The 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2002) was a Formula One motor race held before 65,000 spectators at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary on 18 August 2002. It was the 13th round of 17 in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and the 17th Hungarian Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship. Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello won the 77-lap race from pole position. His teammate Michael Schumacher finished in second and Williams's Ralf Schumacher was third.
Entering the race, only Ferrari and Williams were in contention for the World Constructors' Championship with Ferrari leading by 65 championship points. Barrichello qualified on pole position by setting the fastest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session. His teammate Michael Schumacher, the World Drivers' Champion, started from second with Ralf Schumacher third. Barrichello led entering the first corner and maintained the lead for the most of the race, except for one lap during the first round of pit stops, leading to Ferrari's one-two finish. It was Barrichello's second victory of the season and the third of his career.
In the week of the Grand Prix, the Arrows team continued to be affected by financial trouble and were advised to miss the race, leaving the sport with 10 entered teams and 20 drivers. Ferrari's one-two finish sealed the team's fourth consecutive World Constructors' Championship with Williams unable to pass Ferrari's championship points total in the remaining four races. Barrichello's victory moved him from fourth to second in the World Drivers' Championship.
Background
The 2002 Hungarian Grand Prix was the 13th of 17 races of the 2002 Formula One World Championship and the event's 17th running since its first Formula One race in 1986. It took place over 77 laps at the 16-turn 3.975 km (2.470 mi) Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary on 18 August. Going into the event, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher had already won the season's World Drivers' Championship, having taken the title two races earlier at the . Michael Schumacher led the championship with 106 championship points, ahead of Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya with 40 championship points. Although the World Drivers' Championship was decided, the World Constructors' Championship was not. Ferrari led with 141 championship points while Williams were second with 76 championship points and McLaren were third on 49 championship points. Ferrari could win their fourth consecutive World Constructors' Championship if they outscored Williams by more than one championship point.
Michael Schumacher won nine of the season's 12 races. With five rounds still to run, Michael Schumacher stated he was looking forward to the final races and that his goal of winning as many Grand Prix as possible had not changed. He added he was "really looking forward" to the Hungarian Grand Prix, and could drive the rest of the season unpressured. Barrichello, who was involved in a four-way battle for second in the championship, said being the runner-up would be a plus, "Fighting for second right now and having all the support of the team to be able to do that, is good. I would welcome it." Williams's Ralf Schumacher stated that the motivation was to close the gap with Ferrari before the season ended rather than to finish second in the championship. Nonetheless, he thought the race would demonstrate Williams' future strength.
Ten constructors represented by a racing team entered two drivers each for the Grand Prix. The Arrows squad was in talks about possible investment into the team to help them overcome their financial troubles, with owner Tom Walkinshaw negotiating with shareholders Morgan Grenfell to allow this. The team was thus instructed to skip the Hungarian Grand Prix but faced possible sanctions by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's administrative body) for violating the Concorde Agreement. Minardi team owner Paul Stoddart replaced regular driver Alex Yoong with Anthony Davidson, British American Racing's (BAR) test driver, on a two-race contract after Yoong failed to qualify for three Grands Prix and was put through a rigorous testing program to help improve his qualifying performances. The team had planned to sign Justin Wilson, the 2001 International Formula 3000 champion, but Wilson was too tall to fit into the PS02 car in accordance with FIA safety requirements that require drivers to exit their cars within five seconds of an emergency during a seat fitting at the team headquarters in Faenza, Italy.
There was a three-week break following the preceding , and no in-season testing was permitted per team agreement, though Ferrari shookdown their three F2002 cars with test driver Luca Badoer at Italy's Fiorano Circuit and some other teams used straight-line test tracks to confirm wind tunnel data. Teams concentrated on heat dissipation, a major issue at the Hungaroring because of the hot temperatures and the start/finish straight. Ferrari brought traction control system updates while McLaren delayed the debut of the revised version of the rear axle, already tested heavily by their test driver Alexander Wurz. BAR fitted a new front wing, the final component in the 004 car's aerodynamic upgrade, which was overseen by technical director Geoff Willis. Renault introduced a new qualifying engine and a new rear wing.
Practice Two one-hour practice sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday preceded the race. Despite rainfall, the first practice session on Friday morning was held on a dry circuit. Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap time of 1:16.755 with two minutes remaining. His teammate Barrichello, Sauber's Felipe Massa, BAR's Jacques Villeneuve, Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella, Villeneuve's teammate Olivier Panis, McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen, Massa's teammate Nick Heidfeld, Räikkönen's teammate David Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher followed in the top ten. The track was slippery, with some drivers going off the circuit. With two minutes left, Massa lost control of his car's rear into the turn six chicane and became stuck in the gravel trap. Davidson's driveshaft failed, causing his rear wheels to lock and spin at turn six.
During the second practice session that afternoon, it was cloudy and light rain fell on the track halfway through the session but not enough to wet the racing surface. Michael Schumacher lowered his lap time to 1:16.346 as track conditions improved to stay fastest. Positions two to ten were occupied by his teammate Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Räikkönen, the Jordan pair of Fisichella and Takuma Sato, Coulthard, Massa, Jaguar's Pedro de la Rosa and Renault's Jenson Button. Several drivers spun during the session. Villeneuve threw gravel into the track and Coulthard spun. He struck a high-mounted kerb, splitting the McLaren's left-rear tyre off the rim and the engine overheated when he restarted to return slowly to the pit lane. He blocked De la Rosa, who damaged his nose cone entering the pit lane. The cooling system was topped up, allowing Coulthard to continue driving. Heidfeld's left-rear tyre clouted the turn four kerb, losing control of his car's rear at the exit of the fast left-hand corner. He spun into the Armco barrier on the opposite side of the track, prematurely ending his session. Montoya got stuck in the turn nine gravel trap in the final minute. Massa was pushing hard when he collided with the turn four barrier, removing the rear wing.
Heavy rain fell overnight, removing the rubber and dust from the racing surface, resulting in the removal of grip. Teams preferred to wait when more rubber (grip) was laid on the track in the third practice session on Saturday morning. In dry conditions, Michael Schumacher was two seconds faster than his previous day's best time at 1:14.329, the only driver to lap within the 1:14 range. His teammate Barrichello, Panis, Massa, Fisichella, Räikkönen, Heidfeld, Villeneuve, Button and Coulthard rounded out the top ten. The circuit's low grip caused several drivers to go off. At the session's conclusion, Button lost control of his Renault's rear at turn 11 and the right-front hit the tyre barrier.
The final practice session held on Saturday morning was held in dry and light cloudy weather. Unlike the preceding three sessions, fewer drivers ran off the circuit. Michael Schumacher's lap time increased slightly from the previous session to a 1:14.308, ahead of his teammate Barrichello, Räikkönen, Montoya, Massa, Panis, Fisichella, Ralf Schumacher, Heidfeld and Renault's Jarno Trulli in positions two to ten. Fisichella almost hit the turn two outside tyre wall but continued without damage to his car after going through the gravel trap.
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. Conditions for qualifying were fine, hot and sunny, and track temperatures gradually increased. Between sessions, dust was blown onto the track, causing drivers to wait for one another to enter the circuit to clean the racing line. Barrichello took his third pole position of the season and sixth of his career with a time of 1:13:333 on his final qualifying run. His first run was halted when Button spun his Renault in front of him at turn 11. His teammate Michael Schumacher was 0.059 seconds slower in second, qualifying ahead of him for the fourth time in the season after Schumacher made an minor mistake at turn 12. He took three of his four runs, saving a pair of tyres for the race. Williams occupied the grid's second row. Ralf Schumacher was second early on, and took third after a minor racing setup adjustment backfired and sent him off the circuit on his third run. Montoya was fourth, almost a second slower than his teammate, for the second consecutive race. He drove an imbalanced car that understeered despite the setup changes. Jordan achieved their best qualifying result of the season with Fisichella in fifth. Fisichella spun after losing control of his car's rear at the penultimate turn but recovered to the pit lane. Trulli took sixth with his fastest lap late in qualifying, having gradually improved his Renault during the session. Sauber's Massa and Heidfeld were seventh and eighth respectively. Massa had excess oversteer on his second and third runs, which he corrected by switching to scrubbed front tyres and new rear tyres for his final run. Heidfeld had excess understeer on his second and third runs; a setup tweak on his last run moved him from 15th to eighth.