The 2003 Austrian Grand Prix saw Michael Schumacher score his second Formula 1 win at the A1 Ring, despite a fire during his first pitstop.
Following an 11-year absence the race returned to the F1 calendar in 2014 at the revamped track, which is now known as the Red Bull Ring.
Schumacher wrestled his way to pole position for the 2003 event on Saturday despite a big slide on his best lap, but the start of the race was far from straightforward.
There were two aborted attempts to get the race going due to launch control problems for Cristiano da Matta’s Toyota, while Jos Verstappen’s Minardi suffered a similar issue and caused the safety car to immediately be deployed.
With the race reduced to 69 laps, Schumacher led away Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen, with the positions remaining stable early on. Light rain passed over the track, but despite the tricky conditions it was not severe enough for a change to wet tyres.
Schumacher pitted for the first time on lap 23 but a problem with the fuel filler meant some of it spilled out and ignited. The fire was quickly put out but Schumacher lost 12 seconds and emerged in third place.
But his luck quickly changed. Raikkonen picked up an engine issue and was easy prey for the Ferrari driver and Montoya’s engine blew up just a few moments later. He was back into first place.
From then on, he eased to a second Austrian GP win, following his controversial 2002 victory where team-mate Rubens Barrichello let him through on the run to the flag.
Despite his problems, Raikkonen held off the challenges of Barrichello to finish second, with the Ferrari driver having to settle for third.
Jenson Button equalled his best ever F1 result at the time with fourth. David Coulthard moved into the top five after Fernando Alonso spun off on his own oil.
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| © Ferrari |
Schumacher wrestled his way to pole position for the 2003 event on Saturday despite a big slide on his best lap, but the start of the race was far from straightforward.
There were two aborted attempts to get the race going due to launch control problems for Cristiano da Matta’s Toyota, while Jos Verstappen’s Minardi suffered a similar issue and caused the safety car to immediately be deployed.
With the race reduced to 69 laps, Schumacher led away Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen, with the positions remaining stable early on. Light rain passed over the track, but despite the tricky conditions it was not severe enough for a change to wet tyres.
Schumacher pitted for the first time on lap 23 but a problem with the fuel filler meant some of it spilled out and ignited. The fire was quickly put out but Schumacher lost 12 seconds and emerged in third place.
From then on, he eased to a second Austrian GP win, following his controversial 2002 victory where team-mate Rubens Barrichello let him through on the run to the flag.
Despite his problems, Raikkonen held off the challenges of Barrichello to finish second, with the Ferrari driver having to settle for third.
Jenson Button equalled his best ever F1 result at the time with fourth. David Coulthard moved into the top five after Fernando Alonso spun off on his own oil.
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