Barrichello took pole, lost the start to a collision and watched Michael Schumacher win a race that opened with eight cars out of the running.
The 2002 Australian Grand Prix, held at Albert Park on 3 March 2002, was won by Michael Schumacher of Ferrari from second on the grid. Montoya finished second and Raikkonen third, his first podium. The race was the opening round of the season and left Schumacher leading the championship.
Michael Schumacher won the 2002 Australian Grand Prix, the opening round of the season, after the race began with a multi-car collision that eliminated eight cars. Rubens Barrichello had taken pole for Ferrari, but he braked too early for the first corner and was struck from behind by Ralf Schumacher, which ended his race before it had properly begun.
Who won the 2002 Australian Grand Prix?
Michael Schumacher won the 58-lap race for Ferrari after starting second. Juan Pablo Montoya finished second for Williams, and Kimi Raikkonen took third for McLaren, a maiden Formula One podium. The win was Schumacher's 54th in Formula One, and it put him top of the drivers' table after one round.
Coulthard had led the opening ten laps, but a slip on lap eleven handed the lead to Schumacher, who held it to the finish after Montoya's brief spell in front.
Barrichello took pole but retired at the start, and Schumacher inherited a race that reshaped the order.
Why was the race built on a difficult foundation?
The race was only on the provisional calendar at first. Its planning began in January 2002, after the death of marshal Graham Beveridge in an accident during the 2001 race. The FIA confirmed the event once a coroner ruled that the death was avoidable.
To improve safety, the safety fences were raised to 3.8 m (12 ft), cages were installed to protect race officials, and the access openings were reduced in size. Albert Park's 5.303 km (3.295 mi) layout, in the Melbourne suburb, hosted the race on 3 March.
Which drivers and teams changed for 2002?
Benetton was renamed Renault, ending a 16-year involvement in Formula One. Toyota debuted with Allan McNish and Mika Salo after spending 2001 developing the TF102, while Prost was liquidated by the French courts in January 2002 after failing to find funding.
Mika Hakkinen took a sabbatical, and Raikkonen replaced him at McLaren. Felipe Massa, the 2001 Euro Formula 3000 champion, drove the Sauber, while Takuma Sato paired with Giancarlo Fisichella at Jordan. Trulli replaced Fisichella at Renault, Heinz-Harald Frentzen drove for Arrows, and Mark Webber took over at Minardi after Fernando Alonso became Renault's test driver.
Who were the favourites for 2002?
The press and bookmakers tipped Michael Schumacher to win his fifth world title, with Juan Pablo Montoya as his main rival. Schumacher said the team's goal was to win both championships again, and that there was nothing better than winning with Ferrari. He also aimed to tie Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five titles.
Montoya said he felt more relaxed than in 2001 because he knew his team better, and that the car had taken longer to understand in Formula One than in CART. Former driver Derek Warwick believed Schumacher was the best driver in the sport, and he suspected Montoya lacked emotional maturity.
What did the teams bring to Melbourne?
Ferrari brought the F2001B rather than the F2002 because of performance and reliability concerns. Jean Todt said the F2002 had been fast in testing, but the team did not have enough time to make it reliable, and the team expected valuable points from the older car.
Michelin did not bring a new tyre with asymmetrical grooves, in order to avoid disqualification after Bridgestone and the FIA protested its legality. McLaren's MP4-17 had an attachment on its lower front suspension that promoted airflow beneath the front wing, and Jordan, Arrows and Sauber copied the design.
Who was fastest in practice?
Practice ran across four sessions: a pair of one-hour outings on Friday, followed by two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. In the first, held in changing weather, Michael Schumacher set the pace at 1:28.804, while Barrichello was 0.363 seconds off. Fisichella, Ralf Schumacher, Massa, de la Rosa, Irvine, Frentzen, Salo and Button followed in third to tenth. The second saw Schumacher fastest at 1:27.276, with Barrichello 0.523 seconds behind.
Bernoldi stopped his Arrows with a broken gearbox, Barrichello spun through 360 degrees across the grass and rejoined, and Fisichella's engine failed to end his session early. Yoong beached his Minardi in the turn one gravel after a light shower. In the third session Schumacher set an unofficial lap record of 1:26.177, with Barrichello 0.321 seconds slower.
Why did Sato miss the fourth practice session?
Sato lost control of his Jordan at the Stewart turn with 13 minutes and 34 seconds left in the third session. He hit the left-hand tyre barrier at 160 km/h (99 mph) but was unhurt, and practice stopped for nine minutes while marshals cleaned the track.
Because spare cars could not be used in free practice, Sato missed the fourth session while his car was repaired. A brief rain shower then saturated the track, so no driver bettered Schumacher's fastest time, although Barrichello halved the gap to his teammate.
Qualifying top ten
| Position | Driver | Qualifying note |
|---|---|---|
| Pole | Rubens Barrichello | 1:25.843, his fourth pole and first since the 2000 British Grand Prix |
| Second | Michael Schumacher | Error on a kerb in the first sector |
| Third | Ralf Schumacher | Waited in the garage to avoid slower traffic |
| Fourth | David Coulthard | Collided with an unsighted Villeneuve on the final turn |
| Fifth | Kimi Raikkonen | An error cost him a better place |
| Sixth | Juan Pablo Montoya | Lost six-tenths after Fisichella slowed his first timed lap |
| Seventh | Jarno Trulli | Slowed by a Jaguar on his first lap |
| Eighth | Giancarlo Fisichella | Satisfied with the balance of his car |
| Ninth | Felipe Massa | Highest-placed rookie after two errors |
| Tenth | Nick Heidfeld | Qualified tenth for Sauber |
How did qualifying unfold?
Qualifying was a one-hour session on Saturday, with each driver limited to twelve laps and the 107 per cent rule in force. The track was dry until a heavy rainstorm fell halfway through, making the surface slippery and stopping any improvement in lap times.
Barrichello completed two laps before the rain, and his time of 1:25.843 earned him the fourth pole of his career. It was his first since the 2000 British Grand Prix. Schumacher was second after an error on a kerb in the first sector, while Ralf Schumacher waited in the garage for three minutes to avoid slower traffic before running third.
Coulthard attempted to pass an unsighted Villeneuve on the outside of the final turn, and they collided. The wall caught Coulthard's right-rear wheel and he slid out onto the run-off area. Button was the fastest driver outside the top ten, having been fourth early on, while Panis completed one timed lap and took 12th.
Webber took 18th on wet-weather tyres, and the two Jaguar R3 cars finished 19th and 20th after a major aerodynamic deficiency. Irvine was slowed by a rear brake balance problem, and De la Rosa drove the spare Jaguar because of a handling fault. McNish, 16th, lost a set of tyres from his allocation because Toyota had used a set meant for Friday's practice, and Bernoldi, 17th, was caught out by a stoppage at the start of his first timed lap.
Why was Sato allowed to start?
Sato's spare Jordan stopped before the Stewart turn with a hydraulic clutch problem during qualifying, and he returned to the garage to drive Fisichella's race car. The rain left him more than 107 per cent slower than Barrichello's pole time.
Eddie Jordan appealed to the stewards, who allowed Sato to race under exceptional circumstances, as had happened in earlier cases affected by changing weather. Sato was therefore on the grid for the race.
What happened in the warm-up?
The half-hour warm-up took place on Sunday morning in variable weather, with heavy rain falling before it began. Teams used rain tyres and set up their cars for the conditions. Michael Schumacher was fastest at 1:41.509, with Barrichello 1.382 seconds slower.
Salo crashed into the barrier during the warm-up, and his front wing detached as he headed towards the escape road.
How did the race start?
The race began at 14:00 local time before a crowd of 127,000, in dry and overcast conditions. The air was between 15 and 18 C (59 and 64 F), with the track between 20 and 23 C (68 and 73 F). Sato drove the spare Jordan that had been set up for Fisichella, because an electrical fault had stopped the clutch on his race car.
Ralf Schumacher used the outside grip to pass his brother for second. Barrichello braked early for the Brabham turn, and Ralf struck the rear of his car at about 240 km/h (150 mph). He launched over the Ferrari, grazed Barrichello's helmet, and came to rest against the tyre wall, while the Ferrari spun broadside into an eight-car accident.
Michael Schumacher and Raikkonen drove onto the grass to avoid the wreckage, and Massa cut the inside of the corner and ran into Fisichella. Heidfeld, Button, Panis and McNish were also caught up, while Villeneuve, Salo, Webber, Irvine, De la Rosa, Yoong and Sato weaved through the scene. Oil was left on the track between turns one and three.
Why did the race keep going after the crash?
The drivers involved returned to the pit lane, expecting a stop and a restart in their spare cars. The race director, Charlie Whiting, did not stop the race, and the safety car came out to collect the remaining 12 runners while the damaged cars were moved and the debris cleared. Eight cars retired from the race.
Coulthard was then at the head of the field, followed by Trulli, Montoya, Michael Schumacher, Irvine and De la Rosa. Raikkonen made a 48-second stop for a new front wing and to remove debris, and Webber's differential and traction control began to malfunction on lap three.
The safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap five, and Coulthard led Trulli and Montoya. Montoya then slid wide on oil at Whiteford, letting Michael Schumacher through for third. By lap seven Coulthard had built a lead of 4.5 seconds, and Sato had moved past De la Rosa into sixth.
How did the race finish?
Schumacher won the 58-lap race from second, after Coulthard had led the first ten laps. A slip on lap eleven let Schumacher through, and Montoya took over on lap 12 before running wide. Schumacher retook the lead and kept it to the finish for his 54th career win.
Montoya finished second, while Raikkonen took third for McLaren, his maiden podium. Schumacher left Melbourne with ten championship points, four ahead of Montoya in the table, and sixteen races remained in the season.
What did the opening round mean for 2002?
Schumacher led the drivers' table after round one, with Montoya four points behind and Raikkonen third. Ferrari led the constructors' table ahead of Williams and McLaren, and the season had its first clear picture after the chaos at the start.
Barrichello had taken pole and was out after the first corner, so Ferrari's race came down to Schumacher from the start. The result gave him a lead that the rest of the season would test.