The weather for the race was variable and included light and heavy rain with periods where the track was dry and fast. These conditions were ideal for the Bridgestone tires and with the lower air temperatures and resulting dense air Schumacher’s Ferrari engine was more than powerful enough to create a gap of over 18 seconds to the McLaren of Raikkonen.

With Schumacher's seventh place grid position there were concerns that perhaps Ferrari had missed the correct set up for the race. However from the start it was clear that this was not the case. Michael was able to quickly move into fourth position before he reached the 1st turn. Ruben's Barrichello did not fare as well and his race was to end on lap 2 when he and fellow South American Montoya had contact which resulted in Barrichello’s retirement.

The officials reviewed the incident and penalized Montoya with a stop and go pit stop. The running order of the race changed and required the teams to scramble and mount appropriate tires as the track went from dry to wet conditions.

So for the first time three teams who had never before lead a lap in Formula One™ did so. Sauber, Jaguar and BAR finally felt the satisfaction of running in the top spot. For a time the top three positions were all held by German drivers. The shuffle of these drivers along with the title contenders made for an interesting collection and order of race cars and drivers.

The constructors' championship changed hands again as a result of Ralph Schumacher's retirement, David Coulthard’s retirement and the early incident involving Barrichello. Going into this race Williams held onto a slim lead over Ferrari. At the conclusion of this race Ferrari regained the lead by a slim margin.

With Montoya mathematically eliminated from the championship only Raikkonen could displace Michael Schumacher from the championship at the final race of the season in Japan. Raikkonen would have to win the race with Schumacher failing to score any points for the young Finn to win the title. This is very unlikely based on the reliability that Ferrari has enjoyed for several seasons.

Article By: Tony Moffett