Template:2002 - The Iceman Waiteth

Driver changes for the 2002 season
At the front of the grid there was only one major change, with Mika Häkkinen beginning his sabbatical, and being replaced at McLaren by Nick Heidfeld. As a result, reigning British Formula Three champion Kimi Räikkönen was able to join Sauber, one year after Peter Sauber had first tried to get the Finn on the grid. Jarno Trulli left Jordan to be with his manager Flavio Briatore at Renault, the rebadged Benetton team, with Giancarlo Fisichella going the other way. At Jordan Fisichella was joined by Takuma Sato, as Jean Alesi retired from the sport. One of the big changes to the grid was Prost disappearing, thanks to a lack of funding, Alain Prost bemoaning his decision to base the team in France, and 9/11 having put off potential investors or buyers. Jaguar snapped up Heinz-Harald Frentzen, having long admired the German driver. At Arrows Pedro de la Rosa was joined by Tarso Marques, as the beleaguered team attempted to cover its financial shortfall. Alex Yoong kept his seat at Minardi after ending the season with the Italian team, and was joined by Australian Mark Webber. Finally there was a new addition to the grid, as Toyota made their bow, with Mika Salo and Allan McNish as drivers.

Australia
If the teams were hoping to see Ferrari and Michael Schumacher's dominance ended in 2002, qualifying at Melbourne suggested that it wasn't going to happen. The German took pole, with just thousandths of a second separating him from Rubens Barrichello. In his first grand prix for McLaren, Nick Heidfeld was a credible fourth on the grid, far out-qualifying team-mate David Coulthard, who had a torrid time and was down in ninth. Debutant Kimi Räikkönen was incredibly impressive, qualifying sixth on the grid. The other debutant, Mark Webber, was only able to qualify twentieth for his home grand prix in the Minardi.

At the start there was only one incident of note, as Jenson Button hit his former team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, ending both their races, with Jacques Villeneuve also taking damage which would ultimately end his race. Things had looked set for another Michael Schumacher victory, but over the course of the pit-stops it was actually Ralf Schumacher who came out ahead. Michael hunted his brother down, closing the gap, but Ralf managed to hold off his sibling to take the win. Nick Heidfeld, a distant third, completed the podium, making it the first ever all-German podium. Kimi Räikkönen finished sixth, demonstrating the maturity gained from his championship year in British Formula Three. Toyota had a mixed debut, Mika Salo succumbing to an electrical fault, but Allan McNish managed to finish the race, albeit out of the points in tenth.

Malaysia
At Sepang there was yet another pole for Michael Schumacher. Qualifying was more difficult for Nick Heidfeld, who was only able to manage fourth. The real winners in qualifying were Giancarlo Fisichella, who put his Jordan fourth on the grid, and Kimi Räikkönen who was sixth once again.

In the race it seemed almost as if the lead was cursed. Michael Schumacher started well, but came undone when the hydraulics on his Ferrari failed. Juan Pablo Montoya profited, but pushing to build up a lead over David Coulthard before the pit-stops saw his BMW engine blow up spectacularly. David Coulthard then lost the lead in the pit-stops to Ralf Schumacher, who looked set to take his second win of the season before he too suffered an engine failure. As a result it was David Coulthard who took the checkered flag, followed by Rubens Barrichello and Giancarlo Fisichella. There were more points for Sauber, as Kimi Räikkönen took fourth, with team-mate Enrique Bernoldi managing to finish sixth.

Brazil
There was a Schumacher atop the time sheets in qualifying at Interlagos, but this time it was not Michael. Williams locked out the front row of the grid, with Michael Schumacher having to settle for starting from fifth. With Jenson Button qualifying in sixth place, Renault looked set to take their first points in their new incarnation during the race. Bringing up the rear was Pedro de la Rosa's Arrows, with rumours circulating that Arrows were on the verge of being sold.

In the race Ralf Schumacher took his second win of the season, with Williams being prevented from taking a one-two finish by Alex Yoong, who clumsily moved across the track when Juan Pablo Montoya tried to lap him. Second was taken by Nick Heidfeld, with Michael Schumacher unable to finish any higher than third. Despite the fact that Ferrari had failed to win in three races, Jean Todt claimed that it was too soon to start talking of a crisis, and assured reporters that Ferrari would win both titles. There were a couple of surprising points-finishes. Enrique Bernoldi took fifth, meaning that he equaled his points total from 2001, after only three races. The real surprise though was Mark Webber, who finished sixth in his Minardi.

San Marino
When the teams arrived at Imola, there was one missing from their ranks. After twenty-four years in the sport without a win, Arrows had to call it a day. A number of factors had played their part in Arrows' sad demise: Morgan-Grenfell; EM.TV; Prince Malik; Pedro Diniz; Cosworth; 9/11. What it all came down to though, was that Arrows did not have enough money, with Tom Walkinshaw having funded the first three races of the year out of his own pocket in the vain hope that a buyer could be found. This had not happened, and somewhat fittingly, Arrows' last grand prix was held in the same place they had made their debut in 1978. Pedro de la Rosa found employment as a test driver for McLaren. Tarso Marques found occasional employment driving the two-seater Minardi.

Normal order was resumed in qualifying, with Michael Schumacher on pole, ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. The surprise of qualifying was Takuma Sato, who ensured that he would start the grand prix from fifth.

In the race Michael Schumacher ended talk of a crisis at Ferrari by taking a comfortable win, though Rubens Barrichello was beset by problems and only managed to finish ninth. Having qualified fifth, few expected anything Takuma Sato to produce anything special on the Sunday, but the Japanese rookie showed a remarkably cool head, and drove intelligently to finish fourth. Olivier Panis also ensured that BAR secured their first point of the season, finishing sixth.

Spain
In Spain there was more of the same, with Michael Schumacher again taking pole ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya. There was a strong possibility of points for Kimi Räikkönen, with the Finn starting from 7th on the grid. Toyota's disappointing debut season showed no signs of letting up, with Allan McNish and Mika Salo qualifying eighteenth and nineteenth respectively.

The race produced yet another dominant display from Michael Schumacher, the German pretty much leading from start to finish. Juan Pablo Montoya may have challenged the Ferrari, but was undone by yet another dodgy BMW engine. Nick Heidfeld was able to finish second, and Ralf Schumacher finished third to ensure that his brother did not take too great a lead in the championship. Kimi Räikkönen did manage to finish in the points, with yet another impressive fourth place finish, thanks to retirements from Juan Pablo Montoya, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello, and Enrique Bernoldi also scored points, finishing fifth. Having retired from all four previous races, there was relief for Jenson Button as he finally managed to score a point for Renault, their first in the new incarnation.

Austria
In Spielberg it looked as though Michael Schumacher was once again going to be the man to beat, setting the fastest time in qualifying, just pipping Rubens Barrichello by less than a tenth of a second. McLaren faced a difficult weekend, only able to manage sixth and seventh on the grid, behind both Williams and the Jordan of Giancarlo Fisichella.

In the race a large first-lap accident thinned much of the field. Attempting to pass Jarno Trulli into the first corner, Enrique Bernoldi clipped the rear wheel of the Renault, causing it to spin. Jenson Button haplessly ended up with his nosecone embedded in the side of his team-mate's chassis. In the ensuing chaos four more drivers ended up retiring, and the safety car had to come out. Despite the best efforts of the marshals clearing up the debris, somewhere Michael Schumacher picked up a puncture, which ended his race. Ralf Schumacher came through to take his third win of the season. Thanks to the numerous retirements in the race, Mark Webber was able to come through to take sixth place.

Monaco
At Monaco the Michelin tyres had the advantage, and Nick Heidfeld took his first ever pole, ahead of championship leader Ralf Schumacher. Michael Schumacher started his race from third. The highest qualifier from outside the big three teams was Kimi Räikkönen, who would start from seventh. Qualifying eleventh, the Australian Mark Webber continued to make a case for being picked up by a bigger team at the end of the season.

In the race, the top three remained in exactly the same positions they qualified in, meaning that Nick Heidfeld took his first ever win, a result which was hailed by motorsport journalists as being undoubtedly the first of many. David Coulthard managed only his second points finish of the season, taking sixth place. Kimi Räikkönen had a better afternoon than the Scot, finishing fifth.

Canada
Arriving in Montreal Michael Schumacher was determined to show he was the superior Schumacher, and qualified on pole, with team-mate Rubens Barrichello qualifying second, giving a small gap to championship leader Ralf Schumacher on third. Nick Heidfeld looked set for a difficult Sunday, only able to qualify ninth. Giancarlo Fisichella and Jarno Trulli both had successful qualifying sessions, and would start from fourth and sixth respectively.

At the start the Ferraris got the best start off the line, and Michael Schumacher was able to pull out an enormous lead, thanks to Rubens Barrichello holding up Ralf Schumacher. After all the pit-stops had been completed, the top three were exactly as they had been at the start, and would have remained that way, had Barichello's engine not failed. As a result, Giancarlo Fisichella was able to finish third, behind Ralf Schumacher. Nick Heidfeld just managed to scrape into the points with a sixth place finish, allowing him to keep up hid record of having finished in the points in every race in 2002.

Europe
Formula One returned to Europe with Schumachers dominating qualifying yet again at the newly-modified Nürburgring, with Ralf qualifying just under one-tenth of a second ahead of his brother. At the back of the grid, this would be the first race since the Brazilian Grand Prix in which Alex Yoong would not start from dead last - an electrical problem prevented Eddie Irvine from setting a fast lap, and only the leniency of the stewards allowed him to race.

At the start, Michael Schumacher lept away from the grid, entering turn one ahead of his brother. After the pit-stops it had looked like a Ferrari one-two was on the cards, with Rubens Barrichello ahead of Ralf Schumacher. When lapping Alex Yoong, however, Nick Heidfeld was hit by the Malaysian's Minardi when it oversteered, taking him out of the race. Barrichello then suffered a puncture as a result of the debris left on the track, forcing an unscheduled pit-stop and allowing Ralf Schumacher through to take second. There was a good result for Renault, as Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli managed to bring their cars home third and fourth respectively.

Britain
Ferrari dominated in qualifying at Silverstone, with Rubens Barrichello just finishing the session ahead of Michael Schumacher. Ralf Schumacher was down in fifth, behind Nick Heidfeld and team-mate Juan-Pablo Montoya. Toyota had an appalling session, with Mika Salo qualifying eighteenth, and Allan McNish dead last.

The race could have gone to either Ferrari, had Rubens Barrichello not suffered an engine failure that ended his grand prix. As a result, Michael Schumacher finished in first, far away from the chasing pack of Nick Heidfeld, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. Jenson Button scored points for a second consecutive race, finishing fifth, and Kimi Räikkönen also added to his tally finishing sixth.

France
Michael Schumacher had the upper hand in qualifying, with Juan Pablo Montoya behind him. Jacques Villeneuve was only able to qualify fifteenth in the BAR, and some in the paddock wondered if the Canadian would be in the sport next year, with it being widely rumoured that he would instead return to America and CART, as his friend and manager Craig Pollock had done.

Juan Pablo Montoya got away from Michael Schumacher at the start, and was able to begin building up a lead over the German. Ross Brawn and Ferrari got the pit-stop strategy correct though, and Michael Schumacher ended up leading the race at the checkered flag. There was relief for David Coulthard as he managed to bring his McLaren home for only the fourth time in 2002 to finish third, just ahead of Nick Heidfeld. Ralf Schumacher was only able to finish sixth.

Germany
Once again Michael Schumacher was on pole, lining up ahead of Nick Heidfeld. Ralf Schumacher qualified fourth, behind Rubens Barrichello. The Renaults had an appalling qualifying session, with Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button qualifying fourteenth and seventeenth respectively.

The Ferraris were the cars to beat in the race, with Rubens Barrichello winning the race, after a hold-up when refueling put Michael Schumacher behind Nick Heidfeld, whom he was unable to overtake. Takuma Sato produced a brilliant drive from ninth to take fourth.

Hungary
Ferrari were the team to beat, with Rubens Barrichello qualifying comfortably ahead of Michael Schumacher. Juan Pablo Montoya was the best of the rest, qualifying third.

Controversy reigned in the race. Rubens Barrichello was dominant from the start, and entered the final lap in the lead. Then, with the finish line in sight, Barrichello pulled to the side and let team-mate Michael Schumacher passed to take the win. On the podium Barrichello was visibly unhappy, and Schumacher embarrassed, while the crowd displayed their displeasure at the result. Jean Todt was unabashed, emphasising that the team had two world championships to win, that no one had broken any rules, and that if the positions had been reversed, they would have asked Schumacher to move aside for Barrichello. Ralf Schumacher was able to keep his championship dream alive with a third place finish, but finishing seventh dealt a blow to Nick Heidfeld.

Belgium
Coming into the race at Spa, Michael Schumacher knew that if he could outscore Ralf Schumacher by six points he would match Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five drivers' championships. Qualification, however, produced a pole position for a determined Rubens Barrichello. Michael Schumacher was second, and helped by his brother only qualifying sixth. Kimi Räikkönen had his best ever qualifying performance, and would start the race from fourth, ahead of both McLarens.

Michael Schumacher got the best start and leaped off the line, passing Rubens Barrichello for the lead. Ralf Schumacher seemed off the pace all race, and quickly fell back, seeing his title hopes vanish. Pit-stops seemed to give hope to the younger Schumacher, as he was at one point running fifth, with Michael third, but once the stops had been completed Michael was again leading, with Ralf out of the points. Michael Schumacher took the checkered flag, with Rubens Barrichello second, and Kimi Räikkönen a distant third. Ralf Schumacher was last of the finishers, with it later emerging that he had probably spent the entire race with a loose electrical connection.

Italy
At Monza the Michelin-shod cars had the upper hand, with Juan Pablo Montoya taking pole ahead of team-mate Ralf Schumacher. Jarno Trulli was also able to make the most of the tyre advantage, qualifying fifth, ahead of both Ferraris. BAR were appalling in qualifying, with Olivier Panis and Jacques Villeneuve occupying the last two positions on the grid.

An entire season after his only other win, Juan Pablo Montoya won again at the same circuit, in stunning style, leading Ralf Schumacher home. Despite his poor qualifying, Michael Schumacher was able to finish on the podium in front of the Tifosi. Jarno Trulli's Renault engine prevented him from capitalising on his qualifying performance, and the McLaren drivers also faced a pointless race, with David Coulthard retiring and Nick Heidfeld finishing out of the points.

USA
The first three positions on the grid would be filled by Germans, with Michael Schumacher qualifying first, ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld. Rubens Barrichello was the highest-qualifying non-German, in fourth.

Michael Schumacher got away well, as did Nick Heidfeld, passing Ralf Schumacher into the first corner for second position. In the pit-stops it was McLaren who got their strategy right, and Nick Heidfeld ended up in the lead, taking the win. There were further points in an impressive debut season for Takuma Sato, as he finished fourth for the fourth time in 2002. There was also further frustration for BAR, as Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis were at one point running third and fourth, before their Honda engines both blew within a couple of laps of each other.

Japan
For the season finale in Japan, Michael Schumacher would again start from pole, with Rubens Barrichello second. Nick Heidfeld was third, in front of the Williams of Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher. Giancarlo Fisichella was the best qualifier outside the big teams, qualifying seventh. Any hopes of a good result in front of their 'home' crowd for Toyota were dashed when Mika Salo and Allan McNish qualified in the last two positions on the grid.

The race was won and lost on pit-stops, and ultimately Ralf Schumacher was the overall winner, coming home first ahead of Nick Heidfeld and Michael Schumacher. Jenson Button took a point, finishing sixth, ahead of Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis. Both Toyotas managed to finish the race, but were eleventh and thirteenth.

Other Series
The International Formula 3000 season developed into a four-way fight for the title between Sébastien Bourdais, Giorgio Pantano, Tomáš Enge and Felipe Massa. In the final race Sébastien Bourdais secured the title, with Felipe Massa second in his debut year, Giorgio Pantano third and Tomáš Enge fourth.

In British Formula Three James Courtney had looked set to take the title before an accident testing for Jaguar at Monza left him injured and allowed Robbie Kerr to take the title.

The Telefónica World Series was won by Ricardo Zonta, who beat reigning champion Franck Montagny.

In CART the title was taken by Brazilian Cristiano da Matta, who comfortably beat Bruno Junqueira to the title. The Indy Racing League was again won by Sam Hornish, Jr., with Hélio Castroneves winning the Indy 500.