The 2002 British Grand Prix (formally the 2002 Foster's British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at the Silverstone Circuit, England, United Kingdom before 60,000 spectators on 7 July 2002. It was the 10th of 17 rounds in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and was the 53rd time that the British Grand Prix had been included in the championship since 1950. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher won the 60-lap race after starting from second position. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished in second and Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya was third.
Heading into the Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship from Montoya's teammate Ralf Schumacher and Ferrari led Williams in the World Constructors' Championship. Montoya qualified on pole position by setting the fastest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session, with Barrichello starting second. However, Barrichello stalled on the formation lap and Montoya led the first 15 laps before an increase in rainfall allowed Michael Schumacher to pass him for the race lead on lap 16. Michael Schumacher led for the rest of the race, claiming his seventh victory of the season and 60th of his career. Despite losing control of his Ferrari halfway through the race, Barrichello finished second, 14.5 seconds behind.
The Grand Prix result increased Michael Schumacher's World Drivers' Championship lead to 54 championship points. Barrichello's second-place finish moved him from fourth to second while Montoya's third-place result kept him in third. Ferrari maintained a 57-point lead over Williams in the World Constructors' Championship, while McLaren remained third with seven races left in the season.
Background
thumb|left|The [[Silverstone Circuit (pictured in 2009), where the British Grand Prix was held]]
The 2002 British Grand Prix was the 10th of 17 Formula One races in the 2002 Formula One World Championship, held on 7 July 2002, at the Silverstone Circuit in England, United Kingdom. Before the race, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 76 championship points, 46 ahead of Williams's Ralf Schumacher and 49 in more than Juan Pablo Montoya. Michael Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello and McLaren's David Coulthard were joint fourth with 26 championship points each. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 102 championship points, 45 ahead of Williams. McLaren were third with 37 championship points, with Renault fourth with 14 championship points, and Sauber fifth with nine. the teams tested on various European racing tracks to prepare for the British Grand Prix. Eight out of the eleven teams tested variously at the Circuit de Catalunya in Spain from 25 to 28 June. Coulthard was fastest on the first day. Ferrari also spent three days at the Monza Circuit in Italy with test driver Luciano Burti. The Italian team also spent four days at Italy's Mugello Circuit, joined by British American Racing (BAR) on the final two days. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer spent the day at the Fiorano Circuit near Maranello. Toyota tested for three days with test driver Stéphane Sarrazin and race driver Allan McNish at France's Circuit Paul Ricard. Barrichello anticipated changing weather conditions, but also expected to be competitive at Silverstone and looking forward to the Grand Prix. Montoya had qualified on pole position in the previous three races, but had retired each time. There were four British drivers, four Germans, three Brazilians, two Finns, two Italians and one each from Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Japan, Malaysia and Spain. The Arrows team's participation in the event was jeopardised by debts owed to engine supplier Cosworth, legal action by former driver Jos Verstappen for being fired by the team, and investment bank Morgan Grenfell, who opposed possible investment by energy drinks brand Red Bull. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's regulatory body) allowed Arrows an extension to present their cars for scrutineering on Friday morning after missing Thursday afternoon's usual deadline, which they passed. The day before the race, Cosworth's managing directors and Arrows owner Tom Walkinshaw agreed payment for a supply of engines for the Grand Prix, allowing the team to compete.
During Friday free practice sessions, some teams experimented with a rear blue light to aid visibility in inclement weather. Drivers deemed the change ineffective. Jaguar presented the R3B, a highly updated version of the aerodynamically efficient R3, which was a total aerodynamic redesign. The car had redesigned front and rear wings, a new extractor profile, rear suspension and screens behind the front wheels. Williams adopted a new engine cover with a smaller section at the rear, allowing for a reduction in total dimensions at the FW24's rear, owing primarily to the BMW engine, which had less need to disperse heat than other engine brands. Renault debuted new bodywork at Silverstone while McLaren received a more powerful Mercedes-Benz engine.
Practice
Two one-hour practices on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday preceded the race. The first practice session on Friday morning took place in cloudy and wet weather conditions. The rain eased, but the track remained wet, and the ambient and asphalt temperatures were cold before a torrential downpour in the final ten minutes.
thumb|right|upright|[[Rubens Barrichello (pictured in 2002) set the pace during the free practice sessions before the race.]]
Barrichello lapped fastest on intermediate tyres at 1:33.531, 1.213 seconds faster than Button. The McLaren duo of Coulthard and Räikkönen, Jaguar's Eddie Irvine and his teammate Pedro de la Rosa, Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella, BAR's Jacques Villeneuve, Fisichella's teammate Takuma Sato and Sauber's Nick Heidfeld were in positions third through tenth. He avoided striking the barrier and stalled after the engine cut out, As a dry line appeared, lap times lowered and teams used intermediate rather than full wet tyres, but rain returned with more than ten minutes remaining. The rain subsided again at the session's conclusion. The slippery surface caught out a number of drivers during the session. Michael Schumacher set the early pace with his first quick lap, lapping at 1:20.750. His teammate Barrichello, Räikkönen, Arrows's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Villeneuve, Sato, Frentzen's teammate Enrique Bernoldi, Renault's Jarno Trulli and his teammate Button completed the top ten. Panis stopped at Vale turn with electrical issues 20 minutes in. Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Montoya, the McLaren duo of Coulthard and Räikkönen, Heidfeld, Button, Frentzen and Villeneuve rounded out the top ten.
Qualifying
thumb|right|[[Juan Pablo Montoya secured his fourth consecutive pole position with the fastest lap time in the qualifying session.]]
Each driver was allowed twelve laps during Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, with starting positions determined by the drivers' quickest laps. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107% of the quickest lap time in order to qualify for the race. Montoya claimed his fourth successive pole position of the season and the eighth of his career with a lap time of 1:18.998, the weekend's only lap sub-1:19, set on his final run in the session's final seconds. Following a change of rear wing, Barrichello was second, 0.034 seconds behind. He led early on, qualifying ahead of teammate Michael Schumacher for the third time in 2002. Barrichello lost time on his first run due to smoke from Button's engine failure at Becketts turn, and changed both wings for his second run. Michael Schumacher was third after taking nine of his twelve allocated laps. He installed new front and rear wings to better his Ferrari's balance. This was attributed to him losing a lot of time in high-speed turns and potentially not having power steering. The stewards rejected Minardi's request for Yoong to enter the race, citing "no exceptional circumstances".
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Warm-up
On race morning, a half-hour warm-up session was held for teams to shake down their race and spare cars in dry, cold and overcast conditions. Barrichello lapped fastest at 1:22.371 in the session's final minute. His teammate Michael Schumacher, Räikkönen, Sato, Montoya, Heidfeld, Villeneuve, Massa, Coulthard and Trulli followed in the top ten. McLaren gave him the spare car, and he briefly returned to the track in the final minutes. Frentzen stopped at Copse corner with an electronic launch control glitch. The total number of spectators was limited to 60,000 to demonstrate to the FIA that Silverstone's new access entry roads would be enough for the event. although some rain had fallen between the warm-up and the race. The air and track temperatures were between ; a 50% chance of rain was forecast. Barrichello attempted to select first gear starting the formation lap, but his Ferrari stalled on the dummy grid. Ferrari restarted his car with a replacement steering wheel but Barrichello was required to start at the rear of the grid. Rain began falling at the southern part of the track after lap one as Montoya led Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Räikkönen, Coulthard and Trulli. On lap two, Barrichello overtook Irvine for 13th. As the rain became heavier and the track became more slippery,
thumb|right|upright|[[Michael Schumacher (pictured in 2007) took the lead from Montoya on lap 16 and held it for the rest of the race for his seventh win of the season.]]
On lap 11, Barrichello attempted but failed to pass Button at Abbey turn.
Montoya retook the lead from Coulthard on lap 14 and Michael Schumacher took second shortly after. He hit a polysterene marker board and spun towards the track's centre. Barrichello maintained second place over Montoya with a 6.4-second fuel stop. His teammate Barrichello finished second, 14.578 seconds behind, through a tyre strategy devised by Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn. Barrichello was followed by Montoya in third. BAR scored their first championship points of the season after their two drivers ran reliably, He also lauded his Ferrari and attributed his victory to the tyres' performance and Brawn's strategy when the rain began falling. Richards attributed the BAR team's performance to perseverance, "If you keep plugging away and do your job well, it will come right." Coulthard said that it had been "a terrible Grand Prix for us. It was a screw up from start to finish, and whatever could go wrong, did go wrong." An engineer from a Michelin-shod team accused Dupasquier of "deluding himself," while its technical director Pascal Vasselon confirmed the company did not offer the appropriate tyre for the weather. He added it was a different problem to the one that stopped him at the earlier in the season.
Race classification
Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Driver
! scope="col" | Constructor
! scope="col" | Tyre
! scope="col" class="unsortable"|
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| Time/Retired
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Points
|-
! scope="col" | 1
| align="center" | 1
| data-sort-value="SCHM" | Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
|
| align="center" | 60
| 1:31:45.015
| align="center" | 3
| align="center" | 10
|-
! scope="col" | 2
| align="center" | 2
| data-sort-value="BAR" | Rubens Barrichello
| Ferrari
|
| align="center" | 60
| +14.578
| align="center" | 2
| align="center" | 6
|-
! scope="col" | 3
| align="center" | 6
| data-sort-value="MON" | Juan Pablo Montoya
| Williams-BMW
|
| align="center" | 60
| +31.661
| align="center" | 1
| align="center" | 4
|-
! scope="col" | 4
| align="center" | 11
| data-sort-value="VIL" | Jacques Villeneuve
| BAR-Honda
|
| align="center" | 59
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 9
| align="center" | 3
|-
! scope="col" | 5
| align="center" | 12
| data-sort-value="PAN" | Olivier Panis
| BAR-Honda
|
| align="center" | 59
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 13
| align="center" | 2
|-
! scope="col" | 6
| align="center" | 7
| data-sort-value="HEI" | Nick Heidfeld
| Sauber-Petronas
|
| align="center" | 59
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 10
| align="center" | 1
|-
! scope="col" | 7
| align="center" | 9
| data-sort-value="FIS" | Giancarlo Fisichella
| Jordan-Honda
|
| align="center" | 59
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 17
|
|-
! scope="col" | 8
| align="center" | 5
| data-sort-value="SCHR" | Ralf Schumacher
| Williams-BMW
|
| align="center" | 59
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 4
|
|-
! scope="col" | 9
| align="center" | 8
| data-sort-value="MAS" | Felipe Massa
| Sauber-Petronas
|
| align="center" | 59
| +1 Lap
| align="center" | 11
|
|-
! scope="col" | 10
| align="center" | 3
| data-sort-value="COU" | David Coulthard
| McLaren-Mercedes
|
| align="center" | 58
| +2 Laps
| align="center" | 6
|
|-
! scope="col" | 11
| align="center" | 17
| data-sort-value="DEL" | Pedro de la Rosa
| Jaguar-Cosworth
|
| align="center" | 58
| +2 Laps
| align="center" | 21
|
|-
! scope="col" | 12
| align="center" | 15
| data-sort-value="BUT" | Jenson Button
| Renault
|
| align="center" | 54
| Suspension
| align="center" | 12
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="13" |
| align="center" | 10
| data-sort-value="SAT" | Takuma Sato
| Jordan-Honda
|
| align="center" | 50
| Engine
| align="center" | 14
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="14" |
| align="center" | 4
| data-sort-value="RAI" | Kimi Räikkönen
| McLaren-Mercedes
|
| align="center" | 44
| Engine
| align="center" | 5
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="15" |
| align="center" | 14
| data-sort-value="TRU" | Jarno Trulli
| Renault
|
| align="center" | 29
| Electrical
| align="center" | 7
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="16" |
| align="center" | 21
| data-sort-value="BER" | Enrique Bernoldi
| Arrows-Cosworth
|
| align="center" | 28
| Driveshaft
| align="center" | 18
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="17" |
| align="center" | 16
| data-sort-value="IRV" | Eddie Irvine
| Jaguar-Cosworth
|
| align="center" | 23
| Spin
| align="center" | 19
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="18" |
| align="center" | 20
| data-sort-value="FRE" | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
| Arrows-Cosworth
|
| align="center" | 20
| Engine
| align="center" | 16
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="19" |
| align="center" | 24
| data-sort-value="SAL" | Mika Salo
| Toyota
|
| align="center" | 15
| Drivetrain
| align="center" | 8
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="20" |
| align="center" | 23
| data-sort-value="WEB" | Mark Webber
| Minardi-Asiatech
|
| align="center" | 9
| Clutch
| align="center" | 20
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="21" |
| align="center" | 25
| data-sort-value="MCN" | Allan McNish
| Toyota
|
| align="center" | 0
| Clutch
| align="center" | 15
|
|-
! scope="col" data-sort-value="22" |
| align="center" | 22
| data-sort-value="YOO" | Alex Yoong
| Minardi-Asiatech
|
| align="center"| —
| Broke 107% Rule
| align="center" data-sort-value="22" | —
|
|-class="sortbottom"
!colspan="9"|
|}
Notes
- – Rubens Barrichello started the race from the back of the grid after stalling on the formation lap.
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Constructor
! scope="col" | Points
|-
| align="left"| 10px
| align="center"| 1
| Ferrari
| align="left"| 118
|-
| align="left"| 10px
| align="center"| 2
| Williams-BMW
| align="left"| 61
|-
| align="left"| 10px
| align="center"| 3
| McLaren-Mercedes
| align="left"| 37
|-
| align="left"| 10px
| align="center"| 4
| Renault
| align="left"| 14
|-
| align="left"| 10px
| align="center"| 5
| Sauber-Petronas
| align="left"| 10
|-
!colspan=4|Sources: