2003-09-14 F2003 GA (1) Michael Schumacher ITA - Monza 1
The 2003 Italian Grand Prix, was the fourteenth round of the 2003 FIA Formula One World Championship, which took place at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza on 14 September 2003.L[1] The race would see Michael Schumacher claim a dominant victory for Ferrari to reignite his title challenge, beating closest challenger Juan Pablo Montoya.
The start saw Schumacher have to go on the defensive into the Rettifilo Chicane, fending off a challenge from Montoya around the outside of the right-left combination. They duly exited the corner still side-by-side, as behind Jarno Trulli leapt up to fourth in the Renault to challenge Barrichello. The Schumacher/Montoya fight lasted through to the second chicane, with the #1 Ferrari ultimately emerging ahead of the #3 Williams-BMW.
The first round of stops would see Schumacher manage to establish a small gap back to Montoya, although the Colombian ace would set a series of fastest laps to close the gap back up. However, this came at the expense of having less fuel in the car, and so the the #3 Williams would stop before he even managed to send a lunge at the #1 Ferrari.
The race was therefore effectively over from that moment on, with Schumacher pitting for a second time a few laps later without losing the lead. His only concern would instead be back markers, although the sight of a scarlet Ferrari in their mirrors was usually enough for them to jump out of the way.
Montoya and Barrichello completed the podium ahead of Räikkönen and Gené, with Jacques Villeneuve, Mark Webber and Alonso claiming the rest of the points.[1]
Despite being one of the more dull F1 races in history the 2003 Italian Grand Prix would set a new record as the fastest, having been completed at an average speed of 247.585 km/h (153.842 mph).
