April 2003

28 April 2003 According to Austrian newspaper Kronen Zeitung, Alexander Wurz is about to replace Pizzonia. Wurz has apparently already reached an agreement with the Jaguar team and now is negotiating his departure from the McLaren team, where he is currently working as a test driver. Wurz is expected to make his come-back to Formula 1 racing on his home GP, the Austrian GP scheduled for the 18th of May.

27 April 2003 Simon Azzam, chief executive officer of Union Properties, the company that is building a racing facility in Dubai, said that they are interested in running a Formula 1 GP for the moment, because the sport generally makes no money.

26 April 2003 Max Mosley has hinted that he may not seek to be reelcet to a fourth term in his position as FIA president when the current term expires in 2005.

26 April 2003 Jun Pablo Montoya has changed his mind about the HANS device. The former opponent of HANS was involved in a heavy crash into the tyre barrier during Silverstone testing this week. He escaped the 300 kph impact without serious injuries despite having to be freed by the marshals from the wreck of his FW25. Montoya said that the HANS device came into play in the acciddent, the worst of his career, and kept his head, neck and shoulder in place. Despite the severity of the accident the Columbian suffered only minor bruising.

25 April 2003 It has been officially announced that the Ferrari F2003-GA will race at Barcelona. Ross Brawn said that the problems suffered in early testing have ben solved.

25 April 2003 The Jaguar team has made an announcement denying that they want to get rid of Antonio Pizzonia and replace him with Alex Wurz.

24 April 2003 Bernie Ecclestone has called for the teams to accept his latest offer in a bid to avoid splitting the series. The teams are being offered a better return on the TV broadcasting revenues in return for another long-term deal when the Concorde agreement expires. According the Ecclestone, the undisclosed share of broadcast revenue offered to the teams is more than they had ever dreamt of. The teams do not appear to be impressed with the offer and are still considering going ahead with the option of joining the GPWC rival series.

24 April 2003 Antonio Pizzonia could be replaced by Alex Wurz at Jaguar, according to the latest pit rumours. Pizzonia has failed to live up to comparison with team mate Mark Webber in the first three GPs of the season and the team wants him to improve fast, or risk being replaced by the McLaren test driver.

23 April 2003 Like Renault and Minardi, Jordan could decide to use a third car for the Friday morning's private testing session. Dutch driver Christian Albers could be the test driver, if he manages to secure enough funds to sponsor his test drive.

23 April 2003 Rubens Barrichello and Luca Badoer have carried out intensive tests of the new F2003-GA at Mugello. The car'd debut has been delayed by reliability problems so far, but the recent tests have been positive.

23 April 2003 M. Schumacher and Fernando Alonso may have to face the FIA Council to discuss the race accident during the Brazilian GP, despite FIA's decision not to hand them any immediate sanctions. They risk being penalised 10 points or banned for one race.

23 April 2003 Former Formula 1 World Champion Nigel Mansell has been slightly injured while confronting a gang of youth that had broke into the grounds of his mansion in the Isle of Jersey last Friday. Five men have been arrested on suspicion of assault.

23 April 2003 The funeral Ralf and Michael Schumacher's mother, Elisabeth, will be held in Kerpen on Friday. It will be a strictly family-only affair.

22 April 2003 This year's San Marino GP may well have been the last one. The race at Imola is undre threat to make room for some of the new GPs that are being introduced into the Formula 1 calendar, such as Shanghai and Bahrain, where tobacco advertising is not banned.

22 April 2003 Mr. Takeo Fukui is set to take on the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Motor Co. in June this year.

22 April 2003 Ferrari have decided not to float the company's share on the stock market yet as planned, due to the unfavourable market conditions. Mediobanca bought one third of Ferrari in June for 1.37 billion US dollars last June from Fiat Spa, but the collapse of the share markets means that Mediobanca would be losing money if they sold now.

21 April 2003 The new McLaren MP4-18 is not going to debut until the Canadian GP at the earliest. Originally the plan was to start using the new car in the Spanish GP, but reliability problems mean that it may not be avilable until even the British GP.

21 April 2003 M. Schumacher spoke for the first time since winning the San Marino Gpin the wake of his mother's death. He said that she would have wanted him and his brother Ralf to race. She and the Schumacher's father had always encouraged their sons to race since the very early days in karting.

20 April 2003 M. Schumacher has won the San Marino GP after battling it out with his brother Ralf in the early stages of the race. The two drivers chose to compete today despite the death of their mother Elisabeth in the early hours. After the race M. Schuamcher attended the podium ceremony in sombre mood, then the two brothers left early to go back to Cologne and be with the family. M. Schumacher was represented by a very emotional Jean Todt in the winners press conference. Räikkönen came second, keeping his Championship lead, ahead of Barrichello, R. Schumacher, Coulthard, Alonso, Montoya and Button. The promised rain did not fall, making the San Marino GP the first dry race of the 2003 season. Full race report will be available shortly.

San Marino GP finishing times:

1. Michael Schumacher (Ger/Ferrari) 62 laps in 1h28'12"058 (average 207.895 km/h) 2. Kimi Räikkönen (Fin/McLaren-Mercedes) +1"882 3. Rubens Barrichello (Bra/Ferrari) +2"291 4. Ralf Schumacher (Ger/Williams-BMW) +8"803 5. David Coulthard (GB/McLaren-Mercedes) +9"411 6. Fernando Alonso (Spa/Renault) +43"689 7. Juan Pablo Montoya (Col/Williams-BMW) +45"271 8. Jenson Button (GB/BAR) +1 lap 9. Olivier Panis (Fra/Toyota) +1 lap 10. Nick Heidfeld (Ger/Sauber) +1 lap 11. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Ger/Sauber) +1 lap 12. Cristiano Da Matta (Bra/Toyota) +1 lap 13. Jarno Trulli (Ita/Renault) +1 lap 14. Antonio Pizzonia (Bra/Jaguar) +2 laps 15. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita/Jordan) +5 laps

20 April 2003 The mother of Michael and Ralf Schumacher, Elisabeth, has died in hospital in Cologne during the night. The two drivers had flown back to see her after the qualifying session at Imola. Ralf and Michael have confirmed that they are going to take part in the San Marino GP despite the sad news and have already returned to Imola. They have been exempted from partecipating in any pre and post race activities (press conference etc).

19 April 2003 Michael and Ralf Schumacher left the San Marino facility shortly after the end of the qualifying session to fly to Cologne and be at their mother's bedside in hospital. It is not known whether they will fly back to Italy tonight or tomorrow morning.

19 April 2003 The Schumacher brothers did not let the news about their mother slow them down, as they took the pole position (Michael) and the second spot on the grid (Ralf) respectively. Barrichello, Montoya and back-on-form Webber followed. Championship leader Räikkönen managed to take the sixth place on the grid, but team mate Coulthard was down all the way to 12th. Brazilian GP winner Fisichella will start from a disappointing 17th place, while Verstappen will start last, having crashed out of his flying lap and severely damaged his car. The promised rain did not fall, in fact temperature went up as the session progressed, but the threat of rain appears to be higher for the race tomorrow.

San Marino GP qualifying times:

1. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'22"327 215.711 Km/h 2. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M + 0'00"014 3. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B + 0'00"230 4. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M + 0'00"462 5. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M + 0'00"688 6. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M + 0'00"821 7. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B + 0'00"833 8. 8 ALONSO Renault M + 0'00"842 9. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B + 0'01"054 10. 20 PANIS Toyota M + 0'01"133 11. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B + 0'01"373 12. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M + 0'01"491 13. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M + 0'01"511 14. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B + 0'01"605 15. 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar Cosworth M + 0'01"820 16. 7 TRULLI Renault M + 0'01"863 17. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B + 0'01"990 18. 18 WILSON Minardi Cosworth B + 0'03"499 19. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B+ 0'04"030 20. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B + 0'38"680 (2 laps only)

19 April 2003 The mother of Michael and Ralf Schumacher, Elisabeth, is in a coma in hospital in Cologne after falling at home last week. She has undergone emergency surgery and her conditions are stable. R. Schumacher said that he and Michael are wondering whether to race and that he and his brother are in continuous contact with their mother's doctors.

19 April 2003 Ferrari claimed back the top of the times table in the second Saturday free practice session with Barrichello. Second was R. Schumacher, who suffered an accident and had to go back to the pits on a scooter, and third Webber, who had failed to post a time in the first session.

San Marino GP Saturday second free practice session:

1. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'22"819 214.429 Km/h 31 laps 2. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M +0'00"078 23 laps 3. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M +0'00"139 19 laps 4. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M +0'00"143 35 laps 5. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B +0'00"155 35 laps 6. 8 ALONSO Renault M +0'00"223 41 laps 7. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M +0'00"379 34 laps 8. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M +0'00"950 33 laps 9. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B +0'01"279 33 laps 10. 20 PANIS Toyota M +0'01"280 31 laps 11. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B +0'01"313 24 laps 12. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B +0'01"359 40 laps 13. 7 TRULLI Renault M +0'01"513 38 laps 14. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M +0'01"864 40 laps 15. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B +0'01"928 32 laps 16. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B +0'01"944 27 laps 17. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B +0'02"513 7 laps 18. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B +0'02"926 25 laps 19. 18 WILSON Minardi Cosworth B +0'03"126 22 laps 20. 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar Cosworth M +0'03"376 17 laps

19 April 2003 Räikkönen showed that McLaren is still a competitive force at Imola by storming to the top of the times table fo the first practice session with only seconds to go. Webber failed to post a time after suffering hydraulic problems in the first few minutes of the session.

San Marino GP Saturday first free practice session:

1. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'23"196 213.457 Km/h 16 laps 2. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M +0'00"114 20 laps 3. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B +0'00"340 18 laps 4. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B +0'00"380 17 laps 5. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M +0'00"544 16 laps 6. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M +0'00"573 20 laps 7. 20 PANIS Toyota M +0'00"903 15 laps 8. 8 ALONSO Renault M +0'00"921 20 laps 9. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B +0'00"936 15 laps 10. 7 TRULLI Renault M +0'01"136 17 laps 11. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B +0'01"462 17 laps 12. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B +0'01"472 23 laps 13. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M +0'01"487 18 laps 14. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B +0'01"551 19 laps 15. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B +0'01"567 15 laps 16. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B +0'02"136 6 laps 17. 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar Cosworth M +0'02"999 17 laps 18. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B +0'03"119 13 laps 19. 18 WILSON Minardi Cosworth B +0'03"928 6 laps

18 April 2003 M. Schumacher, R. Schumacher and Fernando Alonso were summoned by Max Mosley today to discuss their behaviour during the Brazilian GP. Mosley limited himself to telling off the three drivers, warning them to respect the rules in the future. M. Schumacher and Fernando Alonso suffered accidents for failing to slow down enough while the yellow flags were being waved, while R. Schumacher overtook Verstappen with the safety car out. Afterwards they also had a meeting with Charlie Whiting, who reiterated Mosley's point. No further penalty will be imposed on the three drivers.

18 April 2003 Ferrari topped the first qualifying session, followed by the Williams. McLare, after a good start, dropped down towards the midfield, overtaken by the BARs and Webber's Jaguar.

San Marino GP Friday qualifying session:

1. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'20"628 220.256 Km/h 2. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B +0'00"454 3. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M +0'00"565 4. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M +0'00"862 5. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M +0'01"041 6. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B +0'01"263 7. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B +0'01"298 8. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M +0'01"519 9. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M +0'01"698 10. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B +0'01"903 11. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B +0'02"096 12. 20 PANIS Toyota M +0'02"137 13. 8 ALONSO Renault M +0'02"181 14. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B +0'02"283 15. 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar Cosworth M +0'02"291 16. 7 TRULLI Renault M +0'02"472 17. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B +0'03"732 18. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M +0'04"226 19. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B +0'04"362 20. 18 WILSON Minardi Cosworth B +0'04"567

18 April 2003 Giancarlo Fisichella received the Brazilian GP winner trophy from Kimi Räikkönen in a short ceremony before the San Marino GP free practice session started. Fisichella was unable to stand on the highest step of the podium for his maiden victory, but his first win will remember as possibly the most unusual of Formula 1. The free practice session was topped by the Williams drivers, with the Ferrari down to mid-field and the McLaren spread across the times table.

San Marino GP Friday first free practice session:

1. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'21"335 218.341 Km/h 20 laps 2. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'21"409 18 laps 3. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'22"056 21 laps 4. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'22"121 22 laps 5. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'22"561 17 laps 6. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'22"669 20 laps 7. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'22"714 18 laps 8. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'23"051 19 laps 9. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'23"057 26 laps 10. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'23"057 9 laps 11. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'23"267 9 laps 12. 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar Cosworth M 1'23"426 8 laps 13. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'23"557 24 laps 14. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'23"834 17 laps 15. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B 1'24"007 11 laps 16. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'24"117 23 laps 17. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'24"565 14 laps 18. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'25"153 13 laps 19. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'25"180 17 laps 20. 18 WILSON Minardi Cosworth B 1'25"706 4 laps

17 April 2003 M. Schumacher and Fernando Alonso are under investigation for not slwoing down enough under yellow flag conditions during the Brazilian GP. M. Schumacher crashed out at turn three (Curva do Sol), while Alonso hit the debris from Webber's car and caused the race to be red-flagged and terminated early. FIA observers during the GP reported that the two drivers had failed two slow down enough. If found guilty, the two would be handed a one-race ban.

17 April 2003 In a meeting at Imola the team bossess and Max Mosley have agreed to keep the new rules for the rest of the season. They have also agreed that there would be no further changes to the rules until the end of 2003. Only two minor alterations were agreed at the meeting today. Any car that has its engine changed between qualifying and the race will start from the back of the grid. The cars used by the teams must be the same ones used in qualifying. If a spare car is used, it must start from the pitlane.

17 April 2003 The weather forecast for the San Marino GP is for mostly sunny and dry weather on Friday, overcast with rain on Saturday and Sunday.

15 April 2003 Giancarlo Fisichella will get his podium moment after all. The San Marino GP weekend will open with the podium ceremony for the Brazilian GP at 10:45AM, shortly before the start of the free practice session. As well as putting Fisichella and Räikkönen on the right steps, the re-enactment of the ceremony will also allow Fernando Alonso, who had been taken to hospital, to be present.

15 April 2003 McLaren have announced that the new MP4/18 will debut before the end of May, either in Spain or, more probably, in Austria.

15 April 2003 Williams have pulled all the stops to show that there is life for Formula 1 after the tobacco advertising ban comes into effect. The team has signed a sponsorship deal with GlaxoSmithkline to advertise Niquitin, a product aimed at helping people to stop smoking. The Niquitin logo will appear on Montoya and R. Schumacher's cars from the San Marino GP, scheduled for this weekend.

14 April 2003 The Sauber team, that has been running without a test driver for teh last two years, has signed 19-year-old Swiss driver Neel Jani for the position.

14 April 2003 British GP promoters Octagon have changed their name to Brands Hatch Circuits Ltd. Octagon are currently under pressure by their parent company Interpublic to sell the loss-making motorsport division. The name change is meant to separate the interest of the Octagon Group and the motorsport division Brands Hatch Circuits Limited.

12 April 2003 Ferrari have announced that, due to teething problems, the new F2003-GA will not be used at Imola. Instead, M. Schumacher and Barrichello will still race on last year's F2002.

11 April 2003 Giancarlo Fisichella has been declared the winner of the Brazilian GP. The race stewards held a meeting today in Paris and decided that the winner is the Jordan driver and not Kimi Räikkönen, to whom the victory was awarded on the day. The FIA released the following statement:

"Having examined detailed records provided by the organisation responsible for timekeeping at the event, the stewards are satisfied that car no. 11 (Fisichella) had crossed the line to complete 55 laps and started his 56th lap before the signal to stop the race was given.

"The race was therefore stopped on the 56th lap. As a consequence, under the provisions of Article 154 of the Formula 1 Sporting Regulations, the race classification should be that at the end of lap 54." At the end of lap 54 Fisichella was leading the GP, therefore he is the winner of the race. On Sunday the stewards mistakenly believed that Fisichella was still on his 55th lap when the red flags were shown, so they rolled back the race two laps to lap 53, when Räkkönen was leading. The Brazilian GP was Fishcella's maiden victory and came on Jordan's 200th GP. However, the Italian regrets having been deprived of his moment on the highest step of the podium. The revised results also demote Mark Webber out of the points and promote R. Schumacher to 7th place.

Brazilian GP revised finishing positions:

1. FISICHELLA Jordan Ford 2. RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes 3. ALONSO Renault 4. COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes 5. FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas 6. VILLENEUVE BAR Honda 7. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW 8. TRULLI Renault 9. WEBBER Jaguar 10. DA MATTA Toyota

10 April 2003 A BBC report states that the results of the Brazilian GP are due to be overhauled in tomorrow's meeting between the Brazilian GP stewards and the drivers of all the cars involved. A top-level source within F1 has told the BBC that there is proof that Fisichella had already started his 56th lap when the red flag was displayed and the race stopped. This fact makes him the winner of the GP according to the countback rule, as he was leading on lap 54. Apparently tomorrow'smeeting is only taking place so that the new result can be officialised. The same source also told the BBC that as a result of this mix-up the countback rule will be reviewed.

9 April 2003 The Ferrari team seems to be more in trouble than it first seemed. The new F2003-GA, which is due to replace the F2002 from next GP, suffered from a blown up engine during testing.

9 April 2003 M. Schumacher has been defending Fisichella's case, saying that in his opinion the Italian has won the Brazilian GP. According to M. Schumacher's logic, when the countback rule is applied the positions are taken from 2 laps previously. However, the Brazilian GP was stopped on lap 55 out of 71, meaning that 75% of the race had not yet been completed. If this is found to be true, then it would not be possible to end the race and award full points as the officials have done in Brazil.

9 April 2003 The results of the Brazilian GP could be changed. This morning the FIA released new evidence showing that Giancarlo Fisichella had already started his 56th lap when the race was blackflagged because of Alonso's accident. Should this be confirmed, Fisichella would be declared winner of the Brazilian GP and Räikkönen would move down to second place. Also, Webber would move down to 9th place, with Ralf in 7th and Trulli in 8th. The full statement from FIA reads:

"The FIA has received evidence which suggests that, contrary to the information supplied by the time-keepers at the Brazilian Grand Prix, car no. 11 (Fisichella) had started his 56 th lap before the race was stopped. If this proves to be the case, the race classification would be that at the end of the 54 th lap and not at the end of the 53 rd lap as published.

In accordance with Article 179(b) of the International Sporting Code, the stewards of the Brazilian Grand Prix will re-convene on Friday 11 April at 11.00 hrs at the FIA headquarters in Paris to review the results of the event. All competitors who would be affected by any change to the classification are being invited to attend.

8 April 2003 Barrichello retired from his home GP because of a fuel problem. The Brazilian has vowed not to stop racing until he wins a race in his home country.

7 April 2003 Jean Todt confirmed that Ferrari will be using the F2003-GA in the San Marino GP. No explanation has yet been given as to the mysterious shutdown of all systems on Barrichello's F2002 in yesterday's Brazilian GP when the Ferrari driver was leading the race.

7 April 2003 Fernando Alonso is reported to be doing fine following yesterday's accident in Brazil. The young Spaniard has suffered only some cuts to his knee and foot.

6 April 2003 A Brazilian GP in which the rain, bad drainage and wrong tyre choice imposed by the new rules all played havoc was halted by the red flag that came out following a massive shunt in which Alonso was hurt. Fisichella was in the lead at the time of the race being stopped with less than one third left to go but, thanks to some other rule, the positions were rolled back two laps, when Räikkönen was in the lead. The Finn was then declared the winner, in front of an extremely disappointed Fisichella and Alonso, who could not be on the podium because he had been taken away by ambulance. Full race report will follow.

Brazilian GP finishing times:

1. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1h29'53"179 204.197 Km/h 2. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B +0'00"831 3. 8 ALONSO Renault M +0'06"695 4. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M +0'07"391 5. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B +0'09"392 6. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B +0'17"910 7. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M +0'20"070 8. 7 TRULLI Renault M +0'23"569 9. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M +0'33"556 10. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M +1 lap 11. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B +8 laps 12. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B +22 laps 13. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B +24 laps 14. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B +28 laps 15. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M +30 laps 16. 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar Cosworth M +30 laps 17. 20 PANIS Toyota M +37 laps 18. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B +37 laps 19. 18 WILSON Minardi Cosworth B +39 laps 20. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B +46 laps

6 April 2003 The Formula 1 team bosses have decided to delay the meeting planned to review the new rules. The reason given for the delay is that the bosses want to have more time to review the changes and reach a consensus and avoid making decisions that are not well thought through. The net result of the postponement is that the San Marino GP will be run following the same rules as the first three GPs of the season. Changes to the rules, however, may be pushed through on time for the Spanish GP.

5 April 2003 Rubens Barrichello will start his home GP from pole position, while his World-Champion team mate M. Schumacher could do no better than 7th place on the grid. Mark Webber was the last one out and managed to take third place, splitting the two McLaren of Coulthard and Räikkönen. Trulli on Renault will start from the fifth spot on the grid, in front of the two Schumacher brothers. Montoya qualified three positions down from his team mate, just behind Fisichella. Despite the dismal weather that marred the Friday sessions, today the sun shone down on the track, allowing lap times some 10 seconds faster than yesterday.

Brazilian GP second qualifying session (starting order):

1. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'13"807 210.175 Km/h 2. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'13"818 3. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'13"851 4. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'13"866 5. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'13"953 6. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'14"124 7. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'14"130 8. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'14"191 9. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'14"223 10. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'14"38 11. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'14"504 12. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'14"631 13. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'14"668 14. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'14"839 15. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'14"839 16. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B 1'15"240 17. 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar Cosworth M 1'15"317 18. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'15"641 19. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'16"542 20. 18 WILSON Minardi Cosworth B 1'16"586 107% time : 1'18"973

4 April 2003 Mark Webber was the last but one out and put in a real flyer, taking the fastest time of the first qualifying session away from Barrichello who had held on to it for most of the session. Several drivers suffered spins because of the wet weather, including Montoya, who slipped down to 17th place, and Button, who went out during his flying lap, damaging his car, failing to set a qualifying time and causing the session to be red-flagged for a few minutes. The other driver who suffered because of the weather was M. Schumacher, who struggled to keep the car on the track and had to settle for 5th best time.

Brazilian GP first qualifying session:

1. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'23"111 186.647 Km/h 2. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'23"249 3. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'24"607 4. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'24"655 5. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'25"585 6. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'25"614 7. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'25"672 8. 15 PIZZONIA Jaguar Cosworth M 1'25"764 9. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'26"203 10. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'26"375 11. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'26"554 12. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'26"557 13. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'26"709 14. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'26"726 15. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'26"886 16. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'27"111 17. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'27"961 18. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B 1'28"083 19. 18 WILSON Minardi Cosworth B 1'28"317 20. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B no time 107% time : 1'28"928

4 April 2003 The Brazilian GP Friday free practice session was marred by heavy downpours that discouraged drivers from going out. With 15 minutes to go the session was red-flagged after Pizzonia lost control of his R4 and crashed into the barrier in sector two. Eventually the session restarted and M. Schumacher came out with the fastest time only a few fractions of a second ahead of Coulthard.

Brazilian GP Friday free practice session:

1. 1 M.SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'28"060 176.157 Km/h 9 laps 2. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'28"188 10 laps 3. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'28"903 10 laps 4. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'29"607 4 laps 5. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'30"885 10 laps 6. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'31"462 6 laps 7. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'31"518 5 laps 8. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'31"548 6 laps 9. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'32"603 7 laps 10. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'33"131 9 laps 11. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'33"714 3 laps 12. 4 R.SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'35"013 9 laps 13. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'37"226 3 laps 14. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'38"728 7 laps 15. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'48"359 8 laps 16. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B 1'57"783 3 laps

4 April 2003 Mercedes-Benz is in talks with the Sauber team for a possible deal for 2004. The Sauber team, that has used Mercedes engines already in 1995, currently uses Petronas-badged Ferrari engines.

3 April 2003 Pedro De La Rosa is to join McLaren as a test driver. The Spaniard, who was with Jaguar until the end of 2003, has already taken part in a couple of test sessions for the Woking team. He has been taken on board to help with the development of the 2003 McLaren car, due to debut soon.

2 April 2003 M. Schumacher has denied the rumour that he has sacked his race mechanic Chris Dyer before flying out to Säo Paulo for this weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix. The German media has reported that Chris Dyer had been replaced by Luca Baldisseri, who was Michael's chief race mechanic up until last year's US GP.

2 April 2003 Ralf Schumacher has been sent a letter by Frank Williams and Patrick Head informing him that his performance so far in the 2003 season has been below expectations. Ralf Schumacher is being paid roughly twice as much as team mate Juan Pablo Montoya, who has outshone the German in the first two races of the current season.

2 April 2003 Former Jaguar Team Principal Niki Lauda has allegedly been paid 4 million pounds in return for the promise not to reveal any team secrets or work for any other F1 team in 2003.

1 April 2003 Juan Pablo Montoya said that Williams has better chances than Ferrari of winning next weekend's GP at Interlagos.

1 April 2003 Eddie Irvine has won a 25,000 pounds settlement for damages in court against radio station TalkSport. The former Formula 1 driver sued TalkSport after the radio station used a photo of him on an advertising brochure, doctored to make it look like Irvine was using a radion with the station's logo on it. In the origonal High Court case Irvine was awarded only 2,000 pounds a year ago and ordered to pay his own £300,000 legal costs. with the new ruling, Irvine is awarded 25,000 pounds and does not have to pay his own legal costs.

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande