For this week’s Flashback Friday, we take a look back at the 2002 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, where the history of the Formula One World Championship all began.
During the qualifying for the 11th race of the season, Juan Pablo Montoya took pole position for Williams, closely followed by Rubens Barrichello and the Schumacher brothers – Michael and Ralf. Minardi driver, Alex Yoong, was unable to qualify due to failing to set a lap time in the 107% time.
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Leaving 21 drivers on the starting grid, during the formation lap Barrichello stalled and was pushed to the back of the grid before lights out. As the lights went out for the 52nd British Grand Prix, Allan McNish took an unforgiving path onto the white line because of a clutch failure, spinning him off the track. Montoya held the lead from the Schumacher brothers for a while, however, Michael was gaining precious time on him.
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As this was going on, Kimi Raikkonen was putting pressure on Ralf Schumacher, who was in 3rd. Behind the front of the pack, we saw Barrichello go from P21 to P13 and still pushing for more. The battle between Ralf Schumacher and Raikkonen gained more tension as the other McLaren driver, David Coulthard, joined in the battle for 3rd place.
By lap six, Barrichello gained positions back up to 8th, with Raikkonen securing 3rd. As the rain started to fall over Silverstone, the drivers came into the pits. The first driver in was Felipe Massa, followed shortly by Montoya.
Nine laps in, the Aussie, Mark Webber, spun off the track due to clutch failure. Michael Schumacher and both Williams drivers all decided to pit on lap 13. Teams using the Bridgestone tires had an advantage of having intermediates, whereas teams using Michelin tyres were forced to change to wets. Jenson Button and Raikkonen were battling for 6th. The McLaren’s move on the Renault was successful, resulting in Raikkonen moving up a place. Raikkonen pushed his way past Ralf Schumacher and Jarno Trulli, putting himself in 4th. As the track started to clear up, Ralf Schumacher took his second pitstop, insisting on keeping all wets on. Both McLaren’s were sent into the pits to change back onto slicks.
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However, in typical British form, the rain got heavier causing many problems for the teams. By lap 20, Toyota driver, Mika Saló, and Arrows driver, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, both suffered an early retirement due to engine and transmission problems. Eddie Irvine spun off the track on lap 23. The Brazilian driver, Enrique Bernoldi, faced problems with the driveshaft, resulting in the 6th retirement of the race. Just before the half way point in the race, Trulli faced electrical issues. Raikkonen (on lap 44) and Sato (on lap 50) both retired due to engine failure.
At the chequered flag, Michael Schumacher took his 7th victory of the season with a 14.5-second lead, ahead of Barrichello. Barrichello had a 17-second lead over the last podium sitter, Montoya. The lapped cars finished the race as follows: Jacques Villeneuve, Olivier Panis, Nick Heidfeld, Giancarlo Fischella, Ralf Schumacher, Massa, Coulthard and Pedro de la Rosa. Teammates Villeneuve and Panis brought back the first points of the season for BAR-Honda.
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Written by Chloe.
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The Fastest Sector 