It has often been said that you cannot win a race on the first lap, but you can certainly lose one there and once again this came true at the 2002 Brazilian GP. For the second race in a row Michael Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya started from the front of the grid and got tangled up in the first few corners. This time around it was Montoya who damaged his car, had to stop for a new front wing and then played catch-up for the rest of the race.
| Position | Driver | Team | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Schumacher (D) | Ferrari | 10 |
| 2 | Ralf Schumacher (D) | Williams BMW | 6 |
| 3 | David Coulthard (GB) | McLaren Mercedes | 4 |
| 4 | Jenson Button (GB) | Renault | 3 |
| 5 | Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) | Williams BMW | 2 |
| 6 | Mika Salo (FIN) | Toyota | 1 |
| Fastest Qualifier: Juan Pablo Montoya (COL) | |||
Complete Brazilian GP results.
Schumacher, driving the new Ferrari F2002 for the first time this year, went on to win despite a hard challenge from his brother Ralf in the closing laps. Ralf’s Williams BMW shadowed the Ferrari looking for a passing opportunity and crossed the finish line less than six tenths of a second behind in one of the closest and most exciting finishes in quite a while.
Last year’s winner David Coulthard was third and scored his first points of the year for McLaren. He spent much of the race following the Renaults of Jenson Button and Jarno Trulli before passing them during their pit stops. Button held on for fourth after Trulli retired with mechanical problems from that position with just ten laps to go.
Pole-sitter Juan Pablo Montoya had beaten Michael Schumacher into the first corner by late-breaking but the extra speed he was carrying caused him to run wide at Turn Two and allowed Schumacher to get alongside and then pass him as they went through Turns Three and Four. On the exit he barely tapped the back of Schumacher’s Ferrari but it was enough to break off his front wing. He dropped to the back after his stop for repairs but then started a charge through the back-markers including setting the fastest lap of the race on lap 60. He had fought his way into sixth place when Trulli’s retirement promoted him to fifth and he then closed to less than a second behind Button at the finish.
Mika Salo drove a solid race to finish sixth, scoring his second point for Toyota this season.
The Jaguars of Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa finished seventh and eighth, out of the points but better than they had expected.
Local favourite Rubens Barrichello had apparently started with a light fuel load and had passed his Ferrari teammate for the lead when his car suffered a hydraulics failure on lap 16. Barrichello was driving last year’s — supposedly more reliable — car but his luck has never been good at his home Grand Prix and he has only ever managed to finish the race once.
The Williams BMW team with their horsepower advantage and Michelin tyres had been the pre-race favourites at this track and, had Montoya not tangled with Michael Schumacher on the first lap, they could certainly have fulfilled that prediction. Michael Schumacher was the only finisher in the top ten on Bridgestone tyres.