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2002 Canadian Grand Prix
8th round of the 2002 Formula One season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 2002 Canadian Grand Prix (formally the Grand Prix Air Canada 2002)[5] was the eighth round of the 2002 Formula One season and was held on 9 June 2002 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Michael Schumacher won his sixth Grand Prix of the season and his fifth Canadian Grand Prix win. Schumacher fended off the challenges of Juan Pablo Montoya, who later retired, and his teammate Rubens Barrichello, whose race strategy cost him a chance of victory and demoting him to third. Fresh off his victory at Monaco, David Coulthard finished second in the race and earned his fourth podium finish of the season.
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Background
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The 2002 Canadian Grand Prix was the eighth of seventeen rounds in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and took place at the temporary road course Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on 9 June 2002.[2][6] It was the 34th Canadian Grand Prix on the Formula One calendar and one of two races in North America.[6][7] The Ferrari Challenge, Formula Ford 1600 and the Victory Lane Historic Can-Am held support races during the weekend.[8]
Following the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's regulatory body) requested that the circuit be shortened, increasing the race length from 69 to 70 laps.[6][9][10] For safety reasons, the pit lane was extended parallel to the start/finish straight and straightened. The exit was now located outside the right-hand Virage Senna corner rather than the left-hand turn before it. The L'Epingle hairpin to the east was shortened by 60 m (200 ft), and gravel trap run-off sections between the first two corners and the hairpin were replaced with pavement to give drivers better car control if they ran off the circuit. The barrier at turn 13's exit was moved 2 m (6.6 ft) rearward and replaced with a tyre barrier.[9][10][11] To improve grip, the renovated areas received new asphalt.[12]
Heading into the Grand Prix, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 60 championship points, followed by the Williams duo of Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya in joint second with 27 championship points each. McLaren's David Coulthard was fourth (20) and Michael Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello was fifth (12).[13] Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 72 championship points, ahead of Williams on 54 and McLaren on 24. Renault were fourth on 11 and Sauber were fifth on eight.[13]
Following the Monaco Grand Prix on 26 May, the teams evaluated aerodynamic, electrical, and car components, tyres, and racing setups at various European circuits in preparation for the Canadian Grand Prix.[14][15][16] Ten out of eleven teams tested at Northamptonshire's Silverstone Circuit from 28 to 30 May.[14][17] Giancarlo Fisichella (Jordan) lapped fastest on the first day,[14] and Barrichello led on the second and final days.[15][17] Minardi spent two days testing aerodynamic and downforce setups at Italy's Variano Circuit.[18][19] Luca Badoer, Ferrari's test driver, tested car components on the Ferrari F2002 at the Fiorano Circuit in Italy on 3 June.[20] British American Racing (BAR) spent four days testing the 004 car's aerodynamic package and an intermediate specification of gearbox components at France's Circuit Paul Ricard.[16][21]
Prior to the event, Ferrari and its top driver, Michael Schumacher, had won five of seven races, with the exception of the Malaysian Grand Prix and the preceding Monaco Grand Prix.[22] Despite his dominance, Michael Schumacher dismissed Coulthard's victory at Monaco as a one-off due to the track's tight and bumpy nature, but expressed confidence in the race in Canada due to Ferrari's increased race pace.[23] Mercedes-Benz vice-president Norbert Haug warned the audience not to expect a repetition of Coulthard's Monaco win since the Montreal track was unlikely to favour the McLaren MP4-17.[24] Barrichello said he had achieved something in every race in 2002 to make him "feel good about my performance, whether it was taking pole in the first race in Australia or setting the fastest race lap in the last one in Monaco", adding, "I feel as though I am knocking on the big door and I am coming to Canada in a very motivated mood."[25]
There were eleven teams (each representing a different constructor) with two drivers each for the Grand Prix, with no changes from the season entry list.[26] Most teams focused substantially on their cars' braking systems because the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve put a lot of strain on them, and several teams tested brakes from various manufacturers, including Brembo, Carbon Industrie and Hitco.[27] BMW and Mercedes introduced more powerful engines; McLaren ran theirs in qualifying and Williams during the race.[27] Sauber debuted new front suspension systems that use titanium lower wishbones rather than steel.[27] BAR extensively changed the 004 car, installing two fins that extended from the centre of the side to the front of the rear wheels.[27] Jaguar received a new V10 engine from Cosworth for practice and qualifying and Toyota gave driver Mika Salo a new TF102 chassis.[28]
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Practice
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Preceding the race were two one-hour practice sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday.[29] Conditions were warm and sunny for the first practice session.[30] Barrichello led with a 1:16.930 lap set in the session's last moments. Michael Schumacher, Fisichella, the McLaren pair of Coulthard and Kimi Räikkönen, Arrows's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, BAR's Olivier Panis, Sauber's Felipe Massa, Montoya and Jaguar's Pedro de la Rosa followed in the top ten.[31] Following his final fast lap, Michael Schumacher run slightly wide at the final turn and hit with the exit outside barrier,t,[30][31][32] breaking his right-rear wheel rim.[28] When his car started tilting sideways on the start/finish straight, he carefully drove to the pit lane.[32] Enrique Bernoldi stopped his Arrows car at turn six with a minor hydraulic fault.[28][30]
It continued to be warm and sunny for the second practice session.[33] Coulthard set the day's fastest time of 1:15.407,[34] almost four-tenths of a second faster than Michael Schumacher's pole lap in 2001.[35][36] Montoya, Michael Schumacher, Räikkönen, Ralf Schumacher, Salo, Panis, Barrichello, BAR's Jacques Villeneuve and Frentzen rounded out the top ten.[34] Jarno Trulli's Renault stopped on the track seven minutes into the session with an undisclosed technical issue, forcing him to miss the rest of Friday practice.[28][34]
Conditions were fine and warm for the third practice session.[37] Michael Schumacher posted the quickest lap time of 1:14.509 shortly before the session ended, with the fastest four racers all lapping in under 1:15.[38] The Williams duo of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Räikkönen, Frentzen, Panis, Massa, Coulthard and Villeneuve completed the top ten.[39] After 15 minutes,[39] Jordan's Takuma Sato spun at turn six and then went onto the grass at turn eight.[38] Räikkönen lost control of his McLaren's rear after turn four, although he missed striking the wall and spent almost a minute reversing to continue racing.[37][38]
The final practice session was held in cool and overcast conditions after cloud cover obscured the sun.[40][41] Michael Schumacher set the session's fastest lap time of 1:13.395 after 17 minutes,[42] 0.251 seconds faster than Montoya. Barrichello, Räikkönen, Ralf Schumacher, Coulthard, Massa, his Sauber teammate Nick Heidfeld, Villeneuve and Fisichella were in positions three to ten.[40] Some drivers lost control of their cars during the session.[41][42] Barrichello locked his tyres mounting the kerbs into the turn eight and nine chicane and went airborne before crashing into the outside wall,[41][42] removing Barrichello's right-front wheel.[43] His Ferrari was repaired in less than two hours so he could compete in qualifying.[44] Eddie Irvine's Jaguar stopped at the hairpin at the end of practice due to a fuel pump failure.[40][42]
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Qualifying
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Each driver was allowed twelve laps during Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, with starting positions determined by the drivers' quickest laps. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107% of the quickest lap time in order to qualify for the race.[29] White clouds blocked the sun,[45] resulting in lower ambient temperatures throughout qualifying.[46] With four minutes remaining, rain began to fail on the circuit,[45][47] stopping drivers from lapping quicker.[48] Montoya's lap time of 1:12.836 earned him his third pole position of the season and sixth of his career,[49] three seconds faster than the 2001 pole lap time.[50] Michael Schumacher qualified second, 0.182 seconds slower, after briefly holding pole position in qualifying until Montoya's second run.[47][51] He aborted his final run because the rain had made the track damp.[43][46] In his repaired Ferrari,[11] Barrichello qualified third after losing control of the rear at the entry to turn four on his last run on the wet circuit. He returned to the pit lane with his car undamaged.[45][52] Ralf Schumacher, fourth, drove the spare Williams car setup for Montoya because his car developed a pneumatic engine valve gear leak.[51][52] Räikkönen was the faster of the McLaren drivers in fifth after consistent running.[43] Fisichella qualified sixth, his best result of the season at the time,[51] setting his fastest lap with four minutes remaining when the track was least damp.[43][48] Heidfeld qualified seventh.[48][50] He made a slight racing setup tweak for his third run, which did not help his car. Coulthard, seventh, had his second and third runs hampered by oil from Sato's car, and he spun at the final turn attempting to lap quicker on the damp track.[43][48][52] Villeneuve took ninth, his best qualifying result of 2002 thus far.[44][51] With six minutes remaining, as he drove out from the pit lane exit line to begin his final flying lap, his rear wheels locked up due to a gearbox failure, and he went onto the grass.[48][53][54] Trulli, tenth, damaged his Renault's right-rear suspension in an accident with a concrete wall at the turn nine exit.[45][55] He drove cautiously to the pit lane and got into the spare car.[43]
Panis qualified 11th.[50] At the end of his first lap, his car experienced a shifting fault, claiming his car was uncomfortable to brake heavily. Massa was 12th with an oil radiator leak, wrong differential settings, and no traction control system on his first run. Sato's oil affected Massa's second run before adjusting his downforce, which degraded his car on his third lap.[43][52] Renault's Jenson Button took 13th,[50] failing to run in the slipstream of another car on all four runs. Irvine set six laps in the spare Jaguar because he missed the most of qualifying due to a gearbox hydraulic pump issue, finishing 14th.[43][51] On his second run,[52] Sato's engine failed midway through qualifying, leaving oil on the circuit between turns three and four.[48][49] Smoke and fire billowed from his engine, creating fog that reduced visibility.[45] Sato abandoned his car on the circuit and returned to the pit lane to drive his teammate Fisichella's spare Jordan car setup, qualifying 15th.[43] De La Rosa was 16th but could not lap faster because of the rain.[52] Bernoldi improved on each of his runs, finishing 17th and being the fastest Arrows driver for the first time in 2002.[52][55] Salo was the best Toyota driver in 18th,[55] but had to abandon two runs because of yellow flags and Sato's oil.[43] Frentzen's car was leaking water after his first run due to a leaking water radiator, and by the time the radiator was rebuilt, oil and rain had appeared, leaving him 19th. Toyota's Allan McNish, 20th, had grip issues and could not locate a good handling balance.[43][52] The two Minardi drivers of Mark Webber and Alex Yoong qualified at the back of the grid in 21st and 22nd;[48] Yoong's car stopped on the circuit in the start of his final run due to a gearbox issue.[43][52] In total, 21 of the 22 qualifiers lapped quicker than Michael Schumacher's 2001 pole lap record.[47]
Qualifying classification
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Warm-up
On race morning, a half-hour warm-up session was held for teams to shake down their race and spare cars in partially cloudy and warm conditions.[58][59] Michael Schumacher set the pace with a lap time of 1:16.780, ahead of teammate Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Coulthard, Bernoldi, Trulli, De La Rosa, Panis, Montoya and Massa.[60] With eight minutes left. Michael Schumacher's engine failed in the spare Ferrari, causing it to stop at the entry to turn 15 with smoke billowing from it.[59][60] Frentzen ran wide onto the turn six grass, removing part of a bargeboard from his car and losing control of his car's rear braking for the hairpin.[58][61]
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Race
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Montoya got the jump at the start, to lead into the first hairpin, with Barrichello slotting in ahead of Michael Schumacher for second. Räikkönen moved up to fourth ahead of Ralf Schumacher, while a good start elevated Coulthard ahead of Heidfeld and Fisichella. Montoya's lead only lasted for the opening lap, however, as the Colombian ran wide at the final chicane, allowing Barrichello the run into the first corner, and the race lead. The Ferrari driver began to gradually extend his lead, but with the Brazilian on a two-stop strategy, he would need to make up a comfortable margin to be able to retain it after the stops. However, his strategy went up in smoke on lap fifteen, when the Safety Car was deployed for Villeneuve's stranded BAR, whose engine had failed.
Montoya used this break to make his first stop, emerging in fifth place, while Barrichello stayed out in the lead. However, fate seemed to be smiling on the Colombian, as he quickly passed Räikkönen and Ralf Schumacher after the two delayed each other at the final chicane. Barrichello made his first stop on lap 26 dropping down the field as Michael Schumacher inherited the lead until his stop 12 laps later. This allowed Montoya back into the lead for a second time, but Schumacher resumed just 3.6 seconds behind, with the Williams driver still needing to make another stop. That he did fourteen laps later, but he had been unable to exploit his lighter car and rejoined nearly nine seconds behind the championship leader. However, Montoya had no chance of a straight race with the German, as the problematic BMW powerplant forced the Williams driver to make an early exit. Both Saubers and Toyota's Salo received a drive-through penalty for speeding in the pitlane while Minardi's Alex Yoong received a 10-second stop-go penalty for the same reason.[62]
With Montoya out, Schumacher was able to take it easy, while his teammate set about Coulthard for second position, after the Scot had passed both Barrichello and Räikkönen during the pit stops. However, the Brazilian was unable to find a way past, and had to settle for the third spot on the podium, with Räikkönen taking fourth position 30 seconds behind. Fisichella took his third consecutive fifth-place finish, with Trulli claiming the final point. Williams' miserable day was completed when Ralf Schumacher's fuel hose failed during his pit stop, necessitating another a visit to the pits, which would drop him to seventh. Having failed to finish any of the previous eight Grand Prix, Panis took a morale boosting eighth position, ahead of Massa. Sato made up for his Monaco crash with a conservative tenth-place finish, ahead of Webber and eidfeld, who was forced to take two drive-through penalties after his speed-limiter failed. Frentzen and Yoong completed the finishers.
Frentzen's teammate Bernoldi was an early casualty after a persistent vibration, while De La Rosa's Jaguar survived an early skirmish with McNish, but later retired as a result of gearbox dramas. The second Jaguar of Irvine only lasted twelve laps longer before its engine blew, while neither Toyota made the finish either; Salo succumbed to brake problems, while McNish spun off. Button was the final retirement of the race with an engine failure five laps from the end.
Canada had been seen as one of Williams' best chances to close on Ferrari, but as they took fourteen points, they left empty-handed. This was Ferrari's 150th Formula 1 victory.[63][64][65]
Race classification
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Championship standings after the race
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
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References
External links
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