Italian Grand Prix - Ferrari Owners' Club

GRAND PRIX: Monza : Things Get Better

18.9.03

Following the dismal Ferrari showing at the Hungarian Grand Prix the fact that this time around it was going to be on their home patch turned the heat of expectation up even more. Michael Schumacher was hanging on to the slenderest possible lead in the Championship and had not stood on the podium for the last five Grand Prix, and Pablo Montoya in particular had had a tremendous run of results. The Renaults and McLarens were also buzzing around, making a championship for the red ones look more and more difficult.

Qualifying brought the first signs of a Ferrari fight back. Running third from last Michael took half a second off Kimi Raikkonen's provisional pole time to go to the top of the sheets. Rubens Barrichello then ran and put himself into second spot; then it was Montoya's turn and he was quickest in the first sector, quickest in the second but fell back in the third to slot into second place between the two Ferraris.

Unfortunately for the Williams' team they were not able to rely upon their second star, Ralf Schumacher, who had to withdraw still suffering from the after-effects of his testing accident. Williams tester Marc Gene as substitute did a fantastic job to put his car, which he had only taken over that morning, into fifth on the grid. Alonso, the supreme winner in Budapest just three weeks ago, would start from the back, having spun on his qualifying lap.

The race was exciting throughout, with Michael running absolutely flat out at the front, chased hard by Montoya. During their first stint of a two-stop race Schuey eked out a small advantage of three seconds but after their pit stops on laps 15 and 16 respectively the Williams' driver closed right up again.

The second round of stops took place on lap 32 (Montoya) and 34 (Schumacher) but in the final stint the Ferrari was able to break Montoya's pace. The latter became slightly trapped behind Frentzen's Sauber during a lapping manoeuvre and seemed to then give up the chase and settle for second place.

Whilst all this was going on the second Ferrari of Barrichello ran consistently in third place whilst behind him Raikkonen, Coulthard and Gene squabbled over the next places. Raikkonen finished in fourth place, earning himself a valuable five Championship points, making a total of 75, and keeping him well in touch with Schumacher (82) and Montoya (79).

Now we have just two more events to go with a total of 20 points up for grabs. It is going to be purely between Schumacher, Montoya and Raikkonen but the call will be too close to make.

Somehow it seems to be between the Ferrari and Williams drivers. When it goes to Indianapolis and Suzuka the pressure is really on and the one who can cope with it the best will become a very worthy 2003 World Champion.

Jean Todt:

The result brings enormous satisfaction. I would like to embrace everyone at Ferrari and our partners. After yesterday’s qualifying, we knew we had a chance and we took it. It was an indescribable feeling standing on top of the pit wall during the prize-giving, with all the fans shaking me by the hand. As from tomorrow, for those who stayed in Maranello, we will be immediately concentrating on the remaining two events. On Tuesday we begin another intensive test session, working at three circuits: Jerez, Fiorano and Monza. Today was only the first step on a steep climb. The nearer you get to the peak of the mountain, the harder it gets.

Michael Schumacher :

I think this is the greatest day in my career. It is a long time since I won. We made a big push over the summer break with everyone in the team giving more than a hundred percent. To everyone in the team who was so motivated and worked so hard, from the engineers, the mechanics and even the lady who cleans, I have to say a big thank you. We have worked a lot on our starts and mine was good, but I made a mistake at the first chicane which allowed Juan to close. We had a good fight; it was hard and fair. After that I was able to build a lead. The second stint was not so good, but in the final stages I opened up the gap again, easing off when Juan slowed down. After my second stop I got a shock, as the team told me the Williams was coming. I thought ‘how did he do that’ but then I realised it was Gene. I nearly went off, I was pushing so hard to stay ahead.

Rubens Barrichello :

I am quite happy to be third. It is better than being in the wall, like the last race! My car was very good at the start, but I lost time on the first lap with Trulli. He was alongside me and put me on the grass and so I had to back off, which meant I had to defend my position against Raikkonen and I almost ran into Trulli when he had a problem. By then, Juan was already 2 seconds ahead, even though I was able to close on him a bit. Unfortunately, my tyres were not as good on the second stint when I had too much understeer.

RACE RESULTS - ITALIAN GP
53 Laps. Weather : hot

Classified:
Pos	Driver	Team		Time
1.	M. Schumacher	Ferrari	(B)	1h14:19.838
2.	Montoya	Williams	(M)	+ 0:05.294
3.	Barrichello	Ferrari	(B)	+ 0:11.835
4.	Raikkonen	McLaren	(M)	+ 0:12.834
5.	Gene	Williams	(M)	+ 0:27.891
6.	Villeneuve	BAR	(B)	+ 1 Lap
7.	Webber	Jaguar	(M)	+ 1 Lap
8.	Alonso	Renault	(M)	+ 1 Lap
9.	Heidfeld	Sauber	(B)	+ 1 Lap
10.	Fisichella	Jordan	(B)	+ 1 Lap
11.	Baumgartner	Jordan	(B)	+ 2 Laps
12.	Kiesa	Minardi	(B)	+ 2 Laps
13.	Frentzen	Sauber	(B)	+ 3 Laps

World Championship Standing, Round 14:
Drivers:			Constructors:
1.	M. Schumacher	82	1.	Williams	141
2.	Montoya	79	2.	Ferrari	137
3.	Raikkonen	75	3.	McLaren	120
4.	R. Schumacher	58	4.	Renault	79
5.=	Alonso	55	5.	BAR	18
5.=	Barrichello	55	6.	Jaguar	17
7.	Coulthard	45	7.	Toyota	14
8.	Trulli	24	8.	Jordan	11
9.	Webber	17	9.	Sauber	9
10.	Button	12
11.	Fisichella	10
12.	da Matta	8
13.	Frentzen	7
14.=	Panis	6
14.=	Villeneuve	6
16.	Gene	4
17.	Heidfeld	2
18.	Firman	1