The 2003 Japanese Grand Prix, formally the 2003 Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix, was a

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

motor race held on 12 October 2003 at the

Suzuka Circuit The , the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. It is most well known by i ...

. It was the sixteenth and final race of the

2003 Formula One World Championship The 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 57th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2003 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 2003 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contes ...

, as well as the 29th

Japanese Grand Prix The Japanese Grand Prix () is a motor racing event in the calendar of the Formula One World Championship. Historically, Japan has been one of the last races of the season, and as such the Japanese Grand Prix has been the venue for many title-de ...

. The 53-lap race was won by

Rubens Barrichello Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...

driving for

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

after starting from

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

Kimi Räikkönen Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...

, who started the race from eighth position, finished second in a

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

car, with

David Coulthard David Marshall Coulthard (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "DC", Coulthard was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' ...

third in the other McLaren. Barrichello's win saw Ferrari clinch their 13th Constructors Championship title, the team's fifth title in a row, with Barrichello's team-mate

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

finishing eighth to secure his record-breaking 6th World Driver's Championship surpassing the record set by

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (, ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995) was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "el Chueco" and "el Maestro", Fangio won five Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the ti ...

in 1957. This was also Schumacher's fourth consecutive World Driver's title, matching the record set by Fangio in 1957. This event also notably marked the last race for cars using launch control and fully-automatic gearboxes, since their reintroduction at the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix. The FIA banned these two electronic driver aid systems ahead of the season. This was also the final Grand Prix for 3-time race winner

Heinz-Harald Frentzen Heinz-Harald Frentzen (; born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Frentzen was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won three Grands Prix across 10 se ...

and

Jos Verstappen Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver, who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between and . Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, ...

, father of future world champion

Max Verstappen Max Emilian Verstappen (; born 30 September 1997) is a Dutch and Belgian racing driver who competes under the Dutch flag in Formula One for Red Bull Racing. Verstappen has won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he w ...

Report

Background

Heading into the final race of the season,

driver

was leading the World Driver's Championship standings with 92 points;

driver

was second on 83 points, 9 points behind Schumacher. A maximum of 10 points were available, which meant that Räikkönen could still win the title. Schumacher only needed an eighth-place finish to become Driver's Champion even if Räikkönen won the race as Schumacher held the tiebreaker on wins over Räikkönen, 6 to 1. Räikkönen needed to win and Schumacher not to score a single point in order for him to become Driver's Champion. There was one driver change heading into the race. Having been a driver for the BAR-Honda team for most of the season,

Jacques Villeneuve Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...

pulled out of the Grand Prix after asking to be released by the team and was replaced by the team's test driver

Takuma Sato is a Japanese racing driver, who competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato competed in Formula One from to . In American open-wheel racing, Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 in 2017 a ...

. Sato had been confirmed as a driver for the team for the 2004 season in the days running up to the race and would drive alongside

Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...

Friday drivers

Three teams in the 2003 Constructors' Championship had the right to run a third car on Friday's additional testing. These drivers did not compete in qualifying or the race.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

Championship standings after the race

*Bold text and an asterisk indicates the World Champions. ;Drivers' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings *Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

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Japanese Grand Prix Grand Prix