 Grand Prix de Monaco (Monaco) 2002 review.
Story by Andrew Frampton.
David Coulthard took a surprisingly dominant victory on the historic Monaco street circuit last weekend at the 2002 Monte Carlo Grand Prix, after fending off the early challenge of Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams) and the Ferrari of Michael Schumacher. Although the Colombian was later forced out, Schumacher chased the Scot home, with his brother Ralf taking the final podium position.
Montoya had emerged on top in qualifying, to become the first non-Ferrari driver to take pole position this season. Coulthard had taken top spot here last year, only to stall on the grid, but was forced to settle for second this time, nearly four tenths of a second off the Colombian's pace. The championship leader and Austrian Grand Prix victor, Michael Schumacher, could only set the third fastest time after suffering with an eye irritation throughout the session. Ralf Schumacher lined up fourth, ahead of Rubens Barrichello's Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren.
Throughout free practice, the Renault team, and in particular Jarno Trulli, had looked set to challenge the established front-runners, but the Italian would only line up in 7th position, one position ahead of team-mate Jenson Button. On their first appearance at Monaco, the Toyotas of Mika Salo and Allan McNish completed the top ten, ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella's Jordan and Heinz-Harald Frentzen's Arrows. Sauber had a troubled session, with Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld lining up 13th and 17th respectively. The 1996 winner Olivier Panis was 18th for BAR, while Eddie Irvine lined up in 21st for Jaguar.
Coulthard made the most of a sluggish start from Montoya to take the lead into Sainte-Devote for the first time, as Michael Schumacher held third position from his brother. Meanwhile, there was commotion behind, as Jacques Villeneuve's BAR failed to get off the grid with clutch problems. The Canadian would rejoin the race one lap down. There were also problems for Jenson Button, who incurred a drive-through penalty for jumping the start, despite the fact he then bogged down, and had dropped nine places to 17th by the end of the first lap. At the front, Coulthard remained in the lead, but unable to strengthen his advantage, with the top four rarely covered by more than a second. The Scot did gradually increase his advantage and by the time a dozen laps had been run, Coulthard's lead was up to just over a second, with Montoya holding off Michael Schumacher by a similar amount.
However, the top Williams was having problems keeping pace with the lead car, and was gradually dropping back, delaying Schumacher in the process. The German was the first of the front-runners to stop - doing so on lap 44, and therefore removing the slower Montoya from his path, before, ironically the Colombian was forced out with engine failure later that lap. Schumacher had clearly been delayed by the slower Williams, as he emerged from the pits to set the fastest lap of the race and close in on Coulthard. With the Scot's tyres much more worn than Schumacher's, the McLaren team had no choice but to call in Coulthard early, with the Scot rejoining with a one second advantage. Now armed with new tyres himself, Coulthard had the measure of Schumacher, and although the pair circulated nose-to-tail for the remainder of the race, Coulthard recorded his first victory for over a year, while Michael Schumacher's second position extended his championship lead to 33 points.
There was plenty of action further down the field, with Ralf Schumacher taking third, despite a late pit-stop to replace a damaged tyre. Trulli followed up his promising times earlier in the weekend to hold off the Jordan of Giancarlo Fisichella for fourth position. Behind Fisichella, Heinz-Harald Frentzen took sixth place, although had it not been for a fuel rig problem that necessitated an extra pit-stop, he could well have taken fourth. Rubens Barrichello's disappointing weekend ended with seventh position, after making a second pit-stop to repair damage caused by smashing into Raikkonen at the chicane, in a move that put the McLaren driver out of the race. Heidfeld took eighth, ahead of the Jaguars of Irvine and Pedro De La Rosa. Mark Webber had been on target for a top ten finish, only to have to make a late pit-stop, dropping the Minardi driver to eleventh. Enrique Bernoldi completed the finishers after damaging his car in a clash with Massa, and then getting a drive-through penalty for cutting the chicane - the Arrows driver was classified 12th.
Allan McNish's first Monaco Grand Prix lasted only 15 laps before the Scot spun into the tyres at Sainte-Devote. His exit was not as spectacular as Takuma Sato's was, with the Japanese clattering into the barriers before the chicane on lap 22, when trying to let his team-mate Fisichella past. Minardi's Alex Yoong was another to clash with the barriers, and although he made it back to the pits, his suspension was too damaged to continue. Panis and Button collided at Sainte-Devote on Lap 51, with the Frenchman admitting he had not seen the Renault on the inside of him - both were forced out with accident damage. More spectacular was the shunt that finished Massa's race - his Sauber was badly damaged after a confrontation with the Sainte-Devote tyre wall. Jacques Villeneuve had earlier departed with an engine failure, while Toyota's Mika Salo was the final retirement of the day after brake failure forced him into the barriers.
Coulthard's victory is unlikely to throw the championship open, with Michael Schumacher's lead currently standing at 33 points. Canada hosts the next round of the series, where the Ferrari and Williams teams are expected to return to the head of the field.
Monaco Grand Prix Result:
1. David Coulthard (McLaren) 78laps
2. Michael Schumacher (Ferrari) +0.050s
3. Ralf Schumacher (Williams) +1m07.400s
4. Jarno Trulli (Renault) +1 lap
5. Giancarlo Fisichella (Jordan) +1 lap
6. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Arrows) +1 lap
Driver's Championship Standings:
1. Michael Schumacher 60pts
2. Ralf Schumacher 27pts
3. Juan Pablo Montoya 27pts
4. David Coulthard 20pts
5. Rubens Barrichello 12pts
6. Jenson Button 8pts
Constructor's Championship Standings:
1. Ferrari 72pts
2. Williams-BMW 54pts
3. McLaren-Mercedes 24pts
4. Renault 11pts
5. Sauber-Petronas 8pts
6. Jordan-Honda 4pts
2002 F1 season calendar
03/03/2002 - Australian Grand Prix (Melbourne)
- Australia circuit by JR
- Australia preview by AF
- Australia grid by JR
- Australia review by AF
- Australia lap-by-lap by JR
17/03/2002 - Malaysian Grand Prix (Sepang)
- Malaysia circuit by JR
- Malaysia preview by AF
- Malaysia grid by JR
- Malaysia review by AF
- Malaysia lap-by-lap by JR
31/03/2002 - Brazilian Grand Prix (Sao Paulo)
- Brazil circuit by JR
- Brazil preview by AF
- Brazil grid by JR
- Brazil review by AF
- Brazil lap-by-lap by JR
14/04/2002 - San Marino Grand Prix (Imola)
- San Marino circuit by JR
- San Marino preview by AF
- San Marino grid by JR
- San Marino review by AF
- San Marino lap-by-lap by JR
28/04/2002 - Spanish Grand Prix (Barcelona)
- Spain circuit by JR
- Spain preview by AF
- Spain grid by JR
- Spain review by AF
- Spain lap-by-lap by JR
12/05/2002 - Austrian Grand Prix (Spielberg)
- Austria circuit by JR
- Austria preview by AF
- Austria grid by JR
- Austria review by AF
- Austria lap-by-lap by JR
26/05/2002 - Grand Prix de Monaco (Monaco)
- Monaco circuit by JR
- Monaco preview by AF
- Monaco grid by JR
- Monaco review by AF
- Monaco lap-by-lap by JR
09/06/2002 - Canadian Grand Prix (Montreal)
- Canada circuit by JR
- Canada preview by AF
- Canada grid by JR
- Canada review by AF
- Canada lap-by-lap by JR
23/06/2002 - European Grand Prix (Nürburgring)
- Europe circuit by JR
- Europe grid by JR
- Europe review by AF
- Europe lap-by-lap by JR
07/07/2002 - British Grand Prix (Silverstone)
- Britain circuit by JR
- Britain grid by JR
- Britain review by AF
- Britain lap-by-lap by JR
21/07/2002 - French Grand Prix (Magny-Cours)
- France circuit by JR
- France preview by AF
- France grid by JR
- France review by AF
- France lap-by-lap by JR
28/07/2002 - German Grand Prix (Hockenheim)
- Germany circuit by JR
- Germany preview by AF
- Germany grid by JR
- Germany review by AF
- Germany lap-by-lap by JR
18/08/2002 - Hungarian Grand Prix (Budapest)
- Hungary circuit by JR
- Hungary grid by JR
- Hungary lap-by-lap by JR
01/09/2002 - Belgian Grand Prix (Spa Francorchamps)
- Belgium circuit by JR
- Belgium grid by JR
- Belgium review by AF
- Belgium lap-by-lap by JR
15/09/2002 - Italian Grand Prix (Monza)
- Italy circuit by JR
- Italy grid by JR
- Italy lap-by-lap by JR
29/09/2002 - American Grand Prix (Indianapolis)
- USA circuit by JR
- USA grid by JR
- USA lap-by-lap by JR
13/10/2002 - Japanese Grand Prix (Suzuka)
- Japan circuit by JR
- Japan grid by JR
- Japan review by AF
- Japan lap-by-lap by JR
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