2003 Hungarian Grand Prix

  2003 Hungarian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 13 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One season
The Hungaroring after being modified in 2003.
Date	24 August 2003
Official name	XIX Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj
Location	Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.381 km (2.722 mi)
Distance	70 laps, 306.663 km (190.552 mi)
Weather	Warm, dry and sunny, 28°C
Pole position
Driver	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Time	1:21.688
Fastest lap
Driver	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW
Time	1:22.095 on lap 37
Podium
First	Fernando Alonso	Renault
Second	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW
Lap leaders

The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the XIX Magyar Nagydíj) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2003 at the Hungaroring, Budapest, 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, becoming at the time the youngest ever driver to win a Grand Prix, beating the previous record of Bruce McLaren.^[1] This record lasted for over five years until it was beaten by Sebastian Vettel on 14 September 2008 in the 2008 Italian 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.

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 report

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 the 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.^[2]

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.^[1]

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".^[3] Jean Todt, the Ferrari team's manager, referred to their performance as "disappointing".^[4]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Q1 Time	Q2 Time	Gap
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:22.953	1:21.688	—
2	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	1:22.413	1:21.944	+0.256
3	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:22.625	1:22.027	+0.339
4	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	1:23.305	1:22.180	+0.492
5	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:22.892	1:22.180	+0.492
6	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	1:22.358	1:22.610	+0.922
7	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:23.695	1:22.742	+1.054
8	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:23.430	1:22.755	+1.067
9	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:22.786	1:23.060	+1.372
10	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	1:22.986	1:23.369	+1.681
11	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	1:23.482	1:23.621	+1.933
12	15	Justin Wilson	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:24.343	1:23.660	+1.972
13	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Ford	1:24.725	1:23.726	+2.038
14	17	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	1:24.313	1:23.847	+2.159
15	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	1:55.138	1:23.982	+2.294
16	16	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	1:24.333	1:24.100	+2.412
17	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Petronas	1:23.660	1:24.569	+2.881
18	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi-Cosworth	1:26.052	1:26.423	+4.735
19	12	Zsolt Baumgartner	Jordan-Ford	no time	1:26.678	+4.990
20	18	Nicolas Kiesa	Minardi-Cosworth	1:27.023	1:28.907	+7.219

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Fernando Alonso	Renault	70	1:39:01.460	1	10
2	6	Kimi Räikkönen	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+16.768	7	8
3	3	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	70	+34.537	4	6
4	4	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	70	+35.620	2	5
5	5	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	70	+56.535	9	4
6	14	Mark Webber	Jaguar-Cosworth	70	+1:12.643	3	3
7	7	Jarno Trulli	Renault	69	+1 Lap	6	2
8	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	69	+1 Lap	8	1
9	9	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	69	+1 Lap	11
10	17	Jenson Button	BAR-Honda	69	+1 Lap	14
11	21	Cristiano da Matta	Toyota	68	+2 Laps	15
12	19	Jos Verstappen	Minardi-Cosworth	67	+3 Laps	18
13	18	Nicolas Kiesa	Minardi-Cosworth	66	+4 Laps	20
Ret	10	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Sauber-Petronas	47	Out of fuel	17
Ret	15	Justin Wilson	Jaguar-Cosworth	42	Engine	12
Ret	12	Zsolt Baumgartner	Jordan-Ford	34	Engine	19
Ret	20	Olivier Panis	Toyota	33	Gearbox	10
Ret	11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Jordan-Ford	28	Engine	13
Ret	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	19	Suspension/Accident	5
Ret	16	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	14	Hydraulics	16
Source:[5]

Championship standings after the race

• Bold text indicates who still has a mathematical chance of becoming World Champion.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 72 2 Juan Pablo Montoya 71 3 Kimi Räikkönen 70 4 Ralf Schumacher 58 5 Fernando Alonso 54

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Williams-BMW 129 2 Ferrari 121 3 McLaren-Mercedes 115 4 Renault 78 5 BAR-Honda 15

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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Coordinates: 47°34′56″N 19°14′59″E / 47.58222°N 19.24972°E / 47.58222; 19.24972