Britain: Complete Grand Prix Lap by Lap

JB at Silverstone
By pitpass.com (20/07/2003)
July 20 2003

The sky is blue but there are thick white clouds on the horizon, is the weather going to play a decisive role in today's British Grand Prix?

It's an interesting grid to say the least with pole-man Rubens Barrichello supposedly running light while directly behind him are Kimi Raikkonen and fellow championship hopeful Michael Schumacher. On the other side of the grid we have Jarno Trulli, Ralf Schumacher and Cristiano da Matta. The mad scramble up to Copse should be interesting to say the least.

As they head off on the parade lap Jarno Trulli is very slow getting away, however the Italian eventually gets off the line and the rest of the (waiting) packs breathes a sigh of relief.

Trulli leads into Copse as the entire field gets away cleanly, Michael has a go at his brother as Alonso fights with Montoya, it's fast and frantic.

At the end of the first lap it's Trulli, Raikkonen, Barrichello, Ralf, Michael, Montoya, Alonso, da Matta, Coulthard and Pizzonia.

Barrichello is losing ground in third position as Jenson Button is already up to fifteenth from last.

At the end of the second lap Trulli still leads by 0.9s with Rubens almost 2s down the road. Ralf, Michael, Montoya and Alonso are running together.

1:22.855, fastest lap for Barrichello who has suddenly upped his pace.

Frentzen had a problem at the start but finally got away, after three laps he's running eighteenth having passed both Minardis, though Verstappen is determined to re-take the German.

At the end of lap five Barrichello is all over Raikkonen which is good news for Ferrari and Michael Schumacher, out front Jarno Trulli has stretched his lead to 1.6s.

Suddenly the safety car is brought out but nobody seems to know quite why. It seems that there's been a minor collision and as a result there's debris all over the track. Coulthard, da Matta, Panis and Firman all take advantage of the safety car period and stop for fuel. More misery for the Scot, it appears that the 'debris' was the headrest from his MP4-17D.

After six laps the field is bunched up behind the safety car, with Trulli leading Raikkonen, Barrichello, Ralf, Michael, Montoya, Alonso, Pizzonia and da Matta.

As the safety car pulls off so does Pizzonia who surprisingly opts to pit, dropping to last. The fight between the two WilliamsF1s and Schumacher's Ferrari is electric, these guys are really going at it.

Now Trulli isn't pulling away quite so cleanly and the first seven are covered by seconds, blink and you'll miss 'em.

Barrichello posts another fastest lap (1:22.719) and is all over Raikkonen, the Ferrari clearly has the pace but needs to get past the McLaren.

Button is up to eleventh, a great drive from the English youngster, while Coulthard is in seventeenth.

Rubens has a go at Raikkonen and forces the Finn into a slight mistake, which is all the Brazilian needs, he's through to second and in hot pursuit of Trulli.

Absolute madness, someone - we won't call them a fan - runs on to the track, he appears to be wearing a kilt and waving a placard. The safety car is brought out and as a result everyone pits. This could be the end of the British Grand Prix for the FIA will punish the organisers without mercy, and rightly so.

The safety car is still on track, da Matta leads ahead of Panis, Coulthard, Trulli, Raikkonen, Ralf, Firman, Barrichello, Webber and Villeneuve.

The safety car pulls off and reigning CART Champion Cristiano da Matta leads the field down the pit straight. Raikkonen makes a superb move on Alonso as Rubens gets by Firman.

At the end of lap fifteen da Matta leads his team-mate by 2.3s though moments later Raikkonen is through to take second away from the Frenchman.

Ralf and Barrichello are fighting like devils for sixth, the Brazilian finally nailing the German at Bridge. As Ralf tries to recover from Barrichello's assault Montoya almost takes advantage, somehow the German holds him off.

Da Matta leads Raikkonen by 1.6 with Panis a further 1.9s down the road. Coulthard is fourth ahead of Trulli, Barrichello, Ralf, Montoya, Firman and Webber.

Montoya finally gets past his team-mate as Alonso and Schumacher (fourteenth and fifteenth) attempt to get past Pizzonia.

At the end of lap nineteen Ralf stop, he appears to have a problem since he pitted for fuel when that madman ran on to the track.

Coulthard is all over Panis while Barrichello is all over Trulli, further back Alonso is having to work hard to fend off Michael Schumacher.

Rubens tries every trick in the book to get past Trulli but the Renault star is having none of it, he holds the Ferrari at bay.

Firman, Webber, Pizzonia and Villeneuve are involved in a titanic battle for eighth which is great for the fans but frustrating for Scuhumacher who is following.

Michael has a moment during his battle with Alonso and goes off losing several places in the process.

After twenty-five laps da Matta still leads, though Raikkonen is now a mere 0.7s behind. Panis is a further 8.3s down the road ahead of Coulthard, Barrichello, Trulli, Montoya, Webber, Alonso and Firman.

Schumacher gets past Button but has serious problems with the other BAR, Villeneuve refusing to give way to the German, and why should he?

Ralf's problem was due to a barge board that fell off and got lodged in his side intake which caused temperatures to rise to a dangerous level, hence the extra pit stop.

At the end of lap twenty-eight Coulthard makes his second stop of the afternoon, he's out again 8.9s.

Schumacher and Villeneuve are going at it hammer and tongs but the German can't find a way past, Jacques will be having the time of his life.

Further up the road Barrichello is putting Panis under extreme pressure, suddenly the Toyota slows allowing the Brazilian and Juan Pablo Montoya past, clearly Olivier has a serious problem.

Ralph Firman now comes under intense pressure as Villeneuve and Schumacher appear in his mirrors, as they close the German makes his move and gets past the Canadian to take ninth.

Firman knows that 'resistance is futile' and allows Schumacher through, the German sets off after da Matta who is now running in sixth having pitted at the end of lap thirty.

Raikkonen leads Barrichello by 9.5s as Pizzonia slows with what appears to be a terminal (should that be Terminator) problem, on lap 33 the first retirement of the day.

Rubens Barrichello posts another fastest lap as Ralf Schumacher makes a superb move on Button to take tenth.

At the end of lap thirty-five Raikkonen pits, he's out again in 9.8s leaving Barrichello in the lead ahead of Montoya.

Although Panis appeared to have a problem he's still running and is currently fifteenth.

Barrichello leads from Montoya, Alonso, Raikkonen, da Matta and Michael as Trulli pits. Villeneuve is up to seventh ahead of Ralf, Button, Fisichella, Coulthard and Frentzen.

Montoya (second) and Alonso (third) both pit as Rubens posts another fastest lap, he's running almost two seconds a lap faster than Raikkonen who now moves up to second.

At the end of lap thirty-nine Barrichello pits, he's out again in 8.4s but behind Raikkonen. Ralf also pits while brother Michael moves up to fourth behind da Matta.

With two thirds of the race complete Raikkonen leads Barrichello by 1.1s with da Matta a further 3.8s behind. Michael is fourth ahead of Montoya, Villeneuve, Button, Coulthard, Trulli ands Panis.

Barrichello puts Raikkonen under tremendous pressure and finally the Finn make a mistake going through Bridge, allowing the Brazilian through. Poor Rubens has taken some serious 'stick' this year but today he's really proved himself, a great, determined drive.

In all the excitement Michael Schumacher has pitted dropping the German to eighth. Fisichella slows down, the Jordan appears to have a suspension problem following a major off at Becketts.

At the end of lap forty-five Barrichello leads Raikkonen by 3.5s, with Montoya third ahead of Coulthard, Trulli, Michael, da Matta and Panis who pits.

Alonso is putting Webber under serious pressure for eighth as Michael Schumacher is all over the back of Trulli, meanwhile David Coulthard makes his third stop of the afternoon.

Schumacher hassles Trulli all the way and finally the Italian relents unable to hold off the German. Meanwhile Kimi has made his third mistake of the afternoon allowing Montoya through to take second.

It's a hard afternoon for Trulli who now finds himself under pressure from da Matta and Coulthard who are in hot pursuit. The Brazilian and the Scot have a great scrap but in the end the McLaren driver's experience pay off, he's through to sixth.

Barrichello now leads Montoya by 9.1s with Raikkonen 2.7s behind the Colombian. Schumacher is a further 23.5 behind the McLaren followed by Trulli, Coulthard, da Matta, Alonso, Button, Villeneuve, Ralf, Panis, Frentzen, Firman, Webber, Verstappen, Wilson and Heidfeld.

Lap 53 and Alonso stops on the pit straight, indeed right beside his crew, his race is over, third retirement of the day.

Coulthard is now all over the back of Trulli, while Button is giving Cristiano da Matta a hard time.

Barrichello leads Montoya by 7.5s with Raikkonen a further 5.1s behind, Michael Schumacher is not making any impression on the Finn and seems happy to settle for fourth.

Coulthard continues to hassle Trulli while Webber is all over Firman. DC makes a fantastic move on Trulli at Abbey, the Scot getting by to hopefully add another four points to his tally.

As Barrichello begins his lat lap Villeneuve goes off into the kitty litter, he watches helpless as Button cruises to another point.

Barrichello takes a fine win which is sure to silence some of the critics. Montoya takes a well deserved second while for Kimi Raikkonen it was a case of damage limitation as he made three somewhat needless mistakes.

A strong recovery from Michael, who like many had his race thrown into chaos by those two safety car periods, especially the second. DC did well to finish sixth, though one wonders what might have been possible had he qualified a little further up the grid. Jarno Trulli will be confused as to why having led the race he could only manage sixth while surely da Matta will be fairly happy with seventh.

A special mention for Jenson Button who did remarkably well to finish eighth having started from the back of the grid.

As for the idiot who walked on to the track he deserves any punishment meted out to him, it was a ludicrous thing to do and will surely have played into the hands of Bernie and Max who seem determined to take F1 away from Britain.

Some see these publicity seeking fools as clever indeed a bit of fun, if this kilted fool really does cost Britain its race in 2004 let's see how amusing we all find him then. In our opinion he's an absolute bloody moron.


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