The 2003 season opened under a raft of new sporting regulations introduced by the FIA under president Max Mosley. The points system was expanded to cover the top eight finishers, qualifying was split into two separate one-hour sessions on Friday and Saturday with each driver completing one timed lap in isolation, and cars were placed under parc fermé conditions after qualifying, preventing significant setup changes or refuelling before the race. Sunday warm-up sessions were abolished.
Four drivers made their Formula One debuts: CART champion Cristiano da Matta at Toyota, International Formula 3000 champion Justin Wilson at Minardi, Antônio Pizzonia at Jaguar, and Formula Nippon driver Ralph Firman at Jordan. Neither Ferrari nor McLaren ran their fully new 2003 cars — Ferrari entered the redesigned F2002B and McLaren the heavily revised MP4-17D. Michael Schumacher, the reigning five-time champion, was installed as the favourite by bookmakers in both Australia and the United Kingdom.
Two one-hour qualifying sessions were held on Friday and Saturday afternoon, each driver completing a single timed lap in isolation. Michael Schumacher secured the 51st pole position of his career with a lap of 1:27.173, copying teammate Rubens Barrichello's setup after his own crash in Saturday morning practice. Montoya lined up third and Frentzen fourth. Coulthard qualified only 11th after running slightly wide at turn one. Minardi owner Paul Stoddart controversially instructed Jos Verstappen and Justin Wilson to set their times early and pull into the pit lane, avoiding the parc fermé regime so mechanics could continue working on the cars. Both drivers were permitted to start on the strength of their first-session times.
The race started in overcast conditions before 116,700 spectators, the lowest attendance at Albert Park since 1998. Heavy rain had fallen before the race but ceased around 15 minutes before the start. Most drivers started on intermediate tyres while Montoya and Olivier Panis chose dry grooved rubber. Räikkönen was called into the pit lane at the end of the formation lap for dry tyres after the McLaren drivers reported a drier-than-expected circuit.
Schumacher led initially from Barrichello, who received a drive-through penalty on lap five for jumping the start. On lap six, Barrichello lost the rear of his Ferrari at Whiteford corner and spun into the tyre barrier, scattering debris. Firman crashed through the debris one lap later. Schumacher pitted for dry tyres on the same lap but mechanics struggled to fit the left-rear tyre, dropping him to tenth. Montoya assumed the lead ahead of Fernando Alonso and Jarno Trulli of Renault.
The safety car was deployed on lap nine to clear debris, and again when Mark Webber's Jaguar was stranded after a suspension failure. Montoya built a commanding lead each time racing resumed. Räikkönen inherited the lead after pit cycles but was hit with a drive-through penalty for exceeding the pit lane speed limit by 1.1 km/h due to a speed controller glitch, dropping to seventh after serving it on lap 39.
On lap 44, the right aerodynamic bargeboard turning vanes detached from Schumacher's Ferrari and became lodged beneath the sidepod. Race control displayed the black flag with orange disc and Schumacher pitted for repairs, falling to fourth. With ten laps remaining Montoya appeared set for victory, but on lap 48 he ran wide over the kerbs at Jones corner, spun 180 degrees into the tyre barrier, and rejoined in second — handing Coulthard the lead he would not relinquish.
Coulthard crossed the line 8.675 seconds ahead of Montoya, with Räikkönen a further half-second back in third. Schumacher finished fourth, his first race off the podium since the 2001 Italian Grand Prix, ending Ferrari's 53-race run of podium finishes stretching back to the 1999 Malaysian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso scored the first two championship points of his career in seventh. There were seven lead changes among four different drivers.
Coulthard led the World Drivers' Championship with ten points, followed by Montoya on eight and Räikkönen on six. Schumacher fell to fourth, losing the championship lead he had held since the 2000 United States Grand Prix. McLaren led the Constructors' Championship with 16 points, seven ahead of Williams.
Mosley called the race "a very, very exciting race and completely unpredictable," rating it eight or nine out of ten and crediting the new regulations. Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn admitted the team had chosen the wrong tyre compound at the start and switched to dry tyres too late. Montoya acknowledged he was at fault for the spin that cost him the victory, describing the overall race as "pretty disastrous."
Gallery · 4 related images
