8
3 3 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya Williams-BMW 70 +34.537 4 6
4 4 Germany Ralf Schumacher Williams-BMW 70 +35.620 2 5
5 5 United Kingdom David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes 70 +56.535 9 4
6 14 Australia Mark Webber Jaguar-Cosworth 70 +1:12.643 3 3
7 7 Italy Jarno Trulli Renault 69 +1 Lap 6 2
8 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Ferrari 69 +1 Lap 8 1
9 9 Germany Nick Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas 69 +1 Lap 11  
10 17 United Kingdom Jenson Button BAR-Honda 69 +1 Lap 14  
11 21 Brazil Cristiano da Matta Toyota 68 +2 Laps 15  
12 19 Netherlands Jos Verstappen Minardi-Cosworth 67 +3 Laps 18  
13 18 Denmark Nicolas Kiesa Minardi-Cosworth 66 +4 Laps 20  
Ret 10 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Sauber-Petronas 47 Out of fuel 17  
Ret 15 United Kingdom Justin Wilson Jaguar-Cosworth 42 Engine 12  
Ret 12 Hungary Zsolt Baumgartner Jordan-Ford 34 Engine 19  
Ret 20 France Olivier Panis Toyota 33 Gearbox 10  
Ret 11 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Jordan-Ford 28 Engine 13  
Ret 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Ferrari 19 Suspension/Accident 5  
Ret 16 Canada Jacques Villeneuve BAR-Honda 14 Hydraulics 16  
Source:[12]

Championship standings after the race

  • Bold text and an asterisk indicates who still has a mathematical chance of becoming World Champion.
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix.
  1. ↑ Domenjoz, Luc, ed. (2003). "Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj". Formula 1 Yearbook 2003–04. Bath, Somerset: Parragon. p. 189. ISBN 978-1-4054-2089-1 – via Internet Archive.
  2. ↑ "2003 Marlboro Hungarian Grand Prix". Racing-Reference. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "2003 Hungarian Grand Prix". Motor Sport. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  4. ↑ "Alonso makes history in Hungary". ABC News. 24 August 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  5. ↑ "Hungarian GP as it happened". BBC Sport. 24 August 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Alonso storms to historic win". BBC Sport. 24 August 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Alonso toasts 'dream' win". BBC Sport. 25 August 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  8. ↑ "Ferrari need quick solutions". BBC Sport. 24 August 2003. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003 – Qualifying 1". Formula1.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003 – Qualifying 2". Formula1.com. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  11. ↑ "2003 Hungarian Grand Prix Classification Grid". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "2003 Hungarian Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Hungary 2003 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

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