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The 2002 French Grand Prix, otherwise known officially as the LXXXVIII Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France, was the eleventh round of the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours, France, on 21 July 2002.[1] The race would see Michael Schumacher claim victory and his fifth World Championship title, matching the record set by Juan Manuel Fangio for most F1 crowns.[1]

Schumacher would have to fight for his record achievement, however, having been beaten to pole position in qualifying by Juan Pablo Montoya.[1] Behind, Rubens Barrichello shared the second row with Kimi Räikkönen, while Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard completed the third row.[1]

The start saw Montoya ease into an early lead ahead of the German ace, while Räikkönen claimed third as Barrichello was unable to start due to an electrical failure.[1] The rest of the field would also largely get away in grid order, with Jenson Button moving into sixth as a result of Barrichello's demise.[1]

Montoya and Michael Schumacher quickly pulled with Räikkönen stalking them in the early stages, with the #1 Ferrari all over the back of the #6 Williams-BMW.[1] However, Magny-Cours had gained an ominous reputation for being a circuit that made overtaking difficult at best, and hence there was no way through for Schumacher in the clearly faster car.[1]

The race therefore became a battle of strategy, with Montoya the first top stop on lap 23.[1] Schumacher had two laps in clear air, albeit with Räikkönen still a threat, before making his stop, only to cross the white line while exiting the pits, handing himself a drive-through penalty despite emerging ahead of Montoya.[1]

Räikkönen led for a lap before making his stop, with Coulthard duly inheriting the lead until he made his stop.[1] Schumacher hence assumed the lead before serving his penalty, returning the lead to Montoya, although the Colombian racer's pace had collapsed on his second set of Michelin tyres.[1]

Indeed, Montoya was steadily caught by Räikkönen, who duly flashed past the Williams prior to making his second stop.[1] Coulthard then had brief stint in the lead before making his second stop, with the order eventually resolving itself into Räikkönen leading from Schumacher and Coulthard, with Montoya still struggling after his second stop.[1]

With just five laps to go it seemed as if Räikkönen was on for his maiden F1 victory, only for Allan McNish to inadvertently decide both the race and the Championship.[1] Indeed, the Scot would suffer an engine failure in the back of his Toyota and dump oil through the second corner, with Räikkönen the first on the scene.[1]

The Finn suffered a half-spin and slid wide, allowing Schumacher to eliminate the rest of the gap between them.[1] The German ace duly eased ahead as Räikkönen rallied back onto the circuit, with the Ferrari full ahead as they braked for Adelaide.[1]

With that the race was run, with Schumacher keeping Räikkönen at bay to claim victory and the Championship, becoming the first driver to win the F1 Championship in July.[1] Behind, Coulthard had a lonely run to complete the podium ahead of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, while Button claimed the final point amid news he was to be replaced at Renault by Fernando Alonso at the end of the season.[1]

Background[]

Michael Schumacher moved ever closer to his fifth World Championship title with victory at Silverstone, leaving the British circuit with 86 points to his name. That meant that he held a 54 point advantage at the head of the field, and could feasibly win the title in France, before the end of July. Indeed, Rubens Barrichello, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, his closest challengers, were set to be the only ones who could deny the German ace, if they could finish ahead of him in France.

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari had also moved into an almost unassailable lead, leaving Silverstone with 118 points and a 57 point lead. Williams-BMW hence could still entertain a title threat, but now faced an almost four race deficit in terms of points just to get back onto terms with the Scuderia. They did, however, manage to increase their healthy margin over third placed McLaren-Mercedes, while BAR-Honda were off the foot of the table after claiming their first points of the campaign.

Entry list[]

The full entry list for the 2002 French Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2002 Ferrari 051 3.0 V10 B
2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2002 Ferrari 051 3.0 V10 B
3 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-17 Mercedes FO 110M 3.0 V10 M
4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-17 Mercedes FO 110M 3.0 V10 M
5 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom BMW Williams F1 Team Williams FW24 BMW P82 3.0 V10 M
6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom BMW Williams F1 Team Williams FW24 BMW P82 3.0 V10 M
7 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber Petronas Sauber C21 Petronas 02A 3.0 V10 B
8 Brazil Felipe Massa Switzerland Sauber Petronas Sauber C21 Petronas 02A 3.0 V10 B
9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland DHL Jordan Honda Jordan EJ12 Honda RA002E 3.0 V10 B
10 Japan Takuma Sato Ireland DHL Jordan Honda Jordan EJ12 Honda RA002E 3.0 V10 B
11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR 004 Honda RA002E 3.0 V10 B
12 France Olivier Panis United Kingdom Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR 004 Honda RA002E 3.0 V10 B
14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R202 Renault RS22 3.0 V10 M
15 United Kingdom Jenson Button France Mild Seven Renault F1 Team Renault R202 Renault RS22 3.0 V10 M
16 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine United Kingdom Jaguar Racing Jaguar R3B Ford Cosworth CR-4 3.0 V10 M
17 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Jaguar Racing Jaguar R3B Ford Cosworth CR-4 3.0 V10 M
20 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Orange Arrows Arrows A23 Ford Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10 B
21 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi United Kingdom Orange Arrows Arrows A23 Ford Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10 B
22 Malaysia Alex Yoong Italy KL Minardi Asiatech Minardi PS02 Asiatech AT02 3.0 V10 M
23 Australia Mark Webber Italy KL Minardi Asiatech Minardi PS02 Asiatech AT02 3.0 V10 M
24 Finland Mika Salo Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF102 Toyota RVX-02 3.0 V10 M
25 United Kingdom Allan McNish Japan Panasonic Toyota Racing Toyota TF102 Toyota RVX-02 3.0 V10 M
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Free Practice 1[]

Free Practice 2[]

Warm-Up[]

Practice Results[]

The full practice results for the 2002 French Grand Prix are outline below:

No. Driver Constructor FP1 FP2 Warm-Up
Time Pos. Time Pos. Time Pos.
1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:14.240 3 1:12.974 1 1:14.174 1
2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari 1:14.750 4 1:13.503 4 1:14.888 2
3 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:14.025 1 1:13.249 3 1:15.817 9
4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:14.097 2 1:12.995 2 1:15.714 7
5 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:14.970 5 1:13.728 7 1:16.184 12
6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:15.271 10 1:13.633 6 1:16.755 14
7 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:16.209 16 1:14.108 9 1:15.534 5
8 Brazil Felipe Massa Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:16.030 13 1:14.211 12 1:15.519 4
9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Honda 1:15.422 12 1:14.949 15 DNP
10 Japan Takuma Sato Ireland Jordan-Honda 1:16.167 15 1:14.503 13 1:16.068 11
11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:16.457 17 1:15.036 16 1:16.821 15
12 France Olivier Panis United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:16.163 14 1:14.557 14 1:16.068 11
14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Renault 1:16.763 19 1:14.161 10 1:15.455 3
15 United Kingdom Jenson Button France Renault 1:15.218 9 1:13.553 5 1:15.673 6
16 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:14.983 6 1:14.018 8 1:15.804 8
17 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:15.179 8 1:14.211 11 1:16.612 13
22 Malaysia Alex Yoong Italy Minardi-Asiatech 1:19.015 20 1:17.207 20 1:19.045 19
23 Australia Mark Webber Italy Minardi-Asiatech 1:16.496 18 1:15.797 19 1:17.873 18
24 Finland Mika Salo Japan Toyota 1:15.161 7 1:15.516 17 1:16.889 16
25 United Kingdom Allan McNish Japan Toyota 1:15.411 11 1:15.650 18 1:17.056 17

Qualifying[]

Qualifying Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2002 French Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:11.985 212.594 km/h
2 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:12.008 +0.023s 212.526 km/h
3* 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari 1:12.197 +0.212s 211.970 km/h
4 4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.244 +0.259s 211.832 km/h
5 5 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:12.424 +0.439s 211.306 km/h
6 3 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:12.498 +0.513s 211.090 km/h
7 15 United Kingdom Jenson Button France Renault 1:12.761 +0.776s 210.327 km/h
8 14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Renault 1:13.030 +1.045s 209.552 km/h
9 16 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:13.188 +1.203s 209.100 km/h
10 7 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:13.370 +1.385s 208.581 km/h
11 12 France Olivier Panis United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:13.457 +1.472s 208.334 km/h
12 8 Brazil Felipe Massa Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:13.501 +1.516s 208.209 km/h
13 11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:13.506 +1.521s 208.195 km/h
14 10 Japan Takuma Sato Ireland Jordan-Honda 1:13.542 +1.557s 208.093 km/h
15 17 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:13.656 +1.671s 207.771 km/h
16 24 Finland Mika Salo Japan Toyota 1:13.837 +1.852s 207.262 km/h
17 25 United Kingdom Allan McNish Japan Toyota 1:13.949 +1.964s 206.948 km/h
18 23 Australia Mark Webber Italy Minardi-Asiatech 1:14.800 +2.815s 204.594 km/h
19 22 Malaysia Alex Yoong Italy Minardi-Asiatech 1:16.798 +4.813s 199.271 km/h
107% Time: 1:17.023[3]
DNQ 20 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 1:18.497 +6.512s 194.958 km/h
DNQ 21 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 1:19.843 +7.858s 191.671 km/h
WD 9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Honda
Source:[3][4]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
  • * Barrichello was unable to start the race due to an electrical failure.
  • Fisichella was withdrawn from the race weekend after an accident during practice.[5]

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Juan Pablo Montoya
Michael Schumacher ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 Rubens Barrichello*
Kimi Räikkönen ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Ralf Schumacher
David Coulthard ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Jenson Button
Jarno Trulli ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Eddie Irvine
Nick Heidfeld ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Olivier Panis
Felipe Massa ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Jacques Villeneuve
Takuma Sato ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Pedro de la Rosa
Mika Salo ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Allan McNish
Mark Webber ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Alex Yoong
______________
  • * Barrichello was unable to start the race due to an electrical failure.

Race[]

2002_French_Grand_Prix_(Full_Race)

2002 French Grand Prix (Full Race)

Report[]

Results[]

The full results for the 2002 French Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 72 1:32:09.837 2 10
2 4 Finland Kimi Räikkönen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 72 +1.105s 4 6
3 3 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 72 +31.976s 6 4
4 6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Williams-BMW 72 +40.676s 1 3
5 5 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-BMW 72 +41.773s 5 2
6 15 United Kingdom Jenson Button France Renault 71 +1 Lap 7 1
7 7 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 71 +1 lap 10
8 23 Australia Mark Webber Italy Minardi-Asiatech 71 +1 lap 18
9 17 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 70 +2 laps 15
10 22 Malaysia Alex Yoong Italy Minardi-Asiatech 68 +4 laps 19
11* 25 United Kingdom Allan McNish Japan Toyota 65 Engine 17
Ret 16 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 52 Wing 9
Ret 14 Italy Jarno Trulli France Renault 49 Engine 8
Ret 8 Brazil Felipe Massa Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 48 Transmission 12
Ret 24 Finland Mika Salo Japan Toyota 48 Engine 16
Ret 11 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Honda 35 Engine 13
Ret 12 France Olivier Panis United Kingdom BAR-Honda 35 Accident 11
Ret 10 Japan Takuma Sato Ireland Jordan-Honda 35 Spin 14
DNS 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari
DNQ 20 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth
DNQ 21 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth
WD 9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Ireland Jordan-Honda
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * McNish was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]
  • Barrichello was unable to start the race due to an electrical failure.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Michael Schumacher claimed the 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship in record time after his victory in France, leaving Magny-Cours with 96 points to his credit. That granted him an unassailable 62 point lead over Juan Pablo Montoya in second, the Colombian racer having moved ahead of Rubens Barrichello to claim second. Regardless, Montoya, Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and David Coulthard were all now set to battle for second, with just four points separating the quartet.

In the Constructors Championship Ferrari left France on the verge of claiming the crown, although they still had a small distance to go. Indeed, the Scuderia left France with 128 points to their name and a 62 point lead, meaning they would claim the crown as early as the Hungarian Grand Prix. Williams-BMW were now left as the only team mathematically capable of making a challenge, although in truth the Anglo-German effort were too far back to seriously challenge.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Germany Michael Schumacher 96
2 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 34 ▲1
3 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 32 ▼1
4 Germany Ralf Schumacher 32
5 United Kingdom David Coulthard 30
6 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 17
7 United Kingdom Jenson Button 11
8 Germany Nick Heidfeld 6
9 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 6
10 Italy Jarno Trulli 4
11 Brazil Felipe Massa 4
12 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 3
13 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 3
14 Australia Mark Webber 2
15 Finland Mika Salo 2
16 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 2
17 France Olivier Panis 2
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 128
2 United Kingdom Williams-BMW 66
3 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 47
4 France Renault 15
5 Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 10
6 Ireland Jordan-Honda 6
7 United Kingdom BAR-Honda 5
8 United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 3
9 Italy Minardi-Asiatech 2
10 Japan Toyota 2
11 United Kingdom Arrows-Ford Cosworth 2

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 'French GP, 2002', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr691.html, (Accessed 19/11/2019)
  2. 'France 2002: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/france/engages.aspx, (Accessed 19/11/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 'France 2002: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/france/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 19/11/2019)
  4. 'Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France 2002 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2002/races/730/france/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 19/11/2019)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 'France 2002: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/france/classement.aspx, (Accessed 19/11/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 '11. France 2002', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2002/france.aspx, (Accessed 19/11/2019)
  7. '2002 French GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2002&gp=French%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 19/11/2019)
V T E France French Grand Prix
Circuits Le Mans (1906, 1921, 1929)
Dieppe (1907-1908, 1912)
Amiens (1913)
Lyon (1914, 1924)
Strasbourg (1922)
Tours (1923)
Montlhéry (1925, 1927, 1931, 1933-1937)
Reims-Gueux (1932, 1938-1939, 1948–1951, 1953–1954, 1956, 1958–1961, 1963, 1966)
Lyon-Parilly (1947)
Rouen-Les-Essarts (1952, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1968)
Charade Circuit (1965, 1969–1970, 1972)
Bugatti Circuit (1967)
Circuit Paul Ricard (1971, 1973, 1975–1976, 1978, 1980, 1982–1983, 1985–1990, 2018–2019, 2021-2022)
Dijon-Prenois (1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984)
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours (1991–2008)
PR Screen Shot 2017-03-23 at 12.15.31 AM
Races 195019511952195319541955195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009–201720182019202020212022
European Championship Races 193119321933–193719381939
Non-Championship Races 1906190719081909–19111912191319141915–192019211922192319241925192619271928192919301931–1932193319341935193619371938–1946194719481949
V T E 2002 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • McLaren • Williams • Sauber • Jordan • BAR • Renault • Jaguar • Arrows • Minardi • Toyota
Engines Asiatech • BMW • Cosworth • Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Petronas • Renault • Toyota
Drivers M. Schumacher • 2 Barrichello • 3 Coulthard • 4 Räikkönen • 5 R. Schumacher • 6 Montoya • 7 Heidfeld • 8 Massa • 8 Frentzen • 9 Fisichella • 10 Sato • 11 Villeneuve • 12 Panis • 14 Trulli • 15 Button • 16 Irvine • 17 De la Rosa • 20 Frentzen • 21 Bernoldi • 22 Yoong • 22 Davidson • 23 Webber • 24 Salo • 25 McNish
Other Drivers Alesi • Alonso • Badoer • Burti • Gené • Lotterer • Pizzonia • Wurz
Cars Ferrari F2001 • Ferrari F2002 • McLaren MP4-17 • Williams FW24 • Sauber C21 • Jordan EJ12 • BAR 004 • Renault R202 • Jaguar R3 • Arrows A23 • Minardi PS02 • Toyota TF102
Tyres Bridgestone • Michelin
Races Australia • Malaysia • Brazil • San Marino • Spain • Austria • Monaco • Canada • Europe • Britain • France • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • United States • Japan
See also 2001 Formula One Season • 2003 Formula One Season • Category
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