2002 German Grand Prix

(pictured in 2009), where the German Grand Prix took place. The 2002 German Grand Prix was the 12th of 17 rounds in the 2002 Formula One World Championship, contested on 28 July 2002 at the clockwise Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Baden-Württemberg, South West Germany. It was one of two Grands Prix to be held in Germany after the the month before. Heading into the Grand Prix, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher had already won the season's World Drivers' Championship, having clinched the title at the previous race, the . Michael Schumacher led the championship with 96 championship points, ahead of Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya with 34 championship points. Although the World Drivers' Championship was decided, the World Constructors' Championship was not. Ferrari were leading with 128 championship points while Williams were second with 66 championship points and McLaren were third on 47 championship points. Michael Schumacher won the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring in and he wanted to win for the second time. He admitted that winning in Germany would be a satisfying way to celebrate his record-tying fifth world championship. To increase safety and spectator watching, the Hockenheimring's layout was reduced from to . However, the race distance was raised from 45 to 67 laps to appeal to advertisers and television. A long, curved straight called the Parabolika led into the new Spitzkehre hairpin before the demolished Senna chicane, which began with a new right-hand turn that bypassed the former Clark and Ost chicanes. Following the hairpin, there was an extra set of turns that included a quick right-hander, a tight left and a medium right before returning to the former stadium complex via a straight. (pictured in 2012) was passed fit to compete in Germany after a major accident in the preceding . The changes to the track received a mixed response. Michael Schumacher stated the revised layout "flows nicely and there are some overtaking opportunities. It is quite demanding." Former driver Jacques Laffite believed trackside spectators and television viewers would benefit watching the action. Sauber's Nick Heidfeld stated his preference for the former layout. Arrows entered the race despite financial difficulties, after failing to qualify for the preceding due to a violation of the 107% rule. Their actions in Germany would reportedly be closely scrutinised as team owner Tom Walkinshaw was warned that race director Charlie Whiting could have reported them to the race stewards if they violated the International Sporting Code's article on "actions prejudicial to the spirit of competition" by failing to adequately attempt to qualify for the race. Jordan driver Giancarlo Fisichella was passed fit to enter the event. At the previous race in France, he had a major accident during the final free practice session and was judged unfit by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) medical delegate Sid Watkins due to the high deceleration Fisichella experienced in the crash. Watkins examined Fisichella medically at Hockenheim and cleared him to compete. The one-week gap between the French and German Grands Prix meant there was no in-season testing between the two races. Mercedes and Honda both brought more powerful engines to the track, while Williams, which opened up vents in the sides to improve heat dissipation in France, added extra openings to the bodywork's rear section. == Practice ==

Preceding the race were two one-hour practice sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. Rain fell overnight making the circuit damp and the new track surface had a relatively low level of grip. During the first practice session, in cool, humid and overcast weather on Friday morning, Barrichello lapped fastest at 1:16.248 on his final lap of the session. Michael Schumacher, BAR's Olivier Panis, McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen, Heidfeld, Montoya, Sauber's Felipe Massa, the Jordan pair of Takuma Sato and Fisichella and Arrows's Heinz-Harald Frentzen completed the top ten. Some drivers went off the track. After completing nine laps with around 20 minutes left, Michael Schumacher set the day's fastest lap time of 1:16.086 with five minutes remaining, 0.182 seconds ahead of his teammate Barrichello. The McLaren duo of Räikkönen and Coulthard as well as Ralf Schumacher, Jaguar's Eddie Irvine, Montoya, Massa, Toyota's Allan McNish and Frentzen followed in the top ten. Alex Yoong spun his Minardi car at turn two and beached upon a kerb with the rear off the tarmac surface, ending his session early. Oil and moisture was laid at turn one's braking zone, catching out Massa whose front wing's right-hand side was removed upon the kerbing. Michael Schumacher was fastest with a 1:15.337 lap, 0.122 seconds faster than teammate Barrichello. Williams teammates Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, Coulthard, Massa, Fisichella, Panis. Heidfeld and Sato were in positions third through tenth. Some drivers again spun during the session. Renault's Jenson Button suffered a gearbox selection issue, leaving him in neutral when he mistakenly hit the neutral button midway through the first corner, Michael Schumacher lapped faster by almost a second and was the only driver in the 1:14-bracket with a time of 1:14.487. Ralf Schumacher was 0.667 seconds behind in second. Barrichello, Montoya, Heidfeld, Massa, Fisichella, Toyota's Mika Salo, Coulthard and McNish occupied third through tenth. Fewer spins happened during the session as drivers were more aware of the track limits and more rubber was on the circuit. Sato sat out the session due to an exhaust-related issue that arose early on. == Qualifying ==

(pictured in 2007) qualified on pole position and went on to win the race the next day. Each driver was allowed twelve laps during Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, with starting positions determined by the drivers' quickest laps. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107% of the quickest lap time in order to qualify for the race. and it was marked by a battle between the Schumacher brothers. Michael Schumacher secured his fourth pole position of the season, his first since the three months earlier and 47th of his career with a 1:14.389 lap, His second run saw him mount too much kerb at turn one, lose control of his Ferrari, and drive onto the run-off area, aborting the run. Ralf Schumacher qualified second, 0.181 seconds slower, and took pole position with nine minutes left until Michael Schumacher's best lap. Barrichello led midway through qualifying, Montoya, fourth, had understeer, going through Agip turn's gravel trap into the stadium section on his first run. Minor errors on his last run left him 13th. A request by Minardi owner Paul Stoddart to allow Yoong into the race was rejected by the race stewards, citing "no exceptional circumstances". This meant 21 drivers started the race. Qualifying classification == Warm-up ==

On race morning, a half-hour warm-up session was held for teams to shake down their race and spare cars in hot, humid and sunny weather. Michael Schumacher was the only driver to lap in the 1:16 range, clocking a 1:16.726 at the end of warm-up. Positions two to ten were occupied by Barrichello, Fisichella, Panis, Sato, Heidfeld, Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, Räikkönen and Montoya. There were few spinners and the track surface appeared to provide more grip. Driving the spare Arrows car, Frentzen spun into the turn two gravel trap midway through the session, but was brought back onto the circuit and returned to pit lane. == Race ==

The race began at 14:00 local time. Conditions at the start were hot and sunny, with the air temperature between and the track temperature ranged from . During the reconnaissance laps to line up on the grid, Barrichello found a malfunction in his race car's gearbox upshift mechanism Barrichello's race car was moved off the track by his mechanics, and he was sent to the Ferrari garage to drive the spare Ferrari setup for him. He exited the pit lane 15 seconds before the red lights lighted at the pit lane exit, According to Alan Henry of The Guardian, the hot track temperatures threatened to make tyre wear a major worry for teams during the race. Michael Schumacher made a clean start to keep his lead, followed by Ralf Schumacher in second and Barrichello in third. becoming the race's first retirement. Button and Massa had the best starts, gaining three spots from their starting positions, At the conclusion of the first lap, Michael Schumacher led Ralf Schumacher by 1.6 seconds. while Massa forced Button wide at the hairpin for tenth. On lap 11, Montoya was given extra power by BMW because a pit crew member opted to lift the restrictor on the engine's rev limiter once the oil and water temperatures were safe enough to enable such a scenario as he duelled Räikkönen. He attempted to pass Räikkönen on the outside at the hairpin, but braked too late and ran wide, allowing Räikkönen to maintain fourth. On lap 26, Button retired to the side of the track after his engine cut out due to a traction control system issue. Michael Schumacher made his second pit stop from the lead on the following lap. Montoya was off the pace but ran cleanly to finish second, 10.5 seconds behind, while Ralf Schumacher completed the podium in third. Barrichello was slower than his teammate in the last laps, finishing fourth. Montoya said on finishing second, "I've been on pole for the last five races and out of the last six races, this is my best result - and I wasn't on pole." Massa stated that while he understood Sauber's decision to ask him to allow Heidfeld through, he did not know why his teammate did not cede the position to him later in the race, "That would have been fair because this point belonged to me." His race engineer, Jacky Eeckelaert, said that the result upset Massa while team principal Peter Sauber stated that his decision to allow Heidfeld past was justified because Heidfeld was lapping faster. BMW Motorsport director Gerhard Berger was delighted that the Williams team was closer to race winner Michael Schumacher on this occasion, after leading in qualifying but losing ground throughout the race. Barrichello stated that he would have been unlucky not to be able to drive the spare Ferrari, which allowed him to make a standard start. He added that he lost three championship points but gained three more, "so on balance it's not too bad." Michael Schumacher maintained his lead in the World Drivers' Championship with 106 championship points. Montoya retained second with 40 championship points while Ralf Schumacher's third-place finish elevated him from fourth to third. Barrichello fell from third to fourth while Coulthard remained fifth. Ferrari maintained its World Constructors' Championship lead, with 141 championship points, extending their advantage over the second-placed Williams to 65 championship points. With five races left in the season, McLaren retained third while Renault and Sauber remained fourth and fifth. Race classification Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold. == Championship standings after the race ==

;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings • Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. • Bold text and an asterisk indicates competitors who still had a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion. == Notes ==