Fisichella's first Grand Prix win at Interlagos went to court before it was settled

Giancarlo Fisichella won the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos, his first Grand Prix victory and Jordan's last. The race was stopped by a red flag after 56 laps, and the result was first given to Kimi Raikkonen. A Jordan appeal, heard in court, established that the flag had come out on lap 56, so the win went to Fisichella and Raikkonen was demoted to second.

What was the championship picture before Brazil?

Raikkonen led the drivers' championship on 16 points after winning in Malaysia two weeks earlier. Coulthard was second, six points behind, and Montoya, Barrichello and Alonso were tied on eight points each. McLaren led the constructors with 26 points, while Ferrari and Renault were level on 16.

Michael Schumacher had been criticised in the German and Italian press for a sluggish start to the season. He said the team's time would come, and he expected Ferrari to be stronger on circuits that suited its car.

Raikkonen's plan was to approach the race as he had in Malaysia. Fisichella, who had yet to score a point, was eager to do so for Jordan in its 200th Formula One race.

Fisichella was given the win after a red flag, a Jordan appeal and a court hearing, and he left Interlagos with his first Grand Prix victory.

How did the circuit and its surface shape the weekend?

Interlagos is a 15-turn circuit of 4.309 km (2.677 miles) in Sao Paulo. Its bumpy surface put a heavy strain on drivers, and teams used computer programmes built from a chassis to reconstruct how the car moved over each undulation. The organisers had spent $1.7 million on the track the previous year, resurfacing a kilometre, rebuilding drainage and adding new gravel run-off zones covering the first seven corners.

The rules also set the tyre supply. Michelin brought full wet tyres and Bridgestone brought intermediates, because the regulations required each supplier to bring a single wet compound to each race.

What did the HANS device ruling change?

Two weeks before the race the FIA decided that drivers would no longer be allowed to race without wearing a HANS device for medical reasons. The World Motor Sport Council ratified the stance on 2 April, and any driver who could not wear one would be barred from future events.

Justin Wilson was passed fit by FIA medical delegate Sid Watkins, after shoulder pain from a loose HANS device and seat belt at the previous race. Wilson visited the team's base in Faenza to test a twin seat belt system. Barrichello, who had a minor hernia, had been given dispensation, and he risked being dropped unless his discomfort was solved. He tested a new HANS device in free practice and reported no discomfort, so Ferrari's reserve Felipe Massa was not needed.

What changed on the cars for Brazil?

Williams fitted a revised gearbox unit and a rear suspension bracket designed for the FW25, and it also updated the front wing and a section of bodywork. Ferrari and Renault each introduced new rear wings. Ferrari's had semi-circular holes in its outer profile to limit vortices, and it was used only by Barrichello.

Renault's new rear wing had a sinuous profile that stood up sharply at the bulkheads. Ten teams took part with two drivers each, and the entries matched the season list.

How did the Friday private test go?

Renault's Jarno Trulli set the best time of the two-hour private test at 1:14.262, with Antonio Pizzonia second in a Jaguar and Mark Webber third. Alonso, Fisichella, Allan McNish, Jos Verstappen, Ralph Firman and Justin Wilson completed the top nine.

Rain arrived 90 minutes into the session. Pizzonia took over a spare Jaguar when a mechanical fault halted his own car, and with 36 minutes left Firman stopped in the pit lane with a driveshaft failure. Alonso spun on the Reta Oposta and was beached in the gravel at Descida do Lago, though his Renault was undamaged.

What happened in the opening practice session?

The first practice was held in torrential weather, and four drivers recorded no lap time. Michael Schumacher was quickest at 1:28.060, ahead of Coulthard, Jenson Button, Trulli, Montoya and Barrichello.

Raikkonen spun onto the grass on the Reta Oposta just after leaving the pit lane and narrowly avoided a barrier. Pizzonia crashed heavily as he left the Curva do Sol with 15 minutes to go, which stopped the session while his Jaguar was removed. Alonso slid into a wall at the Senna S chicane after the restart.

How did the other practice sessions finish?

The second practice started on a wet track that dried as the session went on. Barrichello set the pace at 1:14.071, with Ralf Schumacher, Montoya and Michael Schumacher behind him in the top four.

Panis set the best time in the warm final practice at 1:13.457, and Michael Schumacher, Trulli and Coulthard followed him. Raikkonen paced a 15-minute warm-up before the second qualifying session at 1:13.886.

Why did drivers petition against qualifying?

Torrential rain before qualifying led Coulthard, Trulli and Schumacher to draft a petition asking for the session to be cancelled unless the track improved. A majority of drivers signed it, but it was disregarded because it could not reach everyone in time, and officials judged the circuit safe once the rain eased.

Jacques Villeneuve argued that refusing to qualify would damage Formula One, and that fans would see the drivers as weak for staying in the garage.

How did the first qualifying session play out?

Webber took provisional pole at 1:23.249 on a drying track, 0.138 seconds quicker than Barrichello in second. Raikkonen, the first driver out, was third, while Coulthard slipped up at Bico de Pato and Schumacher aquaplaned after leaving the pit lane.

Button drove off the track on a damp white line at almost 233 km/h, went through two polystyrene boards, and abandoned his attempt. Montoya's Williams snapped loose under braking, and he ended up on concrete at Ferradura. The session was briefly stopped to clear debris.

How did Barrichello take pole position?

Barrichello took pole in the second session with 1:13.807, the first pole for a Brazilian at Interlagos since Ayrton Senna in 1994 and the seventh of his career. Coulthard was 0.11 seconds slower and lined up alongside him on the front row.

Barrichello kept the lap timer on his steering wheel switched off, to stay focused. Webber had been on course for pole until a driver error at Pinheirinho dropped him to third. Raikkonen was fourth, Trulli fifth, Ralf Schumacher sixth, and Michael Schumacher seventh, his lowest grid position since the 1998 German Grand Prix.

Fisichella was eighth, Montoya ninth, Alonso tenth and Button eleventh. Heidfeld was twelfth, and Villeneuve thirteenth after an intermittent loss of power at the Senna S. Frentzen took 14th and Panis 15th after making a driver error.

Firman qualified 16th after a driver error, and he had changed his set-up in the process. Pizzonia was 17th after brake trouble, and Da Matta 18th with tight handling. The two Minardis, Verstappen and Wilson, started 19th and 20th on hard tyres.

How did the race end under the red flag?

The race was scheduled for 71 laps, but it was halted on lap 56, once two heavy accidents had blocked the track. Confusion over when the red flag had been shown meant the result was first given to Raikkonen, with Fisichella second and Alonso third.

The race was run in front of 120,000 spectators. Fisichella was in front at the close of lap 54, when the order was formally recorded, and Alonso was receiving medical attention, so he missed the podium ceremony.

After Jordan's appeal, the court found that the flag had come out during lap 56. Fisichella was awarded the win, and Raikkonen was demoted to second, with Alonso remaining third.

What did Fisichella's win mean for Jordan?

It was Fisichella's first Grand Prix victory, Jordan's fourth and last, and the team's 200th Grand Prix. The win also gave Fisichella his first points of the season and lifted him from sixteenth to fourth in the drivers' table.

Ford engines had not won since the 1999 European Grand Prix until this race, and the last Italian winner before Fisichella had been Riccardo Patrese in the 1992 Japanese Grand Prix. Jordan rose to fifth in the constructors' table, six points behind Ferrari and Williams.

Raikkonen scored more points than Coulthard and extended his lead to nine points, while Alonso moved from fifth to third in the standings. McLaren kept the constructors' lead and increased it to 16 points over Renault.

What were the final results?