F1 Legend Sim/Seasons/2002

2002 F1 Season

17 races · Ferrari F2002

The 2002 season is, in raw numbers, one of the most dominant in history. The Ferrari F2002 was a brutal technological leap, and Michael Schumacher took it to another level: he stood on the podium at all seventeen races and won eleven of them.

He sealed the title at the French Grand Prix, the eleventh round, the earliest clinch ever achieved in a season. Such superiority, though, sparked concern for the spectacle, and one episode made it worse: in Austria, Ferrari ordered Rubens Barrichello to hand the win to Schumacher just before the line, drawing public outrage and boos on the podium.

That team-orders controversy was so notorious that the FIA eventually banned them, and fan boredom pushed rule changes for the seasons that followed.

Drivers’ Champion

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari F2002

Constructors’ Champion

Ferrari

17 races

See the 2002 simulation Ver en español

Key moment

«Barrichello lets Schumacher past in Austria before the finish line, the most controversial moment of the year.»

The 2002 grid, car by car

The 11 teams that raced in 2002, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#TeamOur ratingDrivers
1Ferrari
99
Michael Schumacher · Rubens Barrichello
2Williams
94
Juan Pablo Montoya · Ralf Schumacher
3McLaren
91
Kimi Räikkönen · David Coulthard
4Renault
85
Jenson Button · Jarno Trulli
5Sauber
83
Felipe Massa · Nick Heidfeld
6Jordan
82
Giancarlo Fisichella · Takuma Sato
7Jaguar
81
Eddie Irvine · Pedro de la Rosa
8BAR
80
Jacques Villeneuve · Olivier Panis
9Toyota
74
Mika Salo · Allan McNish
10Arrows
73
Heinz-Harald Frentzen · Enrique Bernoldi
11Minardi
71
Mark Webber · Alex Yoong

How 2002 actually ended

The official final standings, from the Australian Grand Prix to the Japanese Grand Prix. This is the real result; the simulation is further down.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Michael SchumacherFerrari14411177
2Rubens BarrichelloFerrari774103
3Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams50077
4Ralf SchumacherWilliams42160
5David CoulthardMcLaren41160
6Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren24040
7Jenson ButtonRenault14000
8Jarno TrulliRenault9000

Schumacher took it by 67 points with 11 wins and 7 poles across 17 races. 4 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Michael Schumacher.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

2002, race by race

All 17 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.

4different drivers won: Schumacher 11 · Barrichello 4 · Coulthard 1 · Schumacher 1.

3different teams won: Ferrari 15 · McLaren 1 · Williams 1.

3different drivers took pole: Schumacher 7 · Montoya 7 · Barrichello 3.

7different drivers stood on the podium.

10one-twos for a single team: Ferrari 9 · Williams 1.

6 of 17races were won from pole position.

0first-ever wins: every winner had won before.

From 4ththe win from furthest back: Ralf Schumacher, Malaysian Grand Prix.

26 years, 260 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Ralf Schumacher, Malaysian Grand Prix.

57%of starts reached the flag (201 of 353).

8 of 22cars finished the Australian Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.

#Grand PrixWinnerStarted
1Australian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari2nd
2Malaysian Grand PrixRalf SchumacherWilliams4th
3Brazilian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari2nd
4San Marino Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
5Spanish Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
6Austrian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari3rd
7Monaco Grand PrixDavid CoulthardMcLaren2nd
8Canadian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari2nd
9European Grand PrixRubens BarrichelloFerrari4th
10British Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari3rd
11French Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari2nd
12German Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
13Hungarian Grand PrixRubens BarrichelloFerrari1st
14Belgian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
15Italian Grand PrixRubens BarrichelloFerrari4th
16United States Grand PrixRubens BarrichelloFerrari2nd
17Japanese Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st

Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Our source has no fastest laps before 2004.

What if 2002 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 2002 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 17-race championship 100 times.

DriverAvg. finishTitles
Michael Schumacherreal championFerrariP1100%
Rubens BarrichelloFerrariP2.10%
Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliamsP3.40%
Kimi RäikkönenMcLarenP40%
Ralf SchumacherWilliamsP4.70%
David CoulthardMcLarenP5.90%

Michael Schumacher wins 100% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Rubens Barrichello manages 0%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2002 championship-winning car?

Build your own hypothesis

Drivers of 2002

Michael Schumacher★ 7
All seasons 1980-2025

Keep reading

What we have measured about 2002 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.

All articles