2002 Season

The 2002 FIA Formula One World Championship is the 56th season of Formula One motor racing. Seventeen races are scheduled, beginning in Australia on 3 March and concluding in Japan in October. Michael Schumacher and Scuderia Ferrari are the defending champions of both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles.

Driver changes

Mika Häkkinen has taken a sabbatical from McLaren, stating he needs a break but intends to return. His seat goes to Kimi Räikkönen, who has been released by Sauber. Räikkönen’s Sauber seat is taken by Felipe Massa, the 2001 Euro Formula 3000 champion.

At Renault — previously Benetton — Giancarlo Fisichella has moved to Jordan. Jarno Trulli takes the opposite move, leaving Jordan for Renault, meaning the two drivers have effectively swapped teams. Jordan pairs Trulli’s replacement with BAR test driver Takuma Sato, the 2001 British Formula Three champion. Jean Alesi, who drove for Jordan at the end of 2001, has signed with Mercedes in the DTM series rather than pursue an F1 drive.

Fernando Alonso has left Minardi after an impressive debut season to become Renault’s test driver. His seat goes to Mark Webber, who was runner-up in the 2001 International Formula 3000 series. Heinz-Harald Frentzen, left without a drive after Prost’s collapse, joins Arrows and takes the seat of Jos Verstappen, who has been unable to secure an alternative drive.

For Toyota’s first season, the team employs Mika Salo, formerly with Sauber in 2000, and debutant Allan McNish, who previously drove a Toyota GT-One at Le Mans.

Team changes

The Prost Grand Prix team was placed into receivership in November 2001 and liquidated in January 2002, ending a history stretching back to its days as Ligier from 1976 to 1996. Car numbers 18 and 19 are left unoccupied. An attempt by Phoenix Finance to enter the championship using Prost assets was rejected by the FIA.

The Benetton team, sold to Renault in 2000, is rebranded Renault F1 for 2002. The team does not substantially change, having already run Renault engines since 1995. Toyota enters as a full constructor after spending 2001 developing their TF102 car.

Asiatech, which supplied engines to Arrows in 2001, switches their supply to Minardi. Arrows in turn signs with Cosworth.

Calendar

The calendar features the same seventeen Grands Prix as 2001. The French Grand Prix and the British Grand Prix swap places to avoid a scheduling conflict with the 2002 FIFA World Cup finals in Japan and South Korea.

Regulation changes

Technical changes are minor. For safety, rear view mirrors and rear lights must be made larger, and the rear crash structure is subject to increased impact tests. Two-way data transfer between car and garage is now permitted, allowing teams to adjust settings in a car’s electronics remotely during the race without the driver having to operate steering wheel buttons.

Pre-season testing

No dedicated pre-season testing summary is provided in the season overview. Teams conducted development work across European circuits through the winter, with Ferrari running the new F2002 but judging it not yet reliable enough for the opening rounds.