2002 Formula One season

The 2002 Formula One season was the 53rd season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on 3 March and ended on 13 October after seventeen races.

The Drivers' Championship quickly became a battle for second place as Michael Schumacher finished first or second in every race except for the Malaysian Grand Prix, where he finished third, thus achieving a podium position in every race. He won a then-record 11 Grands Prix, surpassing the previous record of 9 wins, jointly held by himself (1995, 2000 and 2001) and Nigel Mansell (1992). He would also set the record for shortest time in which the World Drivers' Championship had been clinched, securing the title with a win at the French Grand Prix, with 6 races to go in the season. Schumacher took the Drivers' Championship by a record 67 point margin over teammate Rubens Barrichello, beating his own previous record for the 2001 season. Schumacher and Barrichello helped Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro ^[1] secure the Constructors' Championship with a points total that equalled the combined sum of points attained by all other constructors collectively. For the 2003 championship, the FIA would change the points system.

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship.

Michael Schumacher won his third title in a row with Ferrari.

Schumacher's team-mate, Rubens Barrichello, finished runner-up.

Juan Pablo Montoya finished the season ranked third for Williams.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine †	Tyre	No.	Driver	Rounds
Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro	Ferrari	F2001 F2002	Ferrari 050 Ferrari 051	B	1	Michael Schumacher	All
					2	Rubens Barrichello	All
West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren-Mercedes	MP4-17	Mercedes FO110M	M	3	David Coulthard	All
					4	Kimi Räikkönen	All
BMW WilliamsF1 Team	Williams-BMW	FW24	BMW P82	M	5	Ralf Schumacher	All
					6	Juan Pablo Montoya	All
Sauber Petronas	Sauber-Petronas	C21	Petronas 02A	B	7	Nick Heidfeld	All
					8	Felipe Massa	1–15, 17
						Heinz-Harald Frentzen	16
DHL Jordan Honda	Jordan-Honda	EJ12	Honda RA002E	B	9	Giancarlo Fisichella	All
					10	Takuma Sato	All
Lucky Strike BAR Honda	BAR-Honda	004	Honda RA002E	B	11	Jacques Villeneuve	All
					12	Olivier Panis	All
Mild Seven Renault F1 Team	Renault	R202	Renault RS22	M	14	Jarno Trulli	All
					15	Jenson Button	All
Jaguar Racing	Jaguar-Cosworth	R3 R3B	Cosworth CR-3 Cosworth CR-4	M	16	Eddie Irvine	All
					17	Pedro de la Rosa	All
Orange Arrows	Arrows-Cosworth	A23	Cosworth CR-3 Cosworth CR-4	B	20	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	1–12
					21	Enrique Bernoldi	1–12
Go KL Minardi Asiatech	Minardi-Asiatech	PS02	Asiatech AT02	M	22	Alex Yoong	1–12, 15–17
						Anthony Davidson	13–14
					23	Mark Webber	All
Panasonic Toyota Racing	Toyota	TF102	Toyota RVX-02	M	24	Mika Salo	All
					25	Allan McNish	All

^† All engines were 3.0 litre, V10 configuration.

Team changes

The Prost team was placed into receivership in November 2001, and was liquidated by the receivers in January 2002. This ended the long history of the team which had competed as Ligier from 1976 to 1996 and as Prost Grand Prix from the following year.^[2] The absence of Prost meant that the car numbers 18 and 19 were left unoccupied for the season. Phoenix Finance bought the remains of Prost Grand Prix and attempted to enter Formula One starting at the Malaysian Grand Prix with former Minardi drivers Gastón Mazzacane and Tarso Marques. However, their entry was rejected by the FIA for not purchasing all of the Prost team. They still attempted to race at Malaysia, but race officials prevented them from competing in the event, even with a court appeal.^[3][4]

The Benetton team had been sold to Renault in 2000,^[5] and was renamed Renault F1 for 2002.^[6] The team did not substantially change apart from the name, as Benetton had been running a car with Renault components since 1995.

Toyota entered the championship after much development work in 2001.^[7]

Asiatech, who had supplied engines to Arrows in 2001, switched their supply to Minardi for 2002. This replaced Minardi's Cosworth engines (rebadged as European) from the previous season.^[8] Completing what was effectively a straight swap, Arrows signed a deal with Cosworth to use their engines for 2002.^[9]

The Arrows team suffered financial collapse after the German Grand Prix, and did not take part in any of the remaining races. An attempt to register for the 2003 season was rejected by the FIA.^[10]

Driver changes

The 2002 season featured several driver line-up changes before the season and more changes during the season proper.

With three races left to go in the 2001 season, Mika Häkkinen announced that he was not intending to drive in F1 in 2002. Denying any claim of retirement, he stated that he needed a sabbatical and would return to McLaren at a later time.^[11] Häkkinen later officially left McLaren and retired from F1 in 2002,^[12] eventually returning to racing in DTM in 2005,^[13] despite being linked with the Williams team for a Formula One comeback.^[14] Häkkinen's seat at McLaren was taken by his fellow Finn Kimi Räikkönen, after he was released by Sauber. Räikkönen was replaced at Sauber by the 2001 Euro Formula 3000 champion Felipe Massa.^[15]

Midway through 2001, Giancarlo Fisichella announced his intention to leave Benetton after 2001 to drive for Jordan.^[16] Benetton, renamed as Renault, replaced Fisichella with Jordan driver Jarno Trulli,^[17] meaning that Fisichella and Trulli had swapped seats at the two teams. Jordan completed an all-new lineup for 2002 with BAR test driver Takuma Sato,^[18] whose position in the large test driver pool at BAR was taken by compatriot Ryo Fukuda.^[19] Jean Alesi, who had driven for Jordan at the end of the 2001 season, did not seriously pursue an F1 drive for 2002 and instead signed up a drive with Mercedes in the DTM series.^[20] Ricardo Zonta, realising that he had no future at Jordan, left his reserve seat there to drive in the Telefonica World Series, later returning to F1 in 2003 as a test driver for Toyota.^[21]

Heinz-Harald Frentzen, without a drive after the collapse of Prost, joined the Arrows team for 2002. This was his third different team within two seasons, after having been dumped by Jordan mid-season in 2001 and subsequently joining Prost until that team's collapse.^[22] Despite being under contract for another season, Jos Verstappen lost his Arrows seat to Frentzen, and the Dutchman was unable to secure a drive at another team. He later resurfaced at Minardi in 2003.^[23]

Fernando Alonso left Minardi after an impressive 2001 campaign, and signed on with Renault as a test driver.^[24] Alonso's seat was taken over by Benetton test driver, and International Formula 3000 series runner-up, Mark Webber.^[25]

For their first season in Formula One, Toyota employed Mika Salo (formerly with Sauber in 2000) and debutant Allan McNish, who had previously driven a Toyota GT-One at Le Mans.^[7]

Luciano Burti, who had driven for both Jaguar and Prost in 2001, left the struggling Prost team before their collapse in order to join Luca Badoer in a test role at Ferrari.^[26] Tomáš Enge, who had filled in for the injured Burti at Prost in 2001, was dropped by the team at the end of the 2001 season for financial reasons, and he returned to International Formula 3000 for 2002.^[27]

Antônio Pizzonia was signed to become a Williams test driver alongside Marc Gené.^[28] Pizzonia had been driving a Williams sponsored car in the International F3000 series in 2001, and he continued that drive in 2002 along with his test duties at Williams.

André Lotterer, who drove for the Jaguar Junior Team in the British Formula 3 series in 2001, was signed as a test driver for Jaguar's Formula One team for 2002.^[29]

Mid-season changes

Heinz-Harald Frentzen decided to leave Arrows following the German Grand Prix due to the uncertain future of that team.^[30] Arrows collapsed several days later and did not take part in the rest of the season, which also left Enrique Bernoldi without a drive. Frentzen signed with Sauber for the 2003 season,^[22] and stood in for Felipe Massa in the United States Grand Prix, for which the Brazilian had incurred a 10-position penalty from the previous race in Monza, thereby eliminating Massa's penalty.^[31]

BAR test driver Anthony Davidson made his Formula One debut when he replaced Alex Yoong at Minardi for the Hungarian and Belgian Grands Prix. The team suspended the Malaysian after he failed to qualify for the third occasion in 2002.^[32] Minardi had planned to replace Yoong with Justin Wilson, but Wilson was too tall to fit into the car in accordance with the safety requirements.^[33]

Season calendar

Rnd	Race	Date	Location
1	Australian Grand Prix	3 March	Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne
2	Malaysian Grand Prix	17 March	Sepang International Circuit, Kuala Lumpur
3	Brazilian Grand Prix	31 March	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo
4	San Marino Grand Prix	14 April	Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola
5	Spanish Grand Prix	28 April	Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona
6	Austrian Grand Prix	12 May	A1-Ring, Spielberg
7	Monaco Grand Prix	26 May	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo
8	Canadian Grand Prix	9 June	Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal
9	European Grand Prix	23 June	Nürburgring, Nürburg
10	British Grand Prix	7 July	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
11	French Grand Prix	21 July	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours
12	German Grand Prix	28 July	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim
13	Hungarian Grand Prix	18 August	Hungaroring, Budapest
14	Belgian Grand Prix	1 September	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot
15	Italian Grand Prix	15 September	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza
16	United States Grand Prix	29 September	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis
17	Japanese Grand Prix	13 October	Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Rd.	Grand Prix	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Constructor	Report
1	Australian Grand Prix	Rubens Barrichello	Kimi Räikkönen	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
2	Malaysian Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Juan Pablo Montoya	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	Report
3	Brazilian Grand Prix	Juan Pablo Montoya	Juan Pablo Montoya	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
4	San Marino Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Rubens Barrichello	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
5	Spanish Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
6	Austrian Grand Prix	Rubens Barrichello	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
7	Monaco Grand Prix	Juan Pablo Montoya	Rubens Barrichello	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	Report
8	Canadian Grand Prix	Juan Pablo Montoya	Juan Pablo Montoya	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
9	European Grand Prix	Juan Pablo Montoya	Michael Schumacher	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	Report
10	British Grand Prix	Juan Pablo Montoya	Rubens Barrichello	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
11	French Grand Prix	Juan Pablo Montoya	David Coulthard	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
12	German Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
13	Hungarian Grand Prix	Rubens Barrichello	Michael Schumacher	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	Report
14	Belgian Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report
15	Italian Grand Prix	Juan Pablo Montoya	Rubens Barrichello	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	Report
16	United States Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Rubens Barrichello	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	Report
17	Japanese Grand Prix	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	Report

Drivers' Championship

Pos [1] Driver [1] AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR GBR FRA GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN Points [1] 1 Michael Schumacher 1 3 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 2 2 1 144 2 Rubens Barrichello Ret Ret Ret 2 DNS 2 7 3 1 2 DNS 4 1 2 1 1 2 77 3 Juan Pablo Montoya 2 2 5 4 2 3 Ret Ret Ret 3 4 2 11 3 Ret 4 4 50 4 Ralf Schumacher Ret 1 2 3 11† 4 3 7 4 8 5 3 3 5 Ret 16 11† 42 5 David Coulthard Ret Ret 3 6 3 6 1 2 Ret 10 3 5 5 4 7 3 Ret 41 6 Kimi Räikkönen 3 Ret 12† Ret Ret Ret Ret 4 3 Ret 2 Ret 4 Ret Ret Ret 3 24 7 Jenson Button Ret 4 4 5 12† 7 Ret 15† 5 12† 6 Ret Ret Ret 5 8 6 14 8 Jarno Trulli Ret Ret Ret 9 10† Ret 4 6 8 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 4 5 Ret 9 9 Eddie Irvine 4 Ret 7 Ret Ret Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 3 10 9 8 10 Nick Heidfeld Ret 5 Ret 10 4 Ret 8 12 7 6 7 6 9 10 10 9 7 7 11 Giancarlo Fisichella Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret 5 5 5 Ret 7 DNQ Ret 6 Ret 8 7 Ret 7 12 Jacques Villeneuve Ret 8 10† 7 7 10† Ret Ret 12 4 Ret Ret Ret 8 9 6 Ret 4 13 Felipe Massa Ret 6 Ret 8 5 Ret Ret 9 6 9 Ret 7 7 Ret Ret Ret 4 14 Olivier Panis Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 8 9 5 Ret Ret 12 12† 6 12 Ret 3 15 Takuma Sato Ret 9 9 Ret Ret Ret Ret 10 16 Ret Ret 8 10 11 12 11 5 2 16 Mark Webber 5 Ret 11 11 DNS 12 11 11 15 Ret 8 Ret 16 Ret Ret Ret 10 2 17 Mika Salo 6 12 6 Ret 9 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 15 7 11 14 8 2 18 Heinz-Harald Frentzen DSQ 11 Ret Ret 6 11 6 13 13 Ret DNQ Ret 13 2 19 Allan McNish Ret 7 Ret Ret 8 9 Ret Ret 14 Ret 11† Ret 14 9 Ret 15 DNS 0 20 Alex Yoong 7 Ret 13 DNQ DNS Ret Ret 14 Ret DNQ 10 DNQ 13 Ret Ret 0 21 Pedro de la Rosa 8 10 8 Ret Ret Ret 10 Ret 11 11 9 Ret 13 Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 22 Enrique Bernoldi DSQ Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 12 Ret 10 Ret DNQ Ret 0  — Anthony Davidson Ret Ret 0 Pos Driver AUS MAL BRA SMR ESP AUT MON CAN EUR GBR FRA GER HUN BEL ITA USA JPN Points

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD) Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest lap

^† Drivers did not finish the Grand Prix, but were classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Championship points were awarded on a 10–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first six finishers in each race.

Constructors' Championship

Scuderia Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship.

BMW Williams placed second.

McLaren-Mercedes finished third.

Pos [1]	Constructor [1]	Car no.	AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	FRA	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN	Points [1]
1	Ferrari	1	1	3	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	1	1	1	2	1	2	2	1	221
		2	Ret	Ret	Ret	2	DNS	2	7	3	1	2	DNS	4	1	2	1	1	2
2	Williams-BMW	5	Ret	1	2	3	11	4	3	7	4	8	5	3	3	5	Ret	16	11	92
		6	2	2	5	4	2	3	Ret	Ret	Ret	3	4	2	11	3	Ret	4	4
3	McLaren-Mercedes	3	Ret	Ret	3	6	3	6	1	2	Ret	10	3	5	5	4	7	3	Ret	65
		4	3	Ret	12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	4	3	Ret	2	Ret	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	3
4	Renault	14	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	10	Ret	4	6	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	Ret	4	5	Ret	23
		15	Ret	4	4	5	12	7	Ret	15	5	12	6	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	8	6
5	Sauber-Petronas	7	Ret	5	Ret	10	4	Ret	8	12	7	6	7	6	9	10	10	9	7	11
		8	Ret	6	Ret	8	5	Ret	Ret	9	6	9	Ret	7	7	Ret	Ret	13	Ret
6	Jordan-Honda	9	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	5	5	Ret	7	DNQ	Ret	6	Ret	8	7	Ret	9
		10	Ret	9	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	16	Ret	Ret	8	10	11	12	11	5
7	Jaguar-Cosworth	16	4	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	6	3	10	9	8
		17	8	10	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	10	Ret	10	11	9	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret
8	BAR-Honda	11	Ret	8	10	7	7	10	Ret	Ret	12	4	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	9	6	Ret	7
		12	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	8	9	5	Ret	Ret	12	12	6	12	Ret
9	Minardi-Asiatech	22	7	Ret	13	DNQ	DNS	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	DNQ	10	DNQ	Ret	Ret	13	Ret	Ret	2
		23	5	Ret	11	11	DNS	12	11	11	15	Ret	8	Ret	16	Ret	Ret	Ret	10
10	Toyota	24	6	12	6	Ret	9	8	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	9	15	7	11	14	8	2
		25	Ret	7	Ret	Ret	8	9	Ret	Ret	14	Ret	11	Ret	14	9	Ret	15	DNS
11	Arrows-Cosworth	20	DSQ	11	Ret	Ret	6	11	6	13	13	Ret	DNQ	Ret						2
		21	DSQ	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	12	Ret	11	Ret	DNQ	Ret
Pos	Constructor	Car no.	AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP	AUT	MON	CAN	EUR	GBR	FRA	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	JPN	Points

Championship points were awarded on a 10–6–4–3–2–1 basis to the first six finishers in each race.

Note: Official FIA Championship classifications listed the Constructors' Championship results as Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, BMW WilliamsF1 Team, West McLaren Mercedes, etc.^[1]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2002 in Formula One.

• formula1.com – 2002 drivers standings (archived)
• formula1.com – 2002 teams standings (archived)