Michael Schumacher won at the A1-Ring after Ferrari asked Rubens Barrichello to yield, a decision that brought a $1 million fine and a rule change.
The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix was staged on 12 May at the A1-Ring in Austria, as round six of the season. Michael Schumacher won the 71-lap race for Ferrari from third on the grid, with teammate Rubens Barrichello second after being told to hand over the lead.
Michael Schumacher won the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix for Ferrari after his teammate Rubens Barrichello was told to hand over the lead on the final lap. The race was round six of the Formula One World Championship, and it ran on a fast, high-altitude circuit where engines and tyres were pushed hard. The decision that gave Schumacher the win caused a fine and a rule change, so the race is remembered as much for its politics as its driving.
What was the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix?
The race took place on 12 May 2002 at the A1-Ring in Styria, and it was the sixth of 17 rounds that season. It also marked the 25th time the Austrian Grand Prix had formed part of the world championship. The 71-lap race used the 4.326 km (2.688 mi) nine-turn circuit, which gives teams a chance to use their engines near full power for most of the lap.
The track's altitude of 700 m (2,300 ft) thins the air, and that cuts engine output by roughly seven percent. Even so, about 70 percent of the lap can be driven at full racing speed, which made the A1-Ring a demanding test of cooling and downforce.
Michael Schumacher had won four of the opening five races, missing out only in Malaysia, where he finished third behind both Williams drivers. He had never won in Austria in four earlier attempts, but the British press, bookmakers and former drivers Gerhard Berger and Niki Lauda all tipped him as favourite.
Going into the weekend Schumacher led the drivers' table with 44 points, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya on 23 and Ralf Schumacher on 20. David Coulthard was fourth on 9 points. Ferrari led the constructors' table with 50 points, seven ahead of Williams.
Eleven teams ran two drivers each, with no changes from the season entry list. Sauber introduced a revised version of the Ferrari 050 engine it had used in the first five races, along with a new aerodynamic package. Ferrari, McLaren and Williams all brought new front brake air intakes, and Williams fitted an upgraded front wing to its FW24.
A podium handover, a crash at turn two and a team order that led to a fine and a rule change.
How did the practice sessions unfold?
Friday brought two one-hour practice sessions and Saturday two of 45 minutes, four in total before qualifying. Michael Schumacher set the early pace, and in the third session he recorded the first lap under 70 seconds of the weekend at 1:09.001. By the fourth session he had set the track lap record at 1:08.433.
Barrichello was quickest in the second session with 1:10.549, just ahead of his teammate. Several drivers, including Barrichello, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella, ran off the dusty track into gravel on the first day because grip was low, but none damaged their cars.
Gearbox trouble cost Jos Bernoldi 25 minutes in the fourth session, and he later beached his Arrows in the gravel. Heinz-Harald Frentzen spent a quarter of an hour getting back up to speed after damaging his undertray on a kerb. Barrichello was fastest again in the warm-up on Sunday morning, at 1:10.876.
How did qualifying set up the race?
Barrichello took pole with 1:08.082, his second of the season and the fifth of his career. Ralf Schumacher started alongside him on the front row, having set his best grid position of the year on the soft Michelin tyres.
Michael Schumacher was third after a brake problem and traffic slowed his best run. He switched to the spare Ferrari for his final timed lap, but he could not beat the front row. It was the first time since the 2001 Italian Grand Prix, eight races earlier, that he had not started from the front.
Montoya qualified fourth after a misfire prompted a car change, and Heidfeld was fifth. Raikkonen and Coulthard were sixth and eighth for McLaren, separated by Massa in seventh. Panis took ninth and Salo tenth.
Trulli suffered an engine failure through turn nine that left oil on the track, and the session stopped for 11 minutes while marshals dried it. He returned to the garage and used the spare car to take 16th place.
What happened in the first laps of the race?
The race began at 14:00 local time under clear skies, with the air at 20 C (68 F) and the track between 27 and 29 C (81 and 84 F). Ferrari ran its cars light for a two-stop strategy, and Barrichello led into the first corner from pole. Heidfeld made a strong start and rose from fifth to third.
Massa steered onto the grass and dropped to tenth, while Villeneuve hit Frentzen's car on the inside at the first turn. Frentzen was sent into the gravel and slowly extricated himself. Bernoldi touched the rear of his teammate, and De la Rosa's throttle cut out at turn two, forcing him to retire in the pit lane.
On lap two Heidfeld ran wide at Castrol Kurve, and the two Williams drivers pushed him down to fifth. Barrichello and Michael Schumacher began to pull away, although neither was running flat out. Raikkonen retired with an engine failure on lap six, and Massa followed on lap eight when his left-rear suspension failed.
Bernoldi retired with a broken front wing and brake pipe. Frentzen spun on the final corner on lap 16 and dropped to 18th. On lap 23 the stewards told BAR that Villeneuve had a drive-through penalty for the collision with Frentzen.
What caused the major accident on lap 28?
On lap 28 Nick Heidfeld braked hard after seeing smoke from Alex Yoong's Minardi, locked his rear wheels and spun at about 280 km/h (170 mph). His Sauber struck the side of Takuma Sato's Jordan, and both cars came to rest in the gravel. The safety car came out, having been first deployed on lap 24 after Panis's engine seized.
Heidfeld was pulled out of his car with a heavily bruised left leg. Sato was trapped in his Jordan because part of the Sauber's rear structure had pushed into the monocoque beside his right knee, and his helmet was pinned between the head restraint and the car. He had soft-tissue damage to his right thigh but did not lose consciousness.
It took Sid Watkins and his crew ten minutes to free Sato, who was treated at the crash site and taken by ambulance to the circuit's medical centre. Both drivers then travelled by helicopter to Graz, where they stayed a night for observation and precautionary X-ray checks.
Every team except Ferrari and Williams brought its drivers in for fuel and tyres under the safety car. The race restarted at the end of lap 36, after the safety car pulled into the pit lane. Barrichello led Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard and Fisichella at the restart.
How did the closing stages unfold?
Irvine retired with a hydraulics failure on the 38th lap, and Villeneuve passed Coulthard for fifth two laps later. Trulli lost fuel pressure on lap 45 and stopped at the end of the pit lane, while Yoong retired with a fire at the back of his Minardi. Green-flag pit stops began on lap 47.
Barrichello made his second stop on the 61st lap, a fuel stop lasting 6.2 seconds, and rejoined in second. Michael Schumacher pitted at the end of lap 62 and came back in second, with Barrichello back in first.
Why did Ferrari's team orders decide the result?
On the 63rd lap Ferrari team principal Jean Todt invoked team orders and told Barrichello to let his teammate through. Ferrari wanted Michael Schumacher to gain points, since a win was worth ten points in the championship. Barrichello complied in the closing stages of the race.
Barrichello later said the threat made him think about changing his life, because his great joy was driving. He had radioed Todt to remind him of a promise he made after the 2001 race not to give up a win. Todt replied that he was required to obey to protect Ferrari's best interests, and the pit wall had seen that Michael Schumacher could not close the gap in the final seven laps.
Barrichello held a one-second advantage as the final lap began. Ross Brawn radioed Schumacher that his teammate would give way as the leader reached the last corner. Barrichello braked as instructed, and Schumacher, who had hoped no order would come, lifted even more than his teammate. He passed for the win in 1 hour, 33 minutes and 51.562 seconds, at an average speed of 196.334 km/h (121.996 mph).
The win was Michael Schumacher's fourth in a row in 2002 and the 58th of his career. Barrichello finished 0.182 seconds behind, with Montoya 17.7 seconds further back in third.
What happened on the podium?
Michael Schumacher insisted that Barrichello stand on the top step of the podium during the German anthem. Austria's Chancellor, Wolfgang Schussel, presented the winner's trophy, and Schumacher handed it straight to his teammate. The crowd booed, whistled and gave thumbs-down signals to the Ferrari team in parc ferme and on the podium.
| Position | Driver | Team | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1 hour, 33 minutes, 51.562 seconds; 196.334 km/h (121.996 mph) average |
| 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 0.182 seconds behind |
| 3 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams | 17.7 seconds adrift |
| 4 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams | Fourth place |
| 5 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Jordan | Jordan's first two points of the season |
| 6 | David Coulthard | McLaren | Took the final point |
| Tenth | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR | Hydraulic pressure loss on the final lap |
Frentzen and Webber finished two laps behind the winner. Ferrari's victory lifted Michael Schumacher's championship lead to 27 points over Montoya, while Barrichello moved up to fourth on 12 points.
What penalties did the FIA impose on Ferrari?
The FIA summoned Ferrari and its drivers to the World Motor Sport Council in Paris on 26 June. The council found that the team had broken series regulations by letting Michael Schumacher hand the trophy to his teammate. It found no violation in the team order itself, so the fine rested on the podium gesture.
The three were fined $1 million in total. Half was paid straight away and divided equally, while the rest was suspended for one year on condition that no similar offence occurred. Neither a points deduction nor a race ban was imposed.
Mosley had told reporters that team orders were allowed under the rules, but he wrote an apology letter to Schussel that same day. He established a four-member working group to review the practice, and the public could send comments between 5 July and 1 September.
Did the team orders row change Formula One?
Yes. At a Formula One Commission meeting on 28 October it was confirmed that team orders which interfered with the race result would be barred from the 2003 season onwards. Teams then used coded messages to get around the ban, and the rule was rescinded after the 2010 season because it was hard to enforce.
Reuters called the order the most blatant use of team orders since Coulthard gave up first place to Mika Hakkinen in the final lap of the 1997 European Grand Prix. Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso joined fans and commentators in condemning Ferrari, while Montoya, Ralf Schumacher and Irvine said Michael Schumacher should not be blamed.
Jody Scheckter, the 1979 world champion, and Ron Dennis of McLaren defended the practice as a way to strengthen Michael Schumacher's championship position. Ferrari had narrowly lost the 1997 and 1998 titles and the 1999 Drivers' Championship, and Brawn noted that titles had been decided by fewer than the four points Barrichello gave up.
In November 2010 Todt told La Stampa that he should have avoided invoking team orders. In February 2017 Brawn told Autosport that it had been a mistake on reflection, because the negative consequences outweighed the positives.