F1 Legend Sim/Seasons/2003

2003 F1 Season

16 races · Ferrari F2003-GA

After two years of crushing dominance, 2003 brought the excitement back to Formula 1. A new, more level points system and a fierce tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin closed the gap to Ferrari, who no longer had the best car on the grid.

Kimi Räikkönen with McLaren and Juan Pablo Montoya with Williams fought back all season long, and the championship reached the final race at Suzuka still alive. There, with careful, calculating driving, Michael Schumacher secured the points he needed.

The German thus claimed his sixth world title, surpassing none other than Juan Manuel Fangio, whose record of five championships had stood for almost half a century and which many believed unbeatable. It was one of the most symbolic milestones of his career.

Drivers’ Champion

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari F2003-GA

Constructors’ Champion

Ferrari

16 races

See the 2003 simulation Ver en español

Key moment

«Schumacher equals Fangio with his sixth title in Japan, tears on the podium.»

The 2003 grid, car by car

The 10 teams that raced in 2003, 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
96
Michael Schumacher · Rubens Barrichello
2Williams
94
Juan Pablo Montoya · Ralf Schumacher
3McLaren
94
Kimi Räikkönen · David Coulthard
4Renault
89
Fernando Alonso · Jarno Trulli
5Sauber
82
Heinz-Harald Frentzen · Nick Heidfeld
6BAR
81
Jenson Button · Jacques Villeneuve
7Jaguar
80
Mark Webber · Antonio Pizzonia
8Jordan
78
Giancarlo Fisichella · Ralph Firman
9Toyota
78
Olivier Panis · Cristiano da Matta
10Minardi
69
Jos Verstappen · Justin Wilson

How 2003 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 SchumacherFerrari93685
2Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren911102
3Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams82291
4Rubens BarrichelloFerrari65283
5Ralf SchumacherWilliams58233
6Fernando AlonsoRenault55142
7David CoulthardMcLaren51130
8Jarno TrulliRenault33010

It came down to 2 points: Schumacher and Räikkönen finished closer than a fourth place is worth. 8 different drivers won that year, and the final Grand Prix went to Rubens Barrichello.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

2003, race by race

All 16 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.

8different drivers won: Schumacher 6 · Barrichello 2 · Montoya 2 · Schumacher 2 · Alonso 1 · Coulthard 1 · Fisichella 1 · Räikkönen 1.

5different teams won: Ferrari 8 · Williams 4 · McLaren 2 · Jordan 1 · Renault 1.

6different drivers took pole: Schumacher 5 · Barrichello 3 · Schumacher 3 · Alonso 2 · Räikkönen 2 · Montoya 1.

10different drivers stood on the podium.

2one-twos for a single team: Williams 2.

9 of 16races were won from pole position.

3first-ever wins: Kimi Räikkönen (Malaysian Grand Prix), Giancarlo Fisichella (Brazilian Grand Prix), Fernando Alonso (Hungarian Grand Prix).

From 11ththe win from furthest back: David Coulthard, Australian Grand Prix.

22 years, 26 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Fernando Alonso, Hungarian Grand Prix.

66%of starts reached the flag (209 of 318).

9 of 20cars finished the Brazilian Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.

#Grand PrixWinnerStarted
1Australian Grand PrixDavid CoulthardMcLaren11th
2Malaysian Grand PrixKimi RäikkönenMcLaren7th
3Brazilian Grand PrixGiancarlo FisichellaJordan8th
4San Marino Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
5Spanish Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
6Austrian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
7Monaco Grand PrixJuan Pablo MontoyaWilliams3rd
8Canadian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari3rd
9European Grand PrixRalf SchumacherWilliams3rd
10French Grand PrixRalf SchumacherWilliams1st
11British Grand PrixRubens BarrichelloFerrari1st
12German Grand PrixJuan Pablo MontoyaWilliams1st
13Hungarian Grand PrixFernando AlonsoRenault1st
14Italian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
15United States Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari7th
16Japanese Grand PrixRubens BarrichelloFerrari1st

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 2003 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 2003 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%
Kimi RäikkönenMcLarenP2.50%
Rubens BarrichelloFerrariP3.80%
Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliamsP3.90%
Fernando AlonsoRenaultP4.80%
Ralf SchumacherWilliamsP5.60%

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

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2003 championship-winning car?

Build your own hypothesis

Drivers of 2003

Michael Schumacher★ 7
All seasons 1980-2025

Keep reading

What we have measured about 2003 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.

All articles