The 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the 2003 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia on 23 March 2003 before 101,485 spectators. It was the second race of the 2003 Formula One World Championship and the fifth Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix. McLaren driver Kimi Räikkönen won the 56-lap race starting from seventh position. Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello finished second with Renault's Fernando Alonso third.
Before the race, McLaren's David Coulthard was leading the World Drivers' Championship however the Scot retired with electrical problems on lap three. Alonso qualified on pole position after setting the fastest lap time in the second qualifying session, becoming the youngest Formula One pole sitter. He maintained the lead at the start and held it until his first pit stop on lap 14. This promoted Räikkönen to first place, which he held for most of the rest of the race to achieve his maiden Formula One victory. Barrichello was 39.2 seconds down in second, and Alonso finished third, his first podium finish.
The result meant Räikkönen took over the World Drivers' Championship lead from his teammate Coulthard with 16 championship points. Coulthard's retirement dropped him to second ahead of Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya in third as Montoya failed to score any championship points. McLaren extended their World Constructors' Championship lead to ten championship points, with Ferrari moving from fourth to second and Renault retaining third with 14 races remaining in the season.
Background
The second of sixteen races in the 2003 Formula One World Championship, the Malaysian Grand Prix took place on March 23 at the 15-turn Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor. It was the fifth Formula One World Championship Malaysian Grand Prix. The Formula BMW Asian Championship, Formula Malaysia and Porsche Carrera Cup Asia held support races during the race weekend. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's governing body, had sanctioned a race in Malaysia since the 1960s, with the initial events staged in Singapore, then part of the Malaysian Federation, before moving to the Shah Alam Circuit. When the Formula One Grand Prix arrived in 1999, it was moved to the purpose-built Sepang International Circuit, where it remained until 2017.
After winning the season-opening two weeks earlier, McLaren driver David Coulthard led the World Drivers' Championship with ten championship points. Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya was second with eight championship points, followed by Coulthard's teammate Kimi Räikkönen with six, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher with five and Renault's Jarno Trulli on four. McLaren led the World Constructors' Championship with 16 championship points, seven more than Williams and ten ahead of Renault. Ferrari were fourth with five championship points, one ahead of Sauber in fifth.
Following the Australian Grand Prix on 9 March, the British American Racing (BAR), McLaren, Toyota and Williams teams tested for three days from 12 to 14 March at Spain's Circuito de Jerez before the Malaysian Grand Prix. Toyota's Cristiano da Matta set the pace on the first and second days. Takuma Sato, BAR's test driver, led on the third and final day. Felipe Massa, Ferrari's test driver, spent four days testing Bridgestone tyres at Italy's Fiorano Circuit.
The American-led invasion of Iraq began four days before the race, raising security worries for the Malaysian Grand Prix. Multiple drivers, including Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, expressed their desire for the race to proceed as planned. Jamaluddin Jarjis, Malaysia's junior finance minister, stated that the Grand Prix would take place, but that war concerns had discouraged European visitors from attending. The race organisers gathered to consider their next steps and decided to proceed with the race. The FIA and Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone granted Minardi's request to run an anti-war statement on the side of their cars after team owner Paul Stoddart proposed it to Malaysian ministers.
Michael Schumacher lost the championship lead in Australia for the first time since September 2000. Despite this, he stated the competition was closer and was confident he had a good chance of winning in Malaysia. While he was happy to win the Australian Grand Prix, Coulthard cautioned against dismissing Ferrari's performance. He aimed for a podium finish in Malaysia. Montoya said it would be "pretty difficult" to judge how well Williams would perform at Sepang, "We might be really good or we might be 10th. I don't know." He thought the hot climate should suit the Williams car. Renault's Fernando Alonso said of his chances, "It was a good race in Australia. But I can't say how it's going to be here. We're trying hard to get more power in the car and once we get that, it'll be good for us."
A total of ten teams (each represented by a different constructor) entered two race drivers each for the race with no changes from the season entry list. Bridgestone and Michelin were the two companies manufacturing tyres for the race. Since the inaugural Malaysian Grand Prix, the main difficulty in event preparation has been heat dissipation, which is exacerbated by Malaysia's high temperatures and humidity. All the teams had different solutions to combat this. Ferrari fitted cut chimneys and enlarged the vents in the back of the bodywork. The team continued to use the year-old F2002 chassis, while their fuel supplier Shell provided enhanced fuel to help improve engine performance. Williams took a similar approach, although McLaren chose not to use chimneys in conjunction with exhaust terminals. Renault used the test session to run an upgraded engine and assess various cooling systems for the R23 car. BAR used a revised Honda engine specification and Toyota modified the TF103's fuel circuit to address the fuel pressure system issue that affected Olivier Panis' car in Australia.
Private test session Teams that opted for limited testing during the season were given a two-hour test session on Friday morning. The track was wet from overnight thunderstorms, but the air and track temperatures were warm, so drivers used intermediate tyres before switching to dry compounds. Alonso set the best lap time of 1:37.693, ahead of Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella, Trulli and Renault's test driver Allan McNish. Some drivers spun during the session. Jaguar's Mark Webber put his left-rear wheel onto the grass under braking and spun into the turn 14 gravel trap on the start of the back straight at high speed. He returned to the pit lane with suspension damage.
Practice and warm-up sessions
There were three practice sessions preceding Sunday's race: one 60-minute session on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. Conditions were dry and warm for the first practice session on Friday morning and the track was completely dry. Coulthard set the quickest lap just before the session ended, 1:36.102. He was 0.129 seconds faster than Alonso, followed by Renault teammate Trulli. The Williams pair of Montoya and Ralf Schumacher, BAR's Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher, Button's teammate Jacques Villeneuve, Barrichello and Panis completed the top ten. Some drivers ran off the track during the session. Antônio Pizzonia's Jaguar lost its front wing after running into a gravel trap. Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen stopped at turn seven with a faulty electrical connector and his car was towed into the pit lane by marshals. He drove the spare Sauber car for the rest of the session. Jordan's Ralph Firman's ran into the gravel trap when the front-left suspension failed under braking for turn 15.
Saturday morning's second practice session was held in humid and warm conditions. Coulthard was fastest with a lap time of 1:36.777, 0.421 seconds ahead of Trulli. Alonso, Montoya, Fisichella, Panis, Räikkönen, Pizzonia, Ralf Schumacher and Firman made up positions three to ten. Around 25 minutes into the session, Michael Schumacher went backwards into the gravel trap leaving the left-hand turn 12 at . He stopped on the far side, damaging the undertray, which Ferrari replaced. His anti-stall system triggered, allowing him to extricate himself from the gravel and return to the Ferrari garage. Coulthard spun at the final corner while Webber made a driver error but avoided damaging his Jaguar.
In the final practice, which took place in humid and warm conditions later on Saturday morning, midway through the session, Räikkönen set the quickest lap time of 1:36.557, 0.220 seconds faster than teammate Coulthard. Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Da Matta, Trulli, Montoya, Button, Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher followed in the top ten. During the session, Coulthard ran off the track and into the gravel traps twice, first at turn six and again at turn seven, but his car was not damaged either time. Justin Wilson's left-rear wheel came off the Minardi car on his first lap. His car was recovered to the pit lane. A 15-minute warm-up session held in dry and hot weather saw Räikkönen go fastest with a 1:37.506 lap, followed by his teammate Coulthard, Barrichello, Alonso, Panis, Trulli, Button, Montoya, Villeneuve and Ralf Schumacher.
Qualifying
There were two one-hour qualifying sessions on both Friday and Saturday afternoons. The World Drivers' Championship standings determined the running order for the first session (first to last), with the second session's running order reversed from the results of the first session (slowest to quickest). In each session, each driver recorded one timed lap with no other cars on track, and the starting order was set by the quickest laps in the second session. The first qualifying session was held in hot and humid conditions that gradually became less intense. Michael Schumacher was fastest in all three sectors, lapping at 1:34.980. His teammate Barrichello was the last driver to set a lap after crashing in Australia. He was less happy with his car's balance and was second, 0.7 seconds slower. Montoya had severe oversteer in his car and pushed hard to go third. Räikkönen was fourth after locking up into turn one during his lap. Coulthard was the first to set a lap, although he drove conservatively to avoid making an error, going fifth. Trulli was the faster Renault driver in sixth. Nick Heidfeld ran a clean lap to finish seventh after Sauber adjusted his car's aerodynamic set-up to counter ride height issues. His teammate Frentzen was eighth after changing his aerodynamic setup. Button took ninth because his oversteer could not be dialled out with racing setup changes. Alonso was unable to match his teammate Trulli due to more oversteer than he wanted in the final sector, going 10th. Da Matta's Toyota had excessive oversteer and lacked traction due to it jumping around on the bumps, as well as him locking the tyres in the final corner, leaving him 11th. Fisichella was 12th due to lost time with excess tyre graining in the final three turns. Ralf Schumacher battled heavy oversteer on his lap and came 13th despite making no major mistakes on his fast lap. Panis had similar troubles to teammate Da Matta, but he bounced on the kerbing and took 14th. Villeneuve (15th) lost time as he ran wide at turn 14 and was slower down the back straight. Webber, 16th lost time due to a fuel pick-up issue. Firman in 17th had excessive oversteer. Jos Verstappen was the faster Minardi driver in 18th. His teammate Wilson struggled in the first sector because of his unfamiliarlity with the track and ran sideways in the final sector, taking 19th. Pizzonia did not set a lap time; his car would not start because of fuel pick-up issues.