2003 Italian GP: Schumacher wins record-breaking race at Monza

Michael Schumacher won the 2003 Italian GP from pole position in his Ferrari. He finished 5.294 seconds ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams, with Rubens Barrichello third. The race was effectively decided on the opening lap: Montoya pulled alongside the Ferrari at the Roggia chicane, but Schumacher kept the lead. From there to the flag, he gave it up for just one lap during the first round of pit stops. The race was run at an average of 247.585 km/h, and no Grand Prix had ever been faster.

Going into the 14th of 16 rounds, the title race was unusually tight. Schumacher had 72 points, Montoya 71 and Kimi Räikkönen in the McLaren 70. On top of that came a row over tyres. After the Hungarian GP, it was claimed that Michelin's front tyres were too wide. The FIA ruled that tread width would in future also be measured after the race. As a result, Michelin had to build and test revised tyres for Monza. According to Crash.net, the decision came after a meeting with Bridgestone and Ferrari.

Williams were without Ralf Schumacher, who had crashed heavily while testing at Monza the week before. He did still drive on Friday, but from Saturday onwards he was replaced by test driver Marc Gené. In qualifying, just 0.051 seconds separated Schumacher's Ferrari from Montoya's Williams. Fernando Alonso started only 20th in the Renault: a traction control problem had caused him to spin at the first corner.

At the start, Schumacher braked almost too late for the first chicane and locked his wheels, but still made the corner. Montoya took advantage and pulled alongside the Ferrari into the Roggia chicane, briefly even edging ahead. However, Montoya was slower out of the corner and Schumacher stayed in front. After the race, Schumacher himself spoke of his braking error into the first chicane.

Behind them, things got tight. Jarno Trulli, who had started sixth, pushed Barrichello onto the grass after the second corner and put Montoya under pressure. While still on the opening lap, his Renault lost hydraulic pressure, and the engine cut out at the second Lesmo. Justin Wilson couldn't engage first gear in his Jaguar on the formation lap. In the melee at the start, Alonso lost his front wing while avoiding the Jaguar. After stopping for repairs he was a lap down, and Renault switched to a one-stop strategy.

Montoya stayed right behind Schumacher in the early stints but never got close enough to attack. During the first round of pit stops, Montoya led for one lap on lap 16, after which Schumacher was back in front. After his second stop, Schumacher saw a Williams right behind him, went full throttle and nearly ran off the track in the process. Then he realised it was Gené, who had not yet pitted.

At the start of the final stint Montoya was close, but he lost time behind lapped cars, including Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Zsolt Baumgartner. In the end he chose to bring second place home safely. After all, he said, he had only lost two points to Schumacher. Barrichello struggled with rear grip but kept Räikkönen narrowly behind him. He crossed the line 11.835 seconds behind the winner. Räikkönen said McLaren had not been quick enough for the podium on the day. The top five finished exactly in their starting order.

Seven drivers retired, and Frentzen also stopped shortly before the end but was still classified:

• Jarno Trulli (Renault): no laps completed, hydraulics.
• Justin Wilson (Jaguar): after 2 laps, gearbox.
• Cristiano da Matta (Toyota): after 3 laps, tyre. According to Toyota, a rear tyre lost air at the Parabolica, probably due to carbon debris from an incident at the back of the field at the start. Da Matta slid into the gravel.
• Jenson Button (BAR): after 24 laps, gearbox. Several gears failed one after another.
• Jos Verstappen (Minardi): after 27 laps, oil leak at the oil cooler.
• Olivier Panis (Toyota): after 35 laps, brakes. He ran as high as sixth at times and was still in the points when a bearing on the brake balance came loose shortly after his second stop.
• David Coulthard (McLaren): after 45 laps, fuel pressure. He was running fifth at the time.

Frentzen ran into transmission problems in his Sauber shortly before the end. Having completed 50 laps, he was still classified 13th.

Alonso made up the most places: from 20th on the grid to eighth, a gain of twelve positions. He only secured the final point on the last lap by overtaking Nick Heidfeld. Heidfeld moved up from 16th to ninth. Standing in, Gené finished fifth, scoring his first points since the 1999 European GP. He called it the best result of his Formula 1 career. Jacques Villeneuve was sixth in the BAR and Mark Webber seventh in the Jaguar, both having gained four places. Webber had forgotten to switch his traction control back on after the first chicane. Giancarlo Fisichella missed out on the points in tenth for Jordan, while Nicolas Kiesa finished twelfth.

The biggest loser was Trulli, who failed to complete even a single lap from sixth on the grid. Button had qualified a strong seventh but retired with gearbox failure. Coulthard lost his fifth place because of his late failure.

The win gave Schumacher a three-point lead. According to the 2003 standings, he led with 82 points ahead of Montoya (79) and Räikkönen (75). Ralf Schumacher (58) and Barrichello (55) were out of title contention after this race, as was Alonso (55). In the constructors' standings, Williams led with 141 points ahead of Ferrari (137) and McLaren (120). The championship would therefore only be settled at the United States GP and the Japanese GP.

For Schumacher it was his first win since the Canadian GP in June and his fifth of the season. It was also his 50th Grand Prix win for Ferrari. At 247.585 km/h, the race at Monza beat the record set by Peter Gethin, who had averaged 242.616 km/h in a BRM, also at Monza, in 1971. That record had stood for 32 years. Seen from today: Schumacher's record would last 22 years, until the 2025 Italian GP.