2002 European Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher leads with 70 points, 43 ahead of Williams teammates Ralf Schumacher and Montoya who are tied on 27. Coulthard is fourth on 26, Barrichello fifth on 16. Ferrari lead the Constructors’ by 45 points over Williams.

Previous race

Schumacher won in Canada for his sixth victory in eight races. Barrichello led for the opening 25 laps on a lighter fuel load before pitting, handing Schumacher the lead, and ultimately finishing third. Montoya retired from the lead on lap 56 with an engine failure — his second retirement from the lead in three races. Coulthard finished second in a straight fight.

Between-race developments

Eight teams tested at Jerez for three days. McLaren test driver Wurz was fastest on day one; Räikkönen led days two and three, with Coulthard topping day four. Ferrari tested the F2002’s setup at Mugello and were joined by Sauber for three days of aerodynamics and mechanical work. Jordan spent two days at Elvington Airfield conducting aerodynamic correlation work. Arrows used the RAF Kemble aerodrome for straightline testing. Minardi did not test.

This is the first race on the Nürburgring’s revised layout, the first major change since the circuit reopened in 1984. The tight first-corner chicane has been replaced by a sharp right-hand hairpin with tight left and right turns, with the asphalt widened by 25 m. The circuit’s length has increased by 645 yards and the lap count reduced from 67 to 60. The changes have drawn mixed reactions from drivers: Ralf Schumacher calls the new section “a nice part of the circuit,” while Coulthard says the bumpiness is “ridiculous.” Montoya finds it “too slow.”

The FIA World Motor Sport Council hearing into Ferrari’s Austrian Grand Prix team orders is scheduled for 26 June — three days after this race.

Car upgrades

Ferrari introduces new bi-directional telemetry and steering wheels. Renault debuts a new aerodynamic package including a redesigned extractor profile and new traction control system. McLaren introduces a new aerodynamic package. Honda provides an updated engine to BAR and Jordan. Sauber reverts to a front wing with inverted V supports.

Practice

Four sessions on a circuit the paddock is racing for the first time. The FIA scheduled Saturday’s sessions 45 minutes earlier than usual to avoid overlap with two World Cup quarter-finals in Japan and South Korea.

Friday’s first session was dry but overcast; Barrichello led. Bernoldi lost the rear at the Ford Kurve and made light contact with a tyre barrier, requiring a yellow flag while marshals removed the car. The second session saw Coulthard fastest despite running into the Dunlop Kurve gravel trap. Eight drivers left the circuit at various points. Webber stopped in the Dunlop Kurve gravel with a rear suspension failure; Yoong’s session ended after 42 minutes with an engine failure.

Saturday morning, Schumacher set the pace but lost the rear earlier in the session clipping a kerb at the Veedol-S chicane. Massa ran wide in the stadium section; Villeneuve spun at the Bit-Kehre corner. In the final session, De la Rosa stopped with a hydraulic leak and fire in his car; Button ran into the gravel at the Dunlop Kurve hairpin but recovered.