Rounds 1 to 3 Going into the season,
Ferrari was the team to beat, having won the previous four
Constructors' Championships. There was a lot of speculation about the effect of the new regulations on their dominance and overall form. In
qualifying for the first race, the
Australian Grand Prix, nothing seemed to have changed at the front. Reigning
Drivers' Champion Michael Schumacher started in
pole position, with his teammate
Rubens Barrichello beside him.
Juan Pablo Montoya in the
Williams started in third, but the other Williams and
McLaren drivers (Ferrari's main rivals in ) started way further down the grid. So the new qualifying format did shake up the order somewhat. After heavy rainfall, the race started in half-wet conditions. The Ferraris started on
wet tyres, while Montoya started on dries, as did
Kimi Räikkönen at the last minute when he
pitted on the end of the formation lap and, thus, started in last place. While Schumacher led away, Barrichello jumped the start and received a
drive-through penalty. The track was drying quickly and the changeable conditions took some by surprise: Barrichello crashed on lap five, followed by rookies
Ralph Firman and
Cristiano da Matta. After two
safety car periods, it was last-starting Räikkönen that found himself in the lead of the race, followed by Schumacher and McLaren teammate
David Coulthard. During the second round of pit stops, the Ferrari retook the lead and Räikkönen fell back to third, having sped in the pit lane and being served a drive-through penalty. Soon, however, Schumacher sustained damage from a
curb stone and received a
black-and-orange flag, forcing him to pit for repairs. He fell down to fourth behind Räikkönen, missing out on the podium for the first time since the
2001 Italian Grand Prix. (It also ended Ferrari's podium streak since the
1999 European Grand Prix.) It was Montoya who picked up the scraps, until he spun at the first corner and saw Coulthard pass him for the win. (This would be the
Scot's last race victory.) At the
Malaysian Grand Prix, it was the
Renault team that blocked out the first row.
Fernando Alonso, being the then-youngest driver to achieve pole position, started ahead of
Jarno Trulli. Michael Schumacher started in third and tried to pass Trulli into the first corner, but tapped him into a spin. The Italian rejoined in last place, but Schumacher had to pit for repairs and was given a driving-through penalty on top of that. His main rivals were just as unlucky: Montoya was rear-ended by
Jaguar driver
Antônio Pizzonia and lost two laps during a
rear-wing replacement, while Coulthard had to retire on the second lap when his car's
electronics failed. Räikkönen took the lead, ahead of Alonso and Barrichello. During the second round of pit stops, Barrichello took second place, but Räikkönen was unchallenged, scored his first career win and took the lead in the championship.
Justin Wilson, driving for
Minardi, had to retire when his
HANS device got loose and pinched his shoulders, resulting in temporary
paralysis of both his arms.) Practice for the
Brazilian Grand Prix was held in torrential weather conditions. For qualifying, it was no different, and the majority of drivers signed a petition, mandating the FIA to cancel the session if track conditions did not improve. When the rain eased off, however, the session went ahead as planned. The second qualifying session on Saturday was held in warm and dry conditions. Rubens Barrichello achieved pole position for Ferrari. Behind him stood David Coulthard for McLaren and a surprising
Mark Webber for Jaguar. On Sunday, the rain was back and even under safety car conditions, drivers struggled to keep the car on track. When the field was released, Coulthard immediately overtook Barrichello, and in the next three laps, Räikkönen passed both of them to take the lead. The track began to dry, except for turn three, where a stream of water was running across the
asphalt. Over the course of the race, six drivers crashed when going through that corner, including Michael Schumacher. This led to four safety car interventions. When a lot of drivers had to pit for fuel, Kimi Räikkönen and
Giancarlo Fisichella became the leading pair and the
Jordan driver overtook the McLaren when he ran wide. It was expected that Coulthard would win after those two had done their stops, but then, Webber and Alonso crashed heavily and the race was stopped. Alonso sustained bruises and was kept in hospital for observation. The sporting regulations said to take the order from two laps before the race suspension as the final result, and Räikkönen was declared the winner. When the
FIA found a timekeeping error, however, this was corrected and Fisichella was awarded his first-ever win in an unofficial ceremony ahead of the next race. After three eventful races, Räikkonen (McLaren) was leading the championship with 24 points, ahead of his teammate Coulthard (15 points) and Alonso (Renault, 14 points). Reigning champion Michael Schumacher was down in sixth place.
Rounds 4 to 8 For the
San Marino Grand Prix,
Michael Schumacher achieved
pole position. His brother
Ralf and his teammate
Rubens Barrichello started behind him. At the start, Ralf overtook Michael but eventually fell back to fourth position. The
Ferrari driver won the race, ahead of championship leader
Räikkönen and Barrichello. The next race in
Spain saw Ferrari debut their new car and their drivers taking up the front row in qualifying. Behind them were the
Renaults of
Fernando Alonso and
Jarno Trulli. At the start, Alonso overtook Barrichello for second and the top three went on to finish in this order. Trulli made contact with
David Coulthard and retired. Räikkönen crashed into the stalled
Jaguar of
Antônio Pizzonia. In
Austria, Michael Schumacher started on pole and won the race. It was the third consecutive weekend that he achieved this. He did have to cope with a slow
pit stop and small
fire, but he was unchallenged by his rivals, as Räikkönen slowed down with engine-related performance problems and Montoya retired with a blown engine. The
Finn held on to second, ahead of Barrichello in third. The twisty track of
Monaco favoured the
Michelin runners: Ralf Schumacher (
Williams) started on pole, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen (
McLaren) and
Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams). The race featured no on-track
overtakes, so the order was decided by the start and the pit stops. Montoya took the win, just six tenths ahead of Räikkönen, and Michael Schumacher completed the podium. Ralf finished in fourth. In
Canada, Ralf Schumacher started on pole again, with his teammate beside him. Michael Schumacher started in third, but during the race, managed to get ahead of both Williams drivers. It was a race of
attrition, where just nine drivers finished and Schumacher, too, had to nurse his ailing car home. But the
German held on to take the win. Recovering from his start to the season, Schumacher had taken the lead in the championship (54 points) and was now three points ahead of Kimi Räikkönen (51). A group of four drivers, led by
Fernando Alonso (34 points), were fighting over third place.
Rounds 9 to 13 set the fastest time in Friday
qualifying on a drying track The
European Grand Prix, held at the
Nürburgring, saw
Kimi Räikkönen take
pole position and lead the race, until his
McLaren's engine broke down on lap 25.
Ralf Schumacher in the
Williams came through to take a victory on home soil. His teammate
Juan Pablo Montoya and his brother
Michael Schumacher collided on lap 43, dropping the
German down to sixth. Montoya held on to take second on the podium, ahead of
Ferrari's
Rubens Barrichello. Williams overtook McLaren for second position in the
Constructors' Championship. At the
Circuit de Magny-Cours in
France,
Ralf Schumacher started from pole, with Montoya and Michael Schumacher behind him. This was also the order of the top three at the finish. This would be Ralf's last win in F1 and, as of 2025, Williams' last 1-2 finish. For the
British Grand Prix, it was Rubens Barrichello who achieved pole position, but
Jarno Trulli in the
Renault who led into the first corner. There was a brief
safety car intervention to clear up
debris from
David Coulthard's McLaren, but the race was truly disrupted when, on lap 11,
Neil Horan invaded the track. Wearing a
kilt and waving
religious banners, he ran towards the cars, who swerved to avoid him. A
track marshal tackled him and pulled him to the side. The safety car was deployed and almost everyone
pitted. Among others, Michael Schumacher,
Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya fell outside the top ten. The
Toyota drivers
Cristiano da Matta and
Olivier Panis opted not to pit and took the lead, ahead of Coulthard. It was Räikkönen, eventually, who passed Da Matta for the lead. Under pressure from Rubens Barrichello, however, the
Finn made a mistake and gave up the win. A further error allowed Montoya to get by into second position. 's
McLaren after the
German Grand Prix The F1 circus was back in Germany, this time for the
German Grand Prix in
Hockenheim. Montoya achieved pole position, just 0.018 seconds ahead of his teammate. At the start, Ralf Schumacher squeezed Räikkönen and Barrichello, who hit each other and crashed out, with Ralf retiring a lap later. He was charged with a ten-place
grid penalty, but this was reversed after a successful appeal. Montoya held on to win, ahead of Coulthard and Trulli, the Renault driver scoring his only podium of the season. The last race of the summer was held on the revamped
Hungaroring in
Hungary. Alonso scored pole position and held on to win the race. It was his first victory and it made him the youngest winning driver in F1 history. Räikkönen and Montoya joined him on the podium, while Michael Schumacher could only manage eighth. In the
Drivers' Championship, Räikkönen (70 points) and Montoya (71 points) had closed up to Schumacher (72 points), leaving no room for error with just three races to go. In the
Constructors' Championship, it was now the Williams team in the lead with 129 points, over Ferrari with 121 and McLaren with 115.
Rounds 14 to 16 drove two races for
Jordan. On home soil at
Monza, with the support of the
tifosi, the
Scuderia Ferrari did what they had to do:
Michael Schumacher qualified on
pole and won.
Juan Pablo Montoya for
Williams and Michael's teammate
Rubens Barrichello joined him on the podium. Up to the
2023 Italian Grand Prix, this was the shortest-duration (fully completed) race in F1 history, and it is still the race completed with the highest-ever average speed ().
Kimi Räikkönen had not given up his championship hopes and achieved pole position for the
United States Grand Prix. Barrichello managed second and
Olivier Panis scored
Toyota's best qualifying result when he set the third-fastest time. Montoya and Schumacher started in fourth and seventh, respectively. Räikkönen made a clean start, but Barrichello was passed by Panis when his
launch control failed to automatically shift up to second gear. Montoya was falling back and, on the third lap, collided with Barrichello, earning himself a
drive-through penalty. Rain started falling and on lap 6, Panis was the first to
switch to
intermediate tyres. On the next lap, Montoya was back behind Schumacher and, on his second attempt, managed to overtake him. As the rain eased up, all drivers that had pitted, switched back to dry tyres, only for the rain to reappear on lap 18. Schumacher decided to pit and stay on dry tyres, but then came in again on lap 22 for intermediates.
Mark Webber shortly led the race before crashing out, with the same happening to then-leader
David Coulthard. On lap 38, Schumacher had passed all drivers in front of him and held on to take the win. Championship rival Räikkönen came home in second, followed by
Heinz-Harald Frentzen in the
Sauber. Montoya finished sixth, which meant he was now out of contention for the
championship. Räikkönen's only hope was to win the last race of the season and Schumacher failing to finish. In the
Constructors' Championship, Ferrari was leading Williams with 147 over 144 points. The
Japanese Grand Prix saw Michael Schumacher qualify in 14th, his worst grid position in a Ferrari. Kimi Räikkönen started in 8th, so he faced an uphill battle to take the win that he needed. Räikkönen needed to win and Schumacher not to score a single point in order for him to become Drivers' Champion, since Schumacher held the tiebreaker on wins over Räikkönen, 6 to 1. Rubens Barrichello started on pole, with Montoya beside him. The
Toyota's commenced their home race in third and fourth. On the first lap,
Fernando Alonso in the Renault jumped up to third and Montoya took the lead. Schumacher was careful to stay out of trouble at the start, looking to score at least one point, but when trying to overtake
Takuma Sato, he hit the local driver's rear wheel and lost his front wing. This forced him to pit and he rejoined in last place. This practically handed the Constructors' Championship to Williams, until Montoya suddenly retired with a
hydraulics problem. Schumacher narrowly avoided a replication of his incident at the chicane, this time with
Cristiano da Matta, but it led to his brother Ralf running into the back of him. All this left Räikkönen unchallenged to climb up to second position, but this was insufficient to overtake Schumacher on points. Barrichello took the win which was sufficient for Ferrari to win the Constructors' Champion. Michael Schumacher ended the season on 93 points, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen with 91 and Juan Pablo Montoya with 82. It was a record sixth
Drivers' Championship and Schumacher's fourth in a row. Ferrari were
Constructors' Champions for the fifth consecutive year. ==Results and standings==