The 2002 San Marino Grand Prix (formally the Gran Premio di San Marino 2002) was a Formula One motor race held before between 90,000 and 100,000 spectators on 14 April 2002 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. It was the fourth round of the 2002 Formula One World Championship and the 22nd San Marino Grand Prix. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher won the 62-lap race from pole position. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished in second and Williams's Ralf Schumacher was third.
Going into the event, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship from Ralf Schumacher while Williams led Ferrari in the World Constructors' Championship. After setting the fastest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session, Michael Schumacher started the Grand Prix from pole position and led for the majority of the race to claim his third victory of the season and 56th of his career. Barrichello finished second, 17.907 seconds behind, with Ralf Schumacher third, another 1.808 seconds back.
The race result meant Michael Schumacher increased his lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 14 championship points ahead of Ralf Schumacher and 17 ahead of Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya. With thirteen races left in the season, Ferrari reclaimed the lead in the World Constructors' Championship, three championship points ahead of Williams.
Background
The 2002 San Marino Grand Prix was the fourth round of seventeen in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and took place on 14 April 2002 at the anti-clockwise Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Emilia-Romagna in Northern Italy, away from the small principality of San Marino. It was the 22nd San Marino Grand Prix, the season's first European race, and one of two Grands Prix to be held in Italy. There were eleven teams (each representing a different constructor) with two drivers each for the Grand Prix, with no changes from the season entry list.
Going into the race, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 24 championship points, eight ahead of Williams's Ralf Schumacher. Juan Pablo Montoya, the second Williams driver, was third with 14 championship points, while Renault's Jenson Button was fourth with 6. Williams led the World Constructors' Championship with 30 championship points, six ahead of Ferrari. McLaren and Renault were third and fourth with eight and six championship points, respectively.
Following the on 31 March, eight of the eleven teams tested their cars, racing setups, tyres, car components and reliability checks for three days at Spain's Circuit Ricardo Tormo from 2 to 4 April as preparation for the San Marino Grand Prix. Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was fastest on the first day, with McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen leading the second and final days. Ferrari spent five days testing electronics, Bridgestone tyres, and an artificially wet circuit at their private test track, Italy's Fiorano Circuit, alongside Michael Schumacher and test driver Luca Badoer. Rubens Barrichello and teammate Michael Schumacher tested the Ferrari F2002's racing setup and ran extensive runs at Italy's Mugello Circuit. Minardi's Mark Webber spent a day testing the PS02's car and electrical components at Italy's Misano Adriatico track. Arrows were the only team that did not test due to a lack of finance, instead focusing on working privately at its headquarters in Leafield.
Michael Schumacher expected Williams to be the best team at Imola due to their car's top speed, adding, "From our experience last year, we’re aware that the race won’t be easy, but we also know that we’ve improved since then." Barrichello had collected no championship points in the first three races, but declared his championship would begin in Imola with the F2002 car, "I've been in the lead three times, and I've retired three times. That means that sooner or later I will win." Ralf Schumacher won his first Grand Prix at Imola the previous year and felt there was no reason Williams could not be competitive because the circuit's layout suited him.
At Imola, teams worked on braking systems, although the intermittent rain during the Friday free practice sessions prevented material experimentation. Several teams tested wider air intakes to improve brake disc cooling. Ferrari delivered four F2002s and offered one to Barrichello, who had driven a year-old F2001B car for the opening three rounds. McLaren introduced a new rear suspension designed for the MP4-17's Michelin tyres while Jordan added an additional wing profile on the EJ12's anti-roll bar. Renault introduced new front wing endplates but not the suspension tested in Spain. Honda supplied British American Racing (BAR) and Jordan with the latest development of its V10 engine, the RA002E, which was modified to reduce internal friction and increase RPMs. Toyota debuted a new engine with improved driveability, as well as revised front and rear wings, at Imola.
Practice Preceding the race were two one-hour practices on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The first practice session took place on Friday morning in cold, overcast and wet weather conditions, the first time in the season teams and drivers experienced cool and wet conditions at a Grand Prix. Rain fell on the circuit hours before the practice and continued to fall severely until it eased at the halfway point. Several drivers get acquainted with the damp conditions since rain was expected for qualifying. Michael Schumacher lapped fastest with a time of 1:37.486, ahead of Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella, Barrichello, Räikkönen, Arrows's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Renault's Jarno Trulli, Sauber's Felipe Massa, Ralf Schumacher, McLaren's David Coulthard and Heidfeld in positions two to ten. Multiple drivers aquaplaned off the track and into the grass or the gravel traps during the practice.
By the second practice session later in the afternoon, the rain had stopped and the air and track temperatures had risen marginally. The circuit was still wet and had standing water, however some drivers used intermediate tyres. Michael Schumacher set the day's fastest lap of 1:36.898. Barrichello, Fisichella, the McLaren pairing of Coulthard and Räikkönen, Frentzen, Trulli, Massa, Montoya and Ralf Schumacher completed the top ten. Drivers again went off the track during the session. Trulli damaged his Renault's right-front suspension and removed the front wing against the Variante Bassa chicane barrier before the pit lane. On the start/finish straight's grass verge, he abandoned the car facing the opposite direction. With 15 minutes remaining, Michael Schumacher was lapping faster when he lost control of his Ferrari's rear clipping a kerb exiting the Variante Alta chicane after running slightly off the racing line overtaking an Arrows car. He stalled despite regaining control and stopped at the side of the circuit.
The third practice session on Saturday morning was sunny, but overnight rain had left the track slightly damp, causing most drivers to use intermediate tyres, but it was not dry enough for dry tyres until near the end of the session. Because of the mild ambient and track temperatures, the circuit dried slowly and got faster as the session progressed. Montoya went fastest towards the conclusion of the session with a 1:29.718 lap, 0.081 seconds quicker than his teammate Ralf Schumacher in second. Coulthard, Michael Schumacher, Frentzen, BAR teammates Jacques Villeneuve and Olivier Panis, Fisichella, Barrichello and Massa followed in the top ten. Some drivers went off the racing line and off the circuit during the session.
During the last practice session, the dry line began to extend throughout the course, but it remained slippery in parts. Lap times reduced as the circuit dried, and drivers utilised grooved tyres before it got completely dry with less than ten minutes left.. Michael Schumacher slipstreamed Trulli across the start/finish line and set the session's fastest lap time of 1:23.046 with a minute remaining. Coulthard, Barrichello, Heidfeld, Ralf Schumacher, Montoya, Räikkönen, Button, Villeneuve and Frentzen occupied positions two through ten. More drivers again ran off the track and lost control of their cars during practice.
Qualifying
Each driver was allowed twelve laps during Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, with starting positions determined by the drivers' quickest laps. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107% of the quickest lap time in order to qualify for the race. Rainfall was forecast but never materialised despite overcast weather, and the track was dry. Having made minor driver errors on two earlier runs, Michael Schumacher took his 45th career pole position with a track lap record of 1:21.091 in the last seconds of qualifying with no traffic, breaking Coulthard's pole record from 2001. Barrichello did not complete all of his fast runs, coming second, 0.064 seconds behind. He held pole position for most of qualifying until his teammate's lap, and his final run was hampered by a car ahead of him kicking up dust at the Variante Alta chicane exit. The Williams pairing of Ralf Schumacher and Montoya were third and fourth. Ralf Schumacher made a minor error at the Villeneuve chicane on his final lap, and Montoya reported excessive understeer, failing to improve his final run through errors midway through the circuit. Coulthard had to wait until a replacement Mercedes-Benz V10 engine was put into his car because an engine failed between the final practice session and qualifying, and was absent until 23 minutes had passed before qualifying fifth. Räikkönen, sixth, lost control of his McLaren's rear leaving the second Rivazza turn on his third run, but was able to regain control and avoid stalling the engine. Heidfeld took seventh after losing time putting a wheel onto the grass on his fastest lap. Trulli reported slower cars affecting each of his runs and was eighth; his final run was affected by Panis spinning ahead of him. His teammate Button was ninth, having worked on optimising his racing setup before making an error at Rivazza corner on his last run. Villeneuve, 10th, aggressively mounted the kerbs.
Massa in 11th oversteered in the faster corners and under braking, unable to find the best handling balance for qualifying. Panis took 12th due to a lack of grip and excess oversteer, notably in the final sector. Frentzen, 13th, drove a car lacking a good handling balance. Takuma Sato improved on each of his runs and qualified 14th, ahead of his Jordan teammate Fisichella (15th) for the first time in the season. On his first run, Fisichella's car's hydraulics failed, so he drove the spare car, which was not properly setup. Toyota teammates Mika Salo and Allan McNish qualified 16th and 17th. Salo reported that his car lacked grip and did not ride the circuit's kerbs. The Jaguar pairing of Eddie Irvine and Pedro de la Rosa were 18th and 21st. Both drivers were impacted by a lack of aerodynamic downforce in the Jaguar R3 caused by generating tyre temperature in colder weather compared to the heat in Brazil. Webber was the sole Minardi driver to qualify for the Grand Prix in 19th, using the spare Minardi car after an engine issue. Arrows's Enrique Bernoldi had smoke billowing from his car's rear due to an engine failure on his first run and ran back to the pit lane. He switched to the spare Arrows A23 car, losing a set of tyres, and qualified 21st after being delayed on his final run. Minardi's Alex Yoong spun off at the Variante Alta corner on his last lap. Yoong failed to set a lap within 107% of Michael Schumacher's pole time and was barred from starting the race under FIA regulations after the stewards determined there were "no special circumstances" to grant him dispensation. This meant 21 drivers would begin the Grand Prix.
Qualifying classification