2003 Brazilian Grand Prix
| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 3 of 16 in the 2003 Formula One season | |||
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| Date | 6 April 2003 | ||
| Official name | XXXII Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil | ||
| Location |
Autódromo José Carlos Pace São Paulo, Brazil |
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| Course | Permanent Racing Facility | ||
| Course length | 4.309 km (2.667 mi) | ||
| Distance | 54 laps, 232.686 km (144.558 mi) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 71 laps, 305.939 km (189.357 mi) | ||
| Weather | Rainy 20 °C (68 °F) |
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| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:13.807 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Rubens Barrichello
|
Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:22.032 on lap 46 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Jordan-Ford | ||
| Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Third | Renault | ||
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The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 6 April 2003 at Autódromo José Carlos Pace (Interlagos). This was the 700th World Championship event.
The Grand Prix was a controversial race decided by a court case, and when the final result was announced, it emerged that none of the drivers were standing on the correct steps of the podium, as the 1st and 2nd place drivers were in each other's position, while 3rd place Fernando Alonso was receiving medical attention at the time of the ceremony. The race was eventually won by Giancarlo Fisichella from Jordan, demoting McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen, the initial winner, to second place. The race, which was Jordan's final victory, was on the team's 200th Grand Prix. This was first victory for Ford since the 1999 European Grand Prix.
Due to a 2003 regulation change aimed at cutting costs, teams were only allowed to bring one wet-weather tyre compound to the race. All the teams on Bridgestone tyres had only brought an intermediate tyre, and this was deemed unsuitable for the torrential conditions. The start was delayed by ten minutes and race was started under the safety car and due to several accidents caused by the wet weather, the safety car deployed several times throughout the race.
Originally scheduled for 71 laps, the race saw several storm fronts make their way across the circuit, leaving the track with very little grip. Even when the rest of the track was relatively dry, the third corner remained extremely wet. Numerous drivers spun off the track at this point, including defending world champion Michael Schumacher, who nearly collided with the stalled Jaguar of Antônio Pizzonia (who himself made slight contact with the stalled Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya) and a nearby crane. On lap 26, the reigning World Champion spun off while taking the 'S' Senna turn. It was Schumacher's first race retirement since the 2001 German Grand Prix. There were also several accidents, as drivers fought the weather as well as each other. Mark Webber (Jaguar) was the only driver to spin out at this corner and recover to continue racing—Webber's later crash contributed to the race being stopped early.
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