2003 British Grand Prix

Infobox Grand Prix race report
Type = F1
Country = United Kingdom
Grand Prix = British
Date = July 20
Year = 2003

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Caption = The Silverstone Circuit modified in 2000
Race_No = 11
Season_No = 16
Official name = LIIV Foster's British Grand Prix
Location = Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England
Course = Permanent Road Facility
Course_mi = 3.194
Course_km = 5.141
Distance_laps = 59
Distance_mi = 188.410
Distance_km = 303.216
Scheduled_laps = 60
Scheduled_mi = 191.603
Scheduled_km = 308.355
Weather = Dry
Pole_Driver = Rubens Barrichello
Pole_Country = Brazil
Pole_Team = Ferrari
Pole_Time =
Fast_Driver = Rubens Barrichello
Fast_Country = Brazil
Fast_Team = Ferrari
Fast_Time = 1:22.236
Fast_L

First_Driver = Rubens Barrichello
First_Team = Ferrari
First_Country = Brazil
Second_Driver = Juan Pablo Montoya
Second_Team = Williams-BMW
Second_Country= Colombia
Third_Driver = Kimi Räikkönen
Third_Team = McLaren-Mercedes
Third_Country = Finland

The 2003 British Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 20 July at the Silverstone Circuit.

It was won by polesitter Rubens Barrichello but is probably most well-known for a track invasion by the now-defrocked priest Neil Horan, who ran along Hangar straight, running opposite to the 280 km/h train of cars, wearing a saffron kilt and waving religious banners. cite news |first=Jonathan |last=Legard |title=A very British curse
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3082529.stm |format= |publisher=BBC Sports |date=2003-07-20 |accessmonthday=26 August |accessyear=2006]

Race report

The race began with Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello on pole, alongside Renault F1's Jarno Trulli. Kimi Räikkönen of McLaren-Mercedes started from third, while world champion and championship leader Michael Schumacher started from fifth. Barrichello made a poor start, allowing both Trulli and Räikkönen past on an incident-free first lap. Ralf and Michael Schumacher retained their starting positions of fourth and fifth. On the sixth lap, the headrest of David Coulthard dislodged while traversing the first corner (Copse), forcing him to pit for a replacement under safety regulations, and causing a safety car period to allow marshals to clear the track. Upon the resumption of green flag racing, Barrichello closed the gap to Räikkönen before passing him on lap 11. On the following lap, Horan invaded the circuit and another safety car period was necessitated. As it was close to the period when the drivers would be making their scheduled pit stops, the vast majority of cars decided to pit under the safety car. The second placed cars from the respective teams were forced to queue up in the pit lane waiting for service, causing them to drop many places. Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso and Juan Pablo Montoya were all outside of the top ten. Of the leading contenders, Trulli was in fourth place while both Räikkönen and Ralf Schumacher had jumped Barrichello when in the pits.

The Toyotas of Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panisndash who had opted not to pitndash were leading, while Coulthard was in third, having not required a pit stop after his earlier unscheduled headrest replacement. Räikkönen passed Trulli immediately after the restart before clearing team-mate Coulthard on the same lap. Barrichello then passed a slowing Ralf Schumacher on the 17th lap while Räikkönen also passed Panis before chasing down the leading da Matta. Ralf Schumacher was forced to pit after encountering difficulties, while at the same time Michael Schumacher was unable to pass Alonso. By the 26th lap Barrichello was still trying to pass Trulli, and the two leaders continued to extend their lead. Barrichello and Montoya eventually pass Trulli by the edn of the 27th lap, before Panis fell victim to both on the 29th. Da Matta eventually ceded the lead after pitting on the 30th lap to Räikkönen. Barrichello then set the fastest lap after being cleared of traffic, taking the lead after Räikkönen pitted for the second time. Barrichello continued to cut the advantage, but Räikkönen regained the lead with a reduced margin following the Brazilian's second stop. After closing in, Barrichello passed Räikkönen after pressuring him into a mistake. Michael Schumacher eventually passed Trulli on the 46th lap, but an unforced error by Räikkönen allowed Montoya to seize second position. In the closing phase of the race, Coulthard passes both da Matta and Trulli to earn fifth place. cite news |first=Andrew |last=Benson |title=Silverstone joy for Barrichello |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3081859.stm |format= |publisher=BBC Sports |date=2003-07-20 |accessmonthday=26 August |accessyear=2006] cite news |first= |last= |title=Lapwatch: British GP|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3081587.stm
format= |publisher=BBC Sports |date=2003-07-20 |accessmonthday=26 August |accessyear=2006]

Track invasion

On the 11th lap, as the procession of cars exited the Becketts corner onto the Hangar straight, Horan cleared the fence wearing a kilt, waving banners with statements "Read the bible" and "The Bible is always right"cite news |first= |last= |title=The new seekers|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/3242953.stm |format= |publisher=BBC Sports |date=2003-11-05 |accessmonthday=26 August |accessyear=2006] and ran towards the sequence of cars, forcing several cars to swerve to avoid him. He eventually returned to the grass runoff area at the side of the track after the cars had passed for the lap, and was stopped by a track marshal.

He was later charged with aggravated trespass and pleaded guilty in a Northampton court, [cite news |first= |last= |title=Ex-priest admits Grand Prix invasion
url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/northamptonshire/3142515.stm |format= |publisher=BBC Sports |date=2003-08-11 |accessmonthday=26 August |accessyear=2006 ] stating that he took the open gate as a sign from God, although the prosecution contended that his act was premeditated as he had already prepared the banners prior to attending the Grand Prix. He was later jailed for two months.

The incident prompted comparisons to the events at the 1977 South African Grand Prix, where volunteer track marshal, Jansen Van Vuuren, ran across the main straight to aid a car and was hit at 170mph by Tom Pryce, who couldn't see him until it was too late because of the steep crest on the straight. Both Van Vuuren and Pryce were killed by the impact. A similar incident occurred at the 2000 German Grand Prix when a disgruntled ex Mercedes employee walked along part of the circuit in protest before being arrested. This caused a safety car, which eliminated the lead of Mika Hakkinen, driving for McLaren Mercedes.

The race led to fears that Formula One bosses Max Mosley and Bernie Ecclestone, who had been highly critical of the media and corporate facilities of Silverstone, would use the incident to drop the race from the Formula One calendar, with Ecclestone saying "It wasn't necessary - the race was exciting enough without it. But the security wasn't good enough". However, drivers and team officials defended the circuit, with Montoya stating "This was one of the best races of the year, even with the spectator. It was so much fun today," and Sauber boss Peter Sauber stated "When a man sets himself on fire in the street in Paris, no one blames Paris", while McLaren-Mercedes boss Ron Dennis said "There is no way you can prevent it happening". [cite news |first=Andrew|last=Benson|title=Ex-priest admits Grand Prix invasion
url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport/formula_one/3081905.stm |format= |publisher=BBC Sports |date=2003-07-20 |accessmonthday=26 August |accessyear=2006]

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Classification

Notes

*This was Antônio Pizzonia's last race of the season. He was dropped due to a string of poor results, and replaced by Minardi's Justin Wilson.

tandings after Grand Prix

*1. Michael Schumacher - 69
*2. Kimi Räikkönen - 62
*3. Juan Pablo Montoya - 55
*4. Ralf Schumacher - 53
*5. Rubens Barrichello - 49
*6. Fernando Alonso - 39
*7. David Coulthard - 33
*8. Jarno Trulli - 16

Constructors
*1. Ferrari - 118
*2. Williams-BMW - 108
*3. McLaren-Mercedes - 95
*4. Renault - 55

References

F1 race report
Name_of_race = British Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 2003
Previous_race_in_season = 2003 French Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 2003 German Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = 2002 British Grand Prix
Next_year's_race = 2004 British Grand Prix