2002 Brazilian Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher leads with 14 points after two races. Montoya sits second on 12, Ralf Schumacher third on 10. Williams lead the Constructors’ Championship by eight points over Ferrari.

Previous race

In Malaysia, Ralf Schumacher won after his brother and Montoya collided at the first corner, eliminating both from contention. Montoya served the first-ever drive-through penalty in Formula One — imposed for causing an avoidable collision — but still recovered to second. Barrichello’s engine failed from the lead on lap 40. Räikkönen retired with engine failure; Button’s anti-roll bar bracket failed in the final two laps, costing him a likely podium. Felipe Massa scored his first championship point.

Between-race developments

Nine of the eleven teams tested aerodynamic and mechanical setups at Circuit de Catalunya for four days. McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz led on the first two days; Schumacher led day three and Barrichello day four. Arrows could not send their car to Europe and did not test. Minardi skipped testing because their new Asiatech engine did not fit the PS02 chassis.

Ferrari will debut the F2002 at Interlagos. Schumacher receives one new chassis; Barrichello retains a modified F2001B. Because the F2002’s wheels do not fit the spare F2001, the FIA granted Ferrari four additional tyre sets for the spare car. Both Bridgestone and Michelin bring new dry-weather compound tyres to Brazil.

Practice

Four sessions in sunny, hot conditions on a bumpy, dusty circuit. Schumacher was fastest in three of the four sessions; Ralf Schumacher led the fourth.

In the first session, Räikkönen stalled in the middle of the circuit after spinning at the Descida do Sol turn, prompting a six-minute red flag. Sato spun and stalled at turn four with a minute remaining, bringing the session to a premature end. In the final practice session, Massa’s car broke down on the start/finish straight, causing a red flag. Sato again spun and hit the tyre barriers at turn eight, losing his front wing.

Before the final session ended, stewards deleted Barrichello’s fastest lap time from the session because he exited the pit lane on a red light. Sato’s fastest qualifying time from session three was similarly deleted for the same infringement.