France: Full Grand Prix Lap by Lap

Walking home...
By pitpass.com (06/07/2003)
July 6 2003

There were fears ahead of today's French GP that Ralf Schumacher might be demoted to the back of the grid when BMW revealed a possible gasket problem which might have necessitated repair.

Under close supervision from the FIA's scrutineers BMW technicians investigated the engine and found no problems, end of scare for pole-man Ralf. Phew!

It's warm but slightly overcast, however it's unlikely that we'll be seeing rain this afternoon.

Justin Wilson is starting from the pitlane which means that he'll be starting with his fuel tanks filled to the brim. There has been talk of some teams doing as many as four stops, shades of Donington 1993.

The parade lap gets underway with no problems, Ralf Schumacher leading this multi-million dollar parade around the Nevers track, as Michael Schumacher burns serious rubber.

Michael loses ground at the start and momentarily loses position to Coulthard but promptly regains fourth. Out front Ralf leads from Montoya and Raikkonen while Trulli leads Alonso as Barrichello spins at the final chicane, crossing the line backwards to register a time but allowing the remainder of the field to go by.

By the end of lap 2 Ralf leads by 1.9s with Montoya 1.7 further down the road and Michael all over Raikkonen. Webber is eighth ahead of team-mate Pizzonia, Panis, Villeneuve, Button and da Matta.

Michael sets the best time of the race in the first sector, but loses ground on the remainder of the lap. At the back of the field Barrichello has passed Wilson to take nineteenth.

At the end of lap 5 Ralf leads by 3.5s, the German is lapping 0.3s quicker than anyone else.

Coulthard is closing on Schumacher with the Renaults in hot pursuit while Firman drops to last behind Wilson. A few cars ahead Verstappen is having a great fight with Barrichello, the Dutchman stands his ground but the Minardi is no match for the mighty Ferrari.

At the end of lap 8 Ralf leads by 3.6s with Raikkonen now 2.4s behind and Michael a further 1.4s down the road and falling into the clutches of Coulthard.

1:16.696, fastest lap on lap 9 for Ralf Schumacher, two laps later he posts a 1:16.645.

Michael is lapping about a second a lap slower than his brother, the Bridgestones clearly no match for the Michelins.

Another fastest lap for Ralf as Michael falls further behind Raikkonen, as Coulthard and the two Renaults continue to shadow the Ferrari.

Verstappen is the first driver to stop for fuel as Firman passes Wilson for eighteenth, Barrichello is now closing down on da Matta for thirteenth.

Montoya now trails his team-mate by 4.4s with Raikkonen a further 4s behind, as Pizzonia is the second man to stop.

At the end of lap 15 Coulthard pits, was he running light in qualifying or is this simply a tactic to get him in front of Schumacher one the pit-stops begin in earnest? It's a brilliant stop the Scot is stationary for a mere 7s.

Raikkonen pits as does Trulli, Webber and Panis, it's fast and furious in the pitlane.

At the end of lap 17 Montoya pits as does Schumacher and Alonso, the German is out in 7.3s while Montoya has a problem and is stationary for 10s.

Fastest lap for Coulthard as Ralf pits, the German stationary for less than 7s.

After the first round of stops the order is: Ralf Schumacher 6.4s ahead of Montoya with Raikkonen a further 2.7s behind followed by Coulthard, Schumacher, Trulli, Alonso and Barrichello who has yet to stop.

1:15.660, fastest lap for Montoya as Barrichello finally pits at the end of lap 20.

After 21 laps Ralf leads his team-mate by 7.9s ahead of the two McLarens. Michael is still resolutely holding on to fifth and actually appears to be pulling away from Trulli.

Jenson Button is the first retirement of the day, the Englishman pulling off on lap 21, having seemingly run out of fuel.

24 laps completed and Ralf leads by 8.4s with Kimi a further 4.9s behind. The Jaguar drivers Webber and Pizzonia are running in eighth and ninth, albeit 8s apart, ahead of Panis, Villeneuve, Barrichello, da Matta, Frentzen, Heidfeld, Fisichella, Verstappen, Firman and Wilson.

At the end of lap 28 Ralf leads by 8.2s with Raikkonen 8.4s behind, Coulthard has closed to within 1.8s of his team-mate while Michael is 4.9s down the road just 3.3s ahead of Trulli.

On lap 30 Verstappen makes his second stop of the race as does Pizzonia, a lap later Kimi Raikkonen follows suit. The Finn is stationary for 7.9s having made a surprisingly early stop.

A lap later DC pits, the Scot is out again in a mere 6.6s re-joining behind his team-mate in seventh.

At the end of lap 35 Montoya pits, the Colombian out again in 7.7 as Trulli make his stop, the Italian stationary for 6.2s.

Next time around Ralf pits he's out in 7.3 as his brother nips in for fuel and fresh rubber.

All the leaders have now stopped other than Alonso who is currently running in fourth. Next time around the Spaniard pits, in addition to fuel and rubber they give the Renault star a little more front wing.

Montoya posts fastest lap 1:15.512 and closes to within 6.3 of his team-mate.

After the second round of stops Ralf still leads from Montoya, Raikkonen, Coulthard, Schumacher, Trulli and Alonso. Webber is eighth ahead of Barrichello, Villeneuve, Panis, da Matta, Pizzonia and Heidfeld.

The Saubers - scrapping for fourteenth place - cause problems for the two McLarens, costing Coulthard in particular vital seconds. This allows Michael to close the gap to the silver cars considerable. Who supplies Saubers engines?

42 laps completed and Ralf leads his team-mate by 5.4s with Raikkonen now trailing by 17.5s and under intense pressure from Coulthard. Michael is 2.7s behind the Scot and 12.9s clear of fifth man Trulli.

Forty-three laps completed and still only one retirement, Jenson Button, who ran out of fuel after a communications problem with his pit.

Disaster for Renault as Alonso's engine blow big time as Jarno Trulli loses ten seconds in one lap, a nightmare lap for the French team at its home race.

A lap later and Fisichella's engine does an impressive impersonation of a Renault.. what were we saying about the lack of retirements?

Montoya is now 3.5s behind Ralf with Raikkonen 19.6s adrift. Michael Schumacher is fifth 4.1s behind Coulthard with Webber sixth ahead of Barrichello and Panis.

Jarno Trulli pulls off completing Renault's misery as Raikkonen makes his third stop of the day. The Finn is stationary for 8s.

The gap between the two WilliamsF1s is now down to 2.7, does Ralf have a problem or is Juan Pablo gaining pace?

End of lap 48 and Coulthard pits, it's an absolute disaster for the Scot. Their appeared to be a problem with the fuel rig, Coulthard driving away before the nozzle has been removed.

Ralf is losing time in the traffic which plays into the hands of Montoya who pits at the end of lap 50.

At the end of lap 51 Ralf pits he's out again in 7.6s rejoining the track just yards ahead of his Colombian team-mate.

At the end of lap 52 Michael pits, the German out again in 7.2s.

Ralf now leads his team-mate by 1.9s with Michael somehow ahead of Raikkonen, though quite how this happened we don't know. Clearly the Ferrari star has had a couple of very good laps.

Coulthard is fifth ahead of Webber, Barrichello and Panis.

55 laps completed and Ralf leads Montoya by 3.9 with Michael a further 26s behind 5.1s ahead of Raikkonen.

Fastest man on track is Michael Schumacher the German is lapping over a second a lap faster than his rivals.

With ten laps remaining Ralf is 10.2s ahead of Montoya with Michael now 17.1s behind the Colombian and Raikkonen a further 10.5s behind. Coulthard is fifth ahead of Webber, Barrichello, Panis, Villeneuve, Pizzonia and da Matta.

A disaster for Dutch F1 fans as Friday's hero Jos Verstappen appears to slow, the Minardi clearly has a problem. He returns to his garage and surprisingly he's back out a few moments later, was he running low on fuel?

Lap 66 and Ralf appears to fall asleep at the wheel, the German very nearly going off at Chateau. That will have woken him up.

67 laps completed and Michael has closed to within 8.7s of Montoya as Coulthard gets ever closer to Raikkonen.

Another pit stop for Verstappen, who appears to have a problem with his left front wheel, his fifth stop of the race.

Ralf cruises to his second successive win and WilliamsF1's second 1-2 of the season.

A few races ago the Grove outfit was being written off, now they're serious title contenders as are drivers Ralf and Juan Pablo.

We've mentioned elsewhere that Bridgestone has a massive test programme scheduled for this week, for Ferrari and Michael Schumacher that can't come quick enough.

A brave drive from Michael while Webber and Barrichello will be delighted to have seen the Renaults exit the race, particularly the Brazilian who made a silly unforced error at the end of the first lap.

A great performance from both Williams drivers while McLaren have another miserable race, and scratch their heads wondering how on earth Michael got ahead of Kimi.

This article was written by pitpass.com and is used with permission.