Length:4.309 km
Number of Laps:71 (305.909 Km)
Best Lap: M. Schumacher - 1'14''755 (2000, Ferrari)
Record Pole: J. Montoya - 1'13''114 (2002, Williams)
2002 Pole: J. Montoya - 1'13''114 (Williams)
2002 Podium: M. Schumacher - R. Schumacher - D. Coulthard

Kimi Raikkonen won an incident filled Brazilian Grand Prix today. Torrential rain before the race resulted in a delayed start. 15 minutes after the scheduled roll off the safety car controlled the field for the 1st 7 laps. On lap 8 the race began and pole sitter Barrichello was quickly passed by the McLarens. The Michelin intermediate tires work well early on, but the Bridgestone come into their own after a few laps.

Barrichello continued to lose positions and was eventually passed by a hard charging Michael Schumacher. Attrition was a factor today and Heidfeld was the 1st of 10 drivers to retire, his Sauber with in this case an engine failure. The Minardi of Justin Wilson was the 2nd out after he spun off in turn 3. This was just the beginning of driver’s problems with this turn as the track never fully dried and nobody switched away from the wet tires.

Ralph Firman in the Jordan suffered a right front suspension failure at speed, which resulting in his car hitting the back of Panis’s BAR, retiring both machines. This was to be the 1st of several serious incidents, but no injuries resulted to either driver. Antonio Pizzonia in the Jaguar spun out of the race followed shortly after by Juan Montoya in the Williams.

After chasing down the 2 leading McLarens Michael Schumacher fell victim to the now infamous turn 3 and spun several times. This of course resulted in his retirement destroying his chances to score points today towards a record 6th drivers’ title. I hope the new car and home track advantage next race has him back on the podium at the next GP in San Marino.

4 laps later Jos Verstappen’s Minardi finds the same turn impossible to negotiate and he retires unhurt with his car intact. Unfortunately this was not to be the case with England’s Jenson Button who destroyed his BAR 2 laps later. Button was not injured in the shunt. The debris caused the safety car to return for several laps to allow for the marshals to clean things up. The running order behind the safety car was Raikkonen, Barrichello and Coulthard. When racing resumed Barrichello was heavily pressuring the young Finn and eventually he ran just wide enough for Rubens to slip past and begin to rocket away. This was not to last long as the Brazilian’s luck failed as did the Ferrari. He coasted to a dejected stop ending the day for himself and Ferrari.

Due to the delayed start of the event there was some concern as to whether the 2 hour time limit would come into play. But this odd race would see a different conclusion than anyone might imagine.

After running a great race including challenges for the lead, Mark Webber completely destroyed his Jaguar in a terrible looking accident at high speed. 3 corners of the car were broken off, but the tub stayed intact and he was uninjured. Fernando Alonso was not as fortunate as he came upon the scene before any flags could be displayed warning him of the accident. His Renault hit debris and he crashed heavily into the outer wall. Alonso climbed out under his own power, but quickly showed that his right leg was not unharmed. Trackside marshals tended to him while an ambulance was dispatched and the race was red flagged to be declared completed.

Just prior to this huge 2 car accident Giancarlo Fisichella had gotten past Raikkonen much like Barrichello did and proceeded to streak away. But with the FIA’s ever questionable rules (in my opinion) the win was awarded to Kimi Raikkonen based on the fact he was the leader 2 laps before the red flag was waved ending the race. The talented Italian had just passed Raikkonen 1 ½ laps before the end and again in my opinion the driver leading the last complete lap should be declared the winner.

The final finishing order was Raikkonen/McLaren, Fisichella/Jordan, the injured Alonso/Renault, Coulthard/McLaren, Frentzen/Sauber, Villeneuve/BAR, the wrecked Webber/Jaguar, Trulli/Renault, R Schumacher/Williams, and Da Matta/Toyota.

This was certainly an event filled race, but thankfully no one was seriously injured. I would be surprised if Eddie Jordan did not protest the finishing order.

Article by: Tony Moffett