August 2003

29 August 2003 Michelin have responded to the FIA's warning to the teams about tyre width, saying that they wish to clarify a few points. Michelin claims that after the Hungarian GP, the FIA has decided a new interpretation of the Sporting Regulation concerning F1 tyres. This applies to the definition of the front tyres tread width, which was so far measured when new, according to article 77, c) of the Sporting Regulations. The FIA now wants the tyre manufacturers to consider the width of the front contact patch after the tyre has been used on track. Michelin point out the following facts:

• The Michelin front tyre profile has been deemed "to comply with the F1 Regulations" in writing by the FIA. The controls have been made on new tyres, which confirms the interpretation of article 77, c).
• The procedure to measure the width of a contact patch as required now is unknown at the moment, which prevents any further work. Michelin can expect some difficulties in the definition since a tyre in its use can be in systematic contact with various 'objects', for example curbs, which, according to their profile and position, can touch up as far as the middle of the side walls.
• All Michelin's partners are concerned by this regulation change, as they all use the same front tyre profile.
• Michelin are fully open to discuss this regulation change wished by the FIA and help to define a measurement procedure which could be enforced in 2004. Michelin feel it is of course not realistic to ask for it before the Italian F1 Grand Prix.

28 August 2003 Ferrari have finally released an official explanation of what happened to Barrichello's car in the Hungarian GP. The team is putting the blame on the failure of a suspension wishbone. In a statement Ferrari say that when he found himself very close to the car which preceded him, Barrichello twice hit the kerbs at an unusual angle of impact at the chicane between turns six and seven. The impacts put excessive stress on the leading arm of the upper wishbone of the left rear suspension. This part then broke under heavy braking on the main straight at the start of lap 20.

27 August 2003 The Ferrari team has not yet given an official explanation of what went wrong with Barrichello's car during the Hungarian GP. Observers think that, given the way the whole wheel part became detached from the rest of the car, the whole differential block could have collapsed. Others believe that the problems was caused by the failure of the suspension's upper brace, which is connected to the engine head rather than the gearbox, a technology exclusive to Ferrari.

27 August 2003 McLaren will go to Monza with aerodynamics improvements to the car and a more powerful engine, according to titel contender Kimi Räikkönen.

27 August 2003 Minardi is finally going to test the Arrows A23 chassis that Paul Stoddart bought at the auction of the Arrows team assets following the team's liquidation. The tests will be carried out by Verstappen at Mugello. Minardi, whose PS03 has been having reliability problems, could incorporate part of the A23 in next season's PS04.

25 August 2003 Current Ferrari test driver Felipe Massa will partner Giancarlo Fisichella at Sauber next season. The move is part of a closer collaboration between Ferrari and Sauber from next year.

24 August 2003 History was made at today's Hungarian GP as 22-year-and-26-days-old Spaniard Fernando Alonso took the lead from pole position and held on to it to become the youngest ever winner of a Formula 1 GP. The previous record had been set in 1959 by Bruce McLaren. Alonso also became the first Spaniard to win a GP. The Hungarian GP also threw the Drivers Championship wide open, as at the end of it M. Schumacher's lead had been reduced to just one point over Montoya and two over Räikkönen. The current World Champion ran a lacklustre race and suffered the insult of being lapped by raising star Alonso, but team mate Barrichello had an even worse race. The Brazilian suffered a rear suspension failure at turn one on lap 20 at 170kmh, causing the rear left wheel to come off clean. The Ferrari went careering nose first into the tyre barrier, but luckily the car's front absorbed most of the impact and Barrichello walked away unscathed. R. Schumacher, who had managed to have his 10-places demotion punishment overturned, virtually reinstated it when he spun and dropped down to 16th place on the first lap. He managed to make his way up the field and finished fourth behind Räikkönen and team mate Montoya, who had played the race safe to make sure to bring home points. The result of the Hungarian GP also meant a new leader of the Constructors Championship, as Williams overtook Ferrari.

Hungarian GP finishing times:

1. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1h39'01"460 185.938 Km/h 2. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M +0'16"768 185.415 Km/h 3. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M +0'34"537 184.863 Km/h 4. 4 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M +0'35"620 184.830 Km/h 5. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M +0'56"535 184.185 Km/h 6. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M +1'12"643 183.692 Km/h 7. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1 lap 8. 1 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1 lap 9. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1 lap 10. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1 lap 11. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 2 laps 12. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 3 laps 13. 18 KIESA Minardi Cosworth B 4 laps 14. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 23 laps 15. 15 WILSON Jaguar Cosworth M 28 laps 16. 36 BAUMGARTNER Jordan Ford B 36 laps 17. 20 PANIS Toyota M 37 laps 18. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 42 laps 19. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 51 laps 20. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 58 laps

23 August 2003 Giancarlo Fisichella has signed a two-year contract with Sauber starting from next season. The Italian has been unhappy with Jordfan's performance in the current season. Hungarian Zsolt Baumgartner, who is replacing Ralph Firman in tomorrow's race, said that he hopes to be kept on as Fisichella's replacement at Jordan next year.

23 August 2003 Renault's Fernando Alonso flew onto the top of the time sheet in the Hungarian GP second qualifying session, ahead of R. Schumacher, Webber, Montoya, Barrichello, Trulli and Räikkönen. Lacklustre M. Schumacher qualified in eighth place, just ahead of Coulthard.

Hungarian GP second qualifying session times (grid positions):

1. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'21"688 193.203 Km/h 2. 4 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'21"944 +0'00"256 3. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'22"027 +0'00"339 4. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'22"180 +0'00"492 5. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'22"180 +0'00"492 6. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'22"610 +0'00"922 7. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'22"742 +0'01"054 8. 1 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'22"755 +0'01"067 9. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'23"060 +0'01"372 10. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'23"369 +0'01"681 11. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'23"621 +0'01"933 12. 15 WILSON Jaguar Cosworth M 1'23"660 +0'01"972 13. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'23"726 +0'02"038 14. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'23"847 +0'02"159 15. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'23"982 +0'02"294 16. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'24"100 +0'02"412 17. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'24"569 +0'02"881 18. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'26"423 +0'04"735 19. 36 BAUMGARTNER Jordan Ford B 1'26"678 +0'04"990 20. 18 KIESA Minardi Cosworth B 1'28"907 +0'07"219

23 August 2003 Ralph Firman suffered a massive accident that stopped the Saturday first free session for 15 minutes. Firman suffered a huge impact when the rear wing on his car failed along the straight heading up to turn five. His car then rammed the barriers at 240 km/h after leaving the track backwards and bouncing back into a sideways spin. Firman was unconscious and had to be helped out of the car, though he was then able to walk to the ambulance. The Jordan driver, who cannot remember the acident, was taken to hospital where he was found to have a severely bruised heel and slight concussion, but no major problems. He will spend the night in hospital as a precaution and, following Professor Sid Watkins' orders, he will not partecipate in the Hungarian GP. Firman's place will be taken by Hungarian driver Zsolt Baumgartner. The the permanent bureau of the Formula One Commission unanimously agreed to issue Zsolt Baumgartner with a superlicense based on his Formula One testing experience with Jordan Ford this season and the FIA have permitted the team to enter Baumgartner as the driver of car number 12 for the remainder of the weekend. The Jordan team has examined the causes of the rear wing failure on Firman's car and concluded that the chances of it reoccurring are neglegible.

22 August 2003 Trulli clocked the fastest time in the Hungarian GP first qualifying session, beating R. Schumacher, Webber, Coulthard, Barrichello, Alonso, Panis and Montoya. M. Schumacher could do no better than ninth, while Da Matta ended up at the bottom of the time sheet after spinning during his flying lap.

Hungarian GP first qualifying session times:

1. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'22"358 191.632 Km/h 2. 4 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'22"413 +0'00"055 3. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'22"625 +0'00"267 4. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'22"786 +0'00"428 5. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'22"892 +0'00"534 6. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'22"953 +0'00"595 7. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'22"986 +0'00"628 8. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'23"305 +0'00"947 9. 1 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'23"430 +0'01"072 10. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'23"482 +0'01"124 11. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'23"660 +0'01"302 12. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'23"695 +0'01"337 13. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'24"313 +0'01"955 14. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'24"333 +0'01"975 15. 15 WILSON Jaguar Cosworth M 1'24"343 +0'01"985 16. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'24"725 +0'02"367 17. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B 1'25"223 +0'02"865 18. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'26"052 +0'03"694 19. 18 KIESA Minardi Cosworth B 1'27"023 +0'04"665 20. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'55"138 +0'32"780

22 August 2003 The McLaren team has confirmed in a press release that Kimi Räikkönen and David Coulthard will be the team's drivers next season. Test drivers Alexander Wurz and Pedro De La Rosa have been confirmed for 2004 too.

21 August 2003 Eddie Jordan and Paul Stoddart have met up with Roman Abramovich during the European GP earlier in the year. The Russian magnate, who has recently purchased the Chelsea football team, is interested in getting involved in Formula 1 and is apparently looking for a team to invest in.

20 August 2003 Renault have confirmed that their current drivers line-up (Jarno Trulli and Fermando Alonso) will stay on for next season. Team's chairman Patrick Faure said that the stability offered by retaining its driver line-up would be key to the continued success of the team next season.

20 August 2003 R. Schumacher has been found guilty of causing the accident at the start of the German GP, but his punishment was changed from a 10-places grid demotion to a 50,000 US dollars fine. Kimi Räikkönen and Rubens Barrichello will be investigated on Friday to assess whether they carry any blame for the accident.

19 August 2003 According to the finance minister of the Walloon region Serge Kubla, the Formula One Management has signed a contract to stage the F1 Belgian GP until 2010.

19 August 2003 R. Schumacher has denied any responsability in the accident at the start of the German GP that spelt the end of the race for Räikk&ounl;nen and Barrichello as well as himself. Williams driver based his defense on the limited vision offered by his rear-view mirrors and the absence of a team representative during his meeting with the stewards at Hockenheim. The outcome of the appeal will be announced tomorrow. R. Schumacher defined the crash a normal racing accident.

18 August 2003 Wallon region economic minister Serge Kubla has announced that Formula 1 will be back in Belgium in 2004. The date of the 2004 Belgian GP will be the 29th of August. The event was reinstated in next season's schedule after the Belgian government softened their tough laws on tobacco advertising last month.

17 August 2003 Only about 50 people showed up in Montreal for a demonstration organised by local business owners to save the 2004 F1 Canadian Grand Prix.

16 August 2003 German daily newspaper Bild reported that Ralf Schumacher has agreed to sign a contract extension with BMW Williams until the 2006 season. According to Bild, R. Schumacher has accepted a pay cut of around three million US dollars, taking his wages down to 12 million US dollars. There has been no occicial confirmation of the rumour as yet.

15 August 2003 The proceedings of the FIA International Court of Appeal will be televised for the first time when BMW Williams' appeal against R. Schumacher's punishment for the accident at the start of the German GP is brought to the Court. The process of filming the hearing has been facilitated by Formula One Management (FOM) and will be televised by German network RTL. The result of the judgement will be made pulic as a press release on the afternoon of Wednesday the 20th of August.

15 August 2003 Ecclsetone has issued a statement through through his company, Formula One Management, confirming that the Canadian GP will not take place next year. The Canadian government's total prohibition on tobacco-related sponsorship is mentioned as the reason for the decisions. Race promoter Norman Legault will be in Hungary next weekend to lobby support to save the race.

14 August 2003 Former World Champion Niki Lauda has taken 16-year-old Natacha Gachnang under his wing and would like to bring her into Formula 1 as a driver. Swiss Natacha Gachnang is currently taking part in the 2003 BMW ADAC championship and has already won praise from many motorsport observers. Formula 1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone has often voiced his support to getting women to compete in Formula 1.

13 August 2003 The chassis for the 2004 Renault R24 is already being developed in the Enstone wind tunnel. A 50% scale model of the R24 has been on the rolling road for a number of weeks. Mike Gascoyne said that while the R23 is very aerodynamically efficient, the team is hoping for a further step forward with the R24.

13 August 2003 Martin Leach, President and Chief Operating Officer of Ford of Europe, is leaving the company. His place will be temporarily taken by David Thursfield, head of international operations at Ford.

12 August 2003 Canadian Prime minister Jean Chretien has said that there are no plans to water down the tough new anti-tobacco advertising laws to save the Canadian Grand Prix. Canadian immigration minister Denis Coderre suggested it was unfair that while Canada was cancelled Ecclestone had found a way to continue the GPs in France and England.

12 August 2003 Cornelius Horan, the 56-year-old former priest who caused havoc by running on the track during the British Grand Prix in July, has pleaded guilty to a charge of aggravated trespass. Horan had already disrupted other sporting events, such as the Wimbledom tennis tournament, to make propaganda in the past. The court Prosecutor said that Horan's actions had not only put him at risk, but also the drivers and the general public as well.

12 August 2003 Colombian magazine Revista Cambio calims that Montoya's move to McLaren in 2005 is a done deal. The contract between the Williams driver and McLaren was allegedly signed during the British GP weekend.

11 August 2003 Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Tazio Nuvolari, one of the greatest motorsport drivers of all times.

11 August 2003 Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that the Canadian GP is definitely off for next season due to the country's tobacco advertising laws. Race promoter Normand Legault told AFP that he has spoken to Eccleston on the phone and that the Formula 1 supremo has confirmed that the Canadian GP is not included in next year's schedule. Legault said that he is hoping to bring the race back in 2005.

11 August 2003 The mystery surrounding the 2004 GP in Montreal hotted up today when the organisers of the Canadian GP made public a letter from the FIA in which it is stated that there will be no Canadian GP next season. This goes against Ecclestone's statement that a decision has not been made yet. The letter was released to Montreal's daily newspaper La Presse by Normand Legault and it contains these paragraphs by Michelle Drake of the Formula One Management:

Mr. Ecclestone asked me to write you following your meeting with him at the Hockenheim Grand Prix last weekend.

Like agreed during this meeting, we are writing to advise you that the Canadian Grand Prix will not be included in the FIA Formula One World Championship pending the outcome of various issues.

In the event that the Canadian Grand Prix is not included in the calendar for next year, the provisions of clause 26.2 of the promoters agreement will apply.

11 August 2003 Former Formula 1 driver and World Champion Niki Lauda believes that this year's Drivers Title will go to Montoya rather than M. Schumacher.

10 August 2003 According to a report in the Independent it is looking more and more likely that the British government will intervene to ensure that the British GP is not dropped from next season's schedule with a 16 million pounds grant. The British GP weekend is said to bring in a 40 million pounds turnover for the local economy.

8 August 2003 Bernie Ecclestone has denied that the Canadian GP has been dropped from next season's schedule. Ecclestone gave an interview to news agency PA in which he said that he does not know where the Canadian GP cancellation rumour has come from, because the 2004 Formula 1 calendar has not been put together yet.

8 August 2003 The Canadian GP has been dropped from the 2004 Formula 1 schedule. Race promoter Normand Legault told a news conference that he had received a letter from F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone confirming that Montreal would not be hosting a race in 2004 due to national anti-tobacco laws.

7 August 2003 Juan Pablo Montoya has denied rumours that he is to move to McLaren next season. The Colombian said that he is under contract at Williams until the end of 2004, but that he is already talking to several teams about 2005. Despite the McLaren rumours, Montoya said that the Toyota project looks more interesting to him.

6 August 2003 German TV station RTL reported as teletext news that the McLaren MP4/18 has been dropped for good after failing three crash tests and costing the team around 25 million US dollars.

6 August 2003 Though it seems likely that Villeneuve will stay on at BAR next season, David Richards is delaying announcing the 2004 drivers' line-up. Richards admitted being in talks with other potential drivers, including McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz, whom he worked with already at Benetton.

5 August 2003 The Toyota team has confirmed Olivier Panis and Cristiano Da Matta as their drivers for 2004.

4 August 2003 Swede Bjorn Wirdheim, who won the International Formula 3000 title at Hockenheim on Saturday, is set to test for Jordan at Monza next month.

4 August 2003 The Williams bosses have admitted that they are planning to use team orders if one of their drivers ends up mathematically unable to win the Championship.

4 August 2003 Antonio Pizzonia, who was sacked from Jaguar to be replaced by Justin WIlson, could make his return to Formula 1 as test driver for Williams. Frank Williams has admitted talking to Pizzonia’s manager Jayme Brito regarding a possible test role. Pizzonia had orighinally signed a long-term contract with Williams in 2001, before being released from it in 2002 so that he could join Jaguar.

3 August 2003 The Williams team is appealing against R. Schumacher's penalty following the accident at the start of the German GP that took out the German, Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Räikkönen. If the penalty is confirmed, R. Schumacher will be penalised by ten places on the starting grid for the Hungarin GP in three weeks time.

3 August 2003 Jarno Trulli, who finished third in the German GP, managed to get on the podium but missed the drivers press conference. The Italian, who drove despite having flu, suffered from sudden low blood pressure when he stepped out of his car at the end of the race, due to fever and tiredness. Trulli was given intra-venous fluids at the track and then taken to the medical centre.

3 August 2003 R. Schumacher has been blamed for the accident at the start of the German GP and reprimanded following an investigation. As punishment he will be relegated by ten places on the starting grid for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

3 August 2003 Two of the main contenders to this season's title did not even make it to the first corner of the German GP. Barrichello made a slow start and found Räikkönen coming up to his left from the grid position behind. The Brazilian was unable to move out of the way because R. Schumacher had come across the track and was blocking him on the right. The Ferrari ended up sandwiched between the Williams and the McLaren with nowhere to go and a collision was inevitable. Barrichello and Räikkönen touched, damaging both cars and seding the McLaren spinning in front of the Ferrari and into R. Schumacher's Williams. Räikkönen then went careering into the start of the tyre wall and caused considerable damage to his car, that fell literally into pieces. The Finn was able to step out of the car by himself, but was taken to the medical center for checks, where he was found to have a badly bruised leg and a stiff neck but luckily no broken bones. Both Barrichello and R. Schumacher retired from the race following the accident. The collision appears to be nothing more than an unlucky race accident, though a few commentators have argued that R. Schumacher did not need to move so much across the track and close off Barrichello, but the German says that he was just defending his position. Down the field a couple of other cars came together, resulting in the retirement of Wilson, Firman and Frentzen. The start accidents caused the safety car to come out for three laps, with pole sitter Montoya in the lead followed by the two Renault of Trulli and Alonso and M. Schumacher. Wilson, in his first outing for Jaguar, went into the pits for quick repairs and was able to rejoin the race four laps down, though he then retired shortly afterwards with gearbox problems. M. Schumacher spent most of the race stuck behind the two Renault, not even trying to overtake. The situation changed when Alonso made a mistake and left the door open for the German. Towards the end of the GP M. Schumacher was in third position behind Trulli, with Coulthard, who had switched from a three-stop to a two-stop strategy when his team mate had retired, in hot pursuit. The Ferrari and the McLaren managed to go past Trulli with seven laps to go and it seemed that M. Schumacher would be able to bring home eight points, when misfortune struck him and his rear left tyre got punctured and deflated with only four laps left. The German limped to the pits for a new tyre and still managed to finish seventh, but he did confess later that it had been a huge disappointment for him. Montoya's victory in Germany and Räikkönen's retirement mean that the Colombian moves ahead of the Finn into second place in the Drivers' Championship. With four races to go, the competition is still wide open.

German GP finishing times:

1. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1h28'48"769 207.036 Km/h 2. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M +1'05"459 204.524 Km/h 3. 7 TRULLI Renault M +1'09"060 204.388 Km/h 4. 8 ALONSO Renault M +1'09"344 204.377 Km/h 5. 20 PANIS Toyota M +1 lap 6. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M +1 lap 7. 1 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B +1 lap 8. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B +1 lap 9. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B +2 laps 10. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B +2 laps 11. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M +3 laps 12. 18 KIESA Minardi Cosworth B +5 laps 13. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B +7 laps 14. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B +44 laps 15. 15 WILSON Jaguar Cosworth M +61 laps 16. 4 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M +66 laps 17. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B +66 laps 18. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B +67 laps 19. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M +67 laps 20. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B +67 laps

3 August 2003 Norbert Haug has rebutted accusations from M. Schumacher that McLaren used team orders in the British GP two weeks ago. According to Haug, the ease with which title contender Räikkönen passed team mate Coulthard was down to different race strategies, not to team orders that are banned this season. Haug also pointed out that M. Schumacher did not have a problem with the manoeuvre itself, but had mentioned it simply as an example of something that was not discussed at all, but that would have been, had it happened between the two Ferrari drivers instead of the McLaren ones.

3 August 2003 Eddie Jordan has denied that the future of his team might be in trouble after he was forced to drop a High Court action against would-be sponsor Vodafone. Jordan said that he has no regrets about bringing the legal action against the telecommunication giant and that it will not mean the end for the team. They are going to close the door on the matter and move on. According to sources close to the team, Jordan faces a legal bill of three million pounds but there are enough funds to pay it off.

2 August 2003 The ten team bosses held a meeting at Hockenheim to find new ways to stop the dwindling number of GP spectators from falling further, after concentrating on making races more exciting for television viewers last year. The main concern is that, with the new regulations, there is no Formula 1 action between qualifying on Saturday afternoon and the race on Sunday. Minardi boss Paul Stoddart believes that the meeting, which follows another one held two weeks ago at Magny-Cours, has brought forwards a solution. According to Stoddart there are several ideas on the table and that he expect the new plan to be announced in three weeks time in Hungary after the GP. He said that one proposal in particular got everybody's vote, so he is sure that it will happen.

2 August 2003 Wallon region economic minister Serge Kubla said that the Belgium Grand Prix will return to the Formula One world championship in 2004. M Kubla met up with Bernie Ecclestone in Hockenheim and obtained an assurance from him that the GP will take place at Spa-Francorchamps in 2004, according to a statement from the minister's office.

2 August 2003 Williams came out again on top as Montoya clocked the fastest flying lap time ahead of team mate R. Schumacher, who failed in a last-ditch attempt to beat the Colombian. The Williams duo leapfrogged Barrichello who had been holding provisional pole position up to that point. Defending World Champion M. Schumacher put up a poor performance and had to content himself with sixth place, behind Trulli and Räikkönen, but in front of Panis and Alonso.

German GP second qualifying session times (grid positions):

1. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'15"167 219.064 Km/h 2. 4 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'15"185 +0'00"018 3. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'15"488 +0'00"321 4. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'15"679 +0'00"512 5. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'15"874 +0'00"707 6. 1 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'15"898 +0'00"731 7. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'16"034 +0'00"867 8. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'16"483 +0'01"316 9. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'16"550 +0'01"383 10. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'16"666 +0'01"499 11. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'16"775 +0'01"608 12. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'16"831 +0'01"664 13. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'17"090 +0'01"923 14. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'17"169 +0'02"002 15. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'17"557 +0'02"390 16. 15 WILSON Jaguar Cosworth M 1'18"021 +0'02"854 17. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'18"085 +0'02"918 18. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B 1'18"341 +0'03"174 19. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'19"023 +0'03"856 20. 18 KIESA Minardi Cosworth B 1'19"174 +0'04"007

1 August 2003 Ferrari's times were well down the times sheet in today's first qualifying session for the German GP, that was dominated by Williams with R. Schumacher taking provisional pole position ahead of team mate Montoya, Trulli, Webber, Alonso, Räikkönen, Wilson in his Jaguar debut and Ferrari's Barrichello and M. Schumacher. Debutant Nicolas Kiesa on Minardi failed to set a time when his car died on the first sector of his fast lap.

German GP first qualifying session times:

1. 4 R. SCHUMACHER Williams BMW M 1'14"427 221.242 Km/h 2. 3 MONTOYA Williams BMW M 1'14"673 +0'00"246 3. 7 TRULLI Renault M 1'15"004 +0'00"577 4. 14 WEBBER Jaguar Cosworth M 1'15"030 +0'00"603 5. 8 ALONSO Renault M 1'15"214 +0'00"787 6. 6 RAIKKONEN McLaren Mercedes M 1'15"276 +0'00"849 7. 15 WILSON Jaguar Cosworth M 1'15"373 +0'00"946 8. 2 BARRICHELLO Ferrari B 1'15"399 +0'00"972 9. 1 M. SCHUMACHER Ferrari B 1'15"456 +0'01"029 10. 20 PANIS Toyota M 1'15"471 +0'01"044 11. 5 COULTHARD McLaren Mercedes M 1'15"557 +0'01"130 12. 17 BUTTON BAR Honda B 1'15"757 +0'01"330 13. 10 FRENTZEN Sauber Petronas B 1'15"968 +0'01"541 14. 9 HEIDFELD Sauber Petronas B 1'15"985 +0'01"558 15. 21 DA MATTA Toyota M 1'16"450 +0'02"023 16. 12 FIRMAN Jordan Ford B 1'17"044 +0'02"617 17. 11 FISICHELLA Jordan Ford B 1'17"111 +0'02"684 18. 19 VERSTAPPEN Minardi Cosworth B 1'17"702 +0'03"275 19. 16 VILLENEUVE BAR Honda B 1'44"500 +0'30"073 20. 18 KIESA Minardi Cosworth B 3'00"000 +1'45"573

1 August 2003 The Jordan team has dropped legal proceedings against potential sponsor Vodafone. Jordan had sued Vodafone claiming they had reneged on a sponsorship deal in favour of Ferrari. The team, which is struggling for cash, is left footing a massive legal bill.

Last updated on by Federica Massagrande