The 2003 United States Grand Prix (formally the 2003 United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on September 28, 2003, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the fifteenth and penultimate race of the 2003 Formula One World Championship and the fourth United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher won the 73-lap race after starting seventh. McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen finished second from a pole position start, with Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen third, his first podium finish in three years and his last.
Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship before the race, with Williams leading his team Ferrari in the World Constructors' Championship. Räikkönen began from pole position after setting the fastest qualifying lap in the second qualifying session. He led for the first 18 laps before making a pit stop for rain tyres due to changing weather conditions. Six different drivers shared the race lead throughout the race due to changing weather conditions. Michael Schumacher overtook British American Racing (BAR) driver Jenson Button to take the lead on lap 38, holding it for the rest of the race to claim his sixth victory of the season and the 70th of his career.
The race result increased Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship to nine championship points over Räikkönen, while Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya remained third but could no longer win the title because he finished sixth following a collision with Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello on the second lap that earned him a drive-through penalty. Ferrari retook the World Constructors' Championship lead from Williams with a three-point advantage. McLaren were another 16 championship points behind with one race remaining in the season.
Background
The 2003 United States Grand Prix was the penultimate round of the 2003 Formula One World Championship, held on 28 September 2003, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) road course in Speedway, Indiana, north of Indianapolis. It was the fourth United States Grand Prix held at Indianapolis, which had previously hosted the Indianapolis 500 as part of the Formula One World Championship from to , since the race returned to the series in 2000 after a nine-year absence. The Porsche Supercup held support races during the weekend.
Following his victory at the two weeks earlier, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 82 championship points, three ahead of Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya in second and another four ahead of McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen in third. Montoya's teammate Ralf Schumacher was fourth with 58 championship points and Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was fifth with 55 championship points. With two races left in the season and 10 championship points on offer for victory, Michael Schumacher could take his record-breaking sixth world title if he won, Räikkönen was third and Montoya sixth. Even if Montoya won the season-ending , Schumacher would be the champion if he scored no more championship points, having won more races than Montoya. Williams led the World Constructors' Championship with 141 championship points, four more than Ferrari in second. McLaren were third with 120 championship points. Renault were fourth with 79 championship points, with British American Racing (BAR) fifth with 18 championship points.
Following the Italian Grand Prix on 14 September, all teams tested at various European racing tracks in preparation for the United States Grand Prix. McLaren, Renault and Toyota all tested for two days at Spain's Circuit de Catalunya, while Williams and Jordan tested for three days at England's Silverstone Circuit. Ferrari did three days of testing at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain, with Sauber joining on the first two days, BAR on the final two days and Toyota on all four days. Minardi conducted a comparison test between its PS03 vehicle and the outdated Arrows A23 car at the Mugello Circuit in Italy. Toyota's Olivier Panis spent a day at France's Circuit Paul Ricard testing aerodynamic modifications on the TF103 car. Ferrari shook down the F2003-GA's electronic components and its setup at the Monza Circuit and its private Fiorano Circuit in Italy.
Michael Schumacher was the bookmakers' favourite to win the race. He said his team were prepared for the event and were motivated more after winning in Italy, adding: "Every tiny error has its consequences. Whoever is able to exploit the resources during the weekend will come out on top." Montoya felt convinced his car would perform well at Indianapolis because its engine was suited for IMS's main straight, and he anticipated a close duel with his championship rivals. He told reporters that he did not have to win the Grand Prix, just finish ahead of Michael Schumacher and Räikkönen to become World Champion in Japan. Räikkönen noted he had not yet finished a race at Indianapolis but said McLaren needed to attempt to be faster than Michael Schumacher and Montoya. He stated that the MP4-17D's characteristics would be better suited at Indianapolis than at Monza, and that he needed a strong finish late in the season to remain in contention for the championship.
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA; Formula One's governing body) president Max Mosley warned Ferrari, Williams, and McLaren and their drivers that any evidence of team orders in Indianapolis following their ban in October 2002 due to Barrichello being ordered to let teammate Michael Schumacher win the would be referred to the race stewards for thorough analysis. Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn argued that a driver who is not in championship contention should not interfere with another driver who is. Williams technical director Patrick Head stated that the team would let his drivers pass each other rather than the squad. McLaren owner Ron Dennis predicted that team orders would not be an issue in the final two races, expecting that teammates would help each other in the championship battle.
Because most teams were concentrating on the season, they did not make significant changes to their cars for the event. The three championship-contending teams in Ferrari, Williams and McLaren were the expectations. BMW and Ferrari brought enhanced versions of their engines as well as different aerodynamic car appendage changes. McLaren also made minor aerodynamic changes, and BAR was the only non-front-running team to bring an important innovation. Honda, BAR's engine supplier, presented an upgraded power unit and a new gearbox.
The event included ten constructors, each with two race drivers. Allan McNish (Renault), Björn Wirdheim (Jordan) and Gianmaria Bruni (Minardi) were the three drivers who drove a third car in only the Friday private test session. Ralph Firman returned to Jordan after Zsolt Baumgartner replaced him for the previous two rounds due to an inner ear imbalance Firman got in an accident during practice for the two races earlier. BAR's Jenson Button was cleared to compete after a high-speed crash during testing in Jerez that forced him to visit a London hospital for a check-up. Ralf Schumacher returned to Williams after missing the Italian race due to a headache suffered during a test session at Monza, replacing test driver Marc Gené.
Private test session Teams that choose limited testing during the season were given a two-hour test session on Friday morning. The session took place in dry, cool weather, with a hint of drizzle in the second hour but not enough to disrupt operations. Renault's Jarno Trulli set the fastest lap time of 1:10.986, just 0.001 second faster than teammate Fernando Alonso. McNish was third, with Jaguar's Mark Webber fourth and Justin Wilson fifth. Some drivers went off the circuit during testing. A rubber seal came out of a crack between two concrete slabs on the main straight 19 minutes into the session, necessitating a four-minute stoppage to allow marshals to clear the debris.
Practice and warm-up sessions There were three practice sessions preceding Sunday's race: one 60-minute session on Friday morning and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday morning. The FIA moved the start time of all Saturday's events by an hour to better accommodate world television viewers due to the title duel. The area was cloudy as the first session began, and everyone wanted to get some running done as soon as possible. The rain fell steadily and intensified halfway through practice, and the FIA permitted teams to run extreme rain tyres to prepare for a probable wet-weather race. Trulli lapped fastest at 1:11.153, 0.186 seconds quicker than Ralf Schumacher in second. Panis, Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Alonso, Webber, Montoya, Räikkönen and his teammate David Coulthard followed in the top ten. Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella's engine failed on the exit of turn 12 and spilled oil onto the banked turn 13 after 22 minutes, stopping practice. His car stopped on the main straight with smoke billowing from it, prompting its removal from the circuit to the pit lane and oil cleaning by marshals. The work took almost 20 minutes to allow the session to resume. Fisichella's teammate Firman stopped in the gravel at the exit of turn ten towards the session's end.
The second practice session was held on a circuit in cool, overcast weather with damp parts due to nighttime rain and electrical thunderstorms. The sun later shined on the circuit and it began drying. Trulli maintained his pace with a lap of 1:12.408, ahead of Ralf Schumacher, Montoya, Barrichello, Alonso, Toyota's Cristiano da Matta, Panis, Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and the Jaguar pair of Webber and Wilson. A fuel pressure issue caused Michael Schumacher to stop his Ferrari on his installation lap at turn nine two minutes into the session and marshals removed the car from the track. Air and track temperatures rose for the final practice session. Barrichello's lap of 1:11.112 was fastest, 0.012 seconds faster than second-placed Trulli. Michael Schumacher, Montoya, Coulthard, Räikkönen, Panis, Webber, Ralf Schumacher and Alonso were in positions three through ten. Ralf Schumacher outbraked himself into turn eight, slid through the wet grass, and damaged his car's right side hitting the tyre wall. The waving of yellow flags briefly disrupted on-circuit activities. Da Matta's engine failed going through turn 12, laying oil across that corner and the pit lane entry.
Alonso set the quickest lap time of 1:12.079 in the 15-minute warm-up session that preceded the final qualifying session in partly cloudy weather, followed by Montoya, Panis, Räikkönen, Barrichello, Da Matta, Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher and Webber. Trulli's Renault suffered front and right-hand damage in two minor crashes with the turn 11 tyre wall late in the session.
Qualifying