The 2003 German Grand Prix (officially known as the Grosser Mobil 1 Preis von Deutschland 2003) was a Formula One motor race that took place on 3 August 2003 at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim, Germany. It was the twelfth round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship. Juan Pablo Montoya took pole position for the race in the BMW Williams and went on to take the race win, ahead of David Coulthard for McLaren and Jarno Trulli for Renault.
Background
The event was held at the Hockenheimring in Hockenheim for the 27th time in the circuit's history, across the weekend of 1–3 August. The Grand Prix was the twelfth round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship and the 56th running of the German Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship.
Championship standings before the race
Going into the weekend, Michael Schumacher led the Drivers' Championship with 69 points, 7 points ahead of Kimi Räikkönen in second and 14 ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya in third. Ferrari, with 118 points, led the Constructors' Championship from BMW Williams and McLaren, who were second and third with 108 and 95 points, respectively. Pizzonia would return to Formula One in 2004 as a test driver for Williams.
Practice
Three free practice sessions were held for the event. McLaren driver David Coulthard set the fastest time in the first session, ahead of the Renaults of Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso, in second and third places respectively. The second session was topped by Juan Pablo Montoya in the BMW Williams, ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher. The same three led the third practice session, but now in the order Schumacher, Barrichello, Montoya.
Friday drivers
Three teams in the 2003 Constructors' Championship had the right to run a third car during an additional private testing session on Friday. These drivers did not compete in qualifying or the race.
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Q1 Time !! Q2 Time !! Gap !! Grid
|-
! 1
| 3
| data-sort-value="MON" | Juan Pablo Montoya
| Williams-BMW
| 1:14.673
| 1:15.167
| align="center" | —
| align="center" | 1
|-
! 2
| 4
| data-sort-value="SCR" | Ralf Schumacher
| Williams-BMW
| 1:14.427
| 1:15.185
| +0.018
| align="center" | 2
|-
! 3
| 2
| data-sort-value="BAR" | Rubens Barrichello
| Ferrari
| 1:15.399
| 1:15.488
| +0.321
| align="center" | 3
|-
! 4
| 7
| data-sort-value="TRU" | Jarno Trulli
| Renault
| 1:15.004
| 1:15.679
| +0.512
| align="center" | 4
|-
! 5
| 6
| data-sort-value="RAI" | Kimi Räikkönen
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 1:15.276
| 1:15.874
| +0.707
| align="center" | 5
|-
! 6
| 1
| data-sort-value="SCm" | Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| 1:15.456
| 1:15.898
| +0.731
| align="center" | 6
|-
! 7
| 20
| data-sort-value="pan" | Olivier Panis
| Toyota
| 1:15.471
| 1:16.034
| +0.867
| align="center" | 7
|-
! 8
| 8
| data-sort-value="alo" | Fernando Alonso
| Renault
| 1:15.214
| 1:16.483
| +1.316
| align="center" | 8
|-
! 9
| 21
| data-sort-value="da m" | Cristiano da Matta
| Toyota
| 1:16.450
| 1:16.550
| +1.383
| align="center" | 9
|-
! 10
| 5
| data-sort-value="cou" | David Coulthard
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 1:15.557
| 1:16.666
| +1.499
| align="center" | 10
|-
! 11
| 14
| data-sort-value="web" | Mark Webber
| Jaguar-Cosworth
| 1:15.030
| 1:16.775
| +1.608
| align="center" | 11
|-
! 12
| 11
| data-sort-value="fis" | Giancarlo Fisichella
| Jordan-Ford
| 1:17.111
| 1:16.831
| +1.664
| align="center" | 12
|-
! 13
| 16
| data-sort-value="vil" | Jacques Villeneuve
| BAR-Honda
| No time
| 1:17.090
| +1.923
| align="center" | 13
|-
! 14
| 10
| data-sort-value="fre" | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
| Sauber-Petronas
| 1:15.968
| 1:17.169
| +2.002
| align="center" | 14
|-
! 15
| 9
| data-sort-value="hei" | Nick Heidfeld
| Sauber-Petronas
| 1:15.985
| 1:17.557
| +2.390
| align="center" | 15
|-
! 16
| 15
| data-sort-value="wil" | Justin Wilson
| Jaguar-Cosworth
| 1:15.373
| 1:18.021
| +2.854
| align="center" | 16
|-
! 17
| 17
| data-sort-value="but" | Jenson Button
| BAR-Honda
| 1:15.754
| 1:18.085
| +2.918
| align="center" | 17
|-
! 18
| 12
| data-sort-value="fir" | Ralph Firman
| Jordan-Ford
| 1:17.044
| 1:18.341
| +3.174
| align="center" | 18
|-
! 19
| 19
| data-sort-value="ver" | Jos Verstappen
| Minardi-Cosworth
| 1:17.702
| 1:19.023
| +3.856
| align="center" | 19
|-
! 20
| 18
| data-sort-value="kie" | Nicolas Kiesa
| Minardi-Cosworth
| No time
| 1:19.174
| +4.007
| align="center" | 20
|-
!colspan="8"| Sources:
|}
Notes
- – Jacques Villeneuve was left without time in Q1 after spinning off the track and abandoning the attempt.
- – Nicolas Kiesa was left without a time in Q1, due to an anti-stall system issue in the car.
Race report
thumb|[[Kimi Räikkönen and Ralph Firman were among the six drivers that retired on the first lap.]]
thumb|[[Juan Pablo Montoya wins the Grand Prix.]]
At the start, Juan Pablo Montoya kept his lead but teammate Ralf Schumacher with a bad start was under threat from Rubens Barrichello and Kimi Räikkönen. The German moved to the left and, knowingly or not, squeezed his rivals. The two collided and crashed out of the race, before Schumacher retired at the end of the lap with damage to his sidepod. In a reaction to the frontrunners braking, Heinz-Harald Frentzen was hit from behind by Ralph Firman and Jacques Villeneuve was spun by Justin Wilson. Wilson and Firman then collided to complete the mayhem.
The safety car was deployed to clear the track and after four laps the race resumed. Montoya was leading the Renaults of Jarno Trulli and Fernando Alonso. After the first round of pit stops, Montoya had stretched his lead to over twelve seconds, despite experiencing issues with his throttle. Michael Schumacher overtook Alonso on lap 30, but the pack was now more than 20 seconds behind the leader. After two more rounds of pit stops, Schumacher also passed Trulli, but with four laps to go, his rear left tyre burst and he retreated to the pits for a replacement. Montoya won the race, over a minute ahead of tenth-starting David Coulthard in second and Trulli in third. The Italian was treated by the doctors for suffering a heat stroke.
This was Montoya's second win, Coulthard's second podium and Trulli's first podium of the season. With Olivier Panis and Cristiano da Matta finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, this was Toyota's first double points finish. Finally, it was Michael Schumacher's worst race since his retirement in Brazil, decreasing his lead in the Drivers' Championship to just six points over Montoya.
|}
Championship standings after the race
Montoya's second win of the season, which turned out to be his fifth consecutive podium, elevated him to second in the championship behind Michael Schumacher, not even a victory of points behind him. Montoya overtook Räikkönen for second, three points clear from him. With four races to go, the top five drivers were covered by only 22 points. Meanwhile, Williams and McLaren were able to decrease their respective points disadvantage towards Ferrari, only being two and seventeen points behind the latter in the championship.
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" | +/–
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Driver
! scope="col" | Points
|-
! scope="row" | 10px
| align="center"| 1
| Michael Schumacher*
| 71
|-
! scope="row" | 10px 1
| align="center"| 2
| Juan Pablo Montoya*
| 65
|-
! scope="row" | 10px 1
| align="center"| 3
| Kimi Räikkönen*
| 62
|-
! scope="row" | 10px
| align="center"| 4
| Ralf Schumacher*
| 53
|-
! scope="row" | 10px
| align="center"| 5
| Rubens Barrichello*
| 49
|-
!colspan=4|Source:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" | +/–
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Constructor
! scope="col" | Points
|-
! scope="row" | 10px
| align="center"| 1
| Ferrari*
| 120
|-
! scope="row" | 10px
| align="center"| 2
| Williams-BMW*
| 118
|-
! scope="row" | 10px
| align="center"| 3
| McLaren-Mercedes*
| 103
|-
! scope="row" | 10px
| align="center"| 4
| Renault*
| 66
|-
! scope="row" | 10px
| align="center"| 5
| BAR-Honda
| 15
|-
!colspan=4|Source: