2002 Austrian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher leads with 44 points. Montoya and Ralf Schumacher are second and third with 23 and 20. Coulthard is fourth on 9, Button fifth on 8. Ferrari lead the Constructors’ Championship by seven points over Williams, with McLaren third on 13.

Previous race

In Spain, Schumacher converted pole to a flag-to-flag victory — his fourth win in five races. Räikkönen’s rear wing detached at speed on lap four; he kept the car under control but retired, and the wing element narrowly avoided Button behind. Barrichello started but retired; Ralf Schumacher crashed out after damaging his front wing on a kerb. Minardi withdrew both cars on safety grounds after multiple front wing failures during practice.

Between-race developments

Teams tested variously at multiple European circuits ahead of Austria. Ferrari, McLaren, and Toyota ran at Mugello. BAR, Jaguar, Jordan, Renault, Sauber, and Williams used Silverstone and other venues.

McLaren principal Ron Dennis has stated publicly that Ferrari should allow their drivers to race each other without imposing team orders favouring one driver — a pointed reference to the 2001 Austrian Grand Prix, where Barrichello ceded the lead to Schumacher on the final lap.

Car upgrades

Sauber introduces a revised specification of its Ferrari 050 engine and a new aerodynamic package including a redesigned undertray and bodywork around the engine cover. Ferrari, McLaren, and Williams bring new front brake air intakes. Williams also debuts an upgraded FW24 front wing with a curved profile.

Practice

The A1-Ring runs at 700 m elevation — engines lose around seven percent power — and 70 percent of the lap can be driven at full throttle. Four sessions in clear conditions. Schumacher led the first and set a track lap record in the fourth (1:08.433).

Barrichello, Massa, and Fisichella all ran off the dusty, low-grip circuit into gravel traps in the first session, though none sustained damage. Heidfeld lost 20 minutes to an alternator fault. Frentzen spun over a kerb in the first session, damaging his undertray. In the second session, a stoppage halted Trulli’s running after his engine lost oil at turn nine; the session was stopped for 11 minutes to dry the track. Bernoldi lost 25 minutes to a gearbox malfunction in the fourth session and later beached in a gravel trap.