The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix (formally the Marlboro Magyar Nagydíj 2003) was a Formula One motor race held on 24 August 2003 at the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary. It was the 13th round of 16 of the 2003 Formula One World Championship and the 18th Hungarian Grand Prix as part of the Formula One World Championship. Renault's Fernando Alonso won the 70-lap race from pole position. McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen was second with Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya third.
It was the first race run on the newly renovated Hungaroring, with the main straight expanded and the first hairpin tightened, as well as additional changes near the end of the lap to encourage more overtaking. Going into the race, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship from Montoya and Ferrari led Williams in the World Constructors' Championship. Alonso secured pole position by setting the quickest qualifying lap time in the second qualifying session. He led all but one lap of the race to win his first Grand Prix, becoming the first Spanish driver to do so, and breaking Bruce McLaren's 43-year record as the youngest Formula One Grand Prix winner. Räikkönen was 16.7 seconds behind in second place while Montoya completed the podium positions in third.
Michael Schumacher finished a lap behind in eighth, reducing his World Drivers' Championship lead to one championship point over Montoya, while Räikkönen's second-place finish brought him within two points of Schumacher. Williams assumed the World Constructors' Championship from Ferrari for the first time this season, with an eight-point lead with three races remaining in the season.
Background
The 2003 Hungarian Grand Prix was the 13th of 16 races of the 2003 Formula One World Championship and the 18th edition of the event since its first Formula One race in 1986. It took place over 70 laps at the 14-turn, Hungaroring in Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary on 24 August. Going into the race, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 71 championship points, six more than the second-placed Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams and nine ahead of McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen. Montoya's teammate Ralf Schumacher was fourth with 53 championship points, four more than Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello. Ferrari on 120 championship points led Williams by two championship points in the World Constructors' Championship. McLaren were third with 103 championship points, with Renault fourth with 66 championship points.
The first 12 races were won by seven different drivers, with Michael Schumacher the only one to win more than twice. Renault's Fernando Alonso, who had achieved three podium results over the course of the season thus far, thought the Hungaroring's high-downforce nature and the Hungarian heat should play to the advantage of the Michelin tyres on the Renault R23, adding, "There's so many corners which means there is a bigger margin for the driver to make a difference. I think we can have a good weekend." Montoya had won the preceding and had six consecutive podium finishes, but his performance in Hungary was subpar. He was the bookmakers' favourite to win the race, and was certain that his car would be better suited to the circuit after being improved.
Following the 2002 Grand Prix, the Hungaroring track was modified to try and encourage more overtaking and make it easier to do so in various areas beginning in 2003. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's governing body), Formula One Management, the National Automobile Sport Federation of Hungary agreed the track length increase from to . The start/finish straight was lengthened by and turn one was made into a 145-degree corner. The turn 11 chicane was removed, leaving a longer straight from turn 10 to a new 90-degree turn with an outside tarmac run-off area. The circuit then rejoined the existing layout following a short straight. The changes, which increased lap times by more than six seconds, received a mixed reception. Willy Rampf, Sauber's technical director, believed the chances of overtaking had increased, but that most passes would still occur during pit stop windows. Alonso thought turn one would still see the most overtakes while Toyota's Olivier Panis did not believe the revised track configuration would effect on racing setups or its character as a low-speed, high-downforce circuit.
The event included ten constructors, each with two race drivers. Zsolt Baumgartner (for the second time with Jordan), Gianmaria Bruni (Minardi) and Allan McNish (Renault) were the three drivers who drove a third car in only the Friday private test session. Tyre suppliers Bridgestone and Michelin brought a new soft compound to the race. The teams focused primarily on creating solutions that would allow them to achieve the maximum possible aerodynamic load and effective heat dissipation, which was hampered by both the high ambient temperatures and the Hungaroring's tight turns. Multiple teams proposed solutions already used in the and chimneys that were even more evident than those mounted in Malaysia. McLaren reverted to the MP4-17D's original front suspension while Sauber adopted a redesigned engine cover with a distinctive triangular fin at the end of the roll-bar, a solution previously tested by Williams.
Private test session Teams that opted for limited testing during the season were given a two-hour test session on Friday morning. It was dry and sunny for the test session, however numerous drivers ran wide due to dusty conditions for the most of the session. Renault took the first three places with Alonso fastest at 1:22.230, with McNish second and Jarno Trulli third. Jaguar's Mark Webber and Justin Wilson were fourth and fifth. Giancarlo Fisichella stopped at the exit of turn one due to an engine failure billowing smoke from the rear of his car. Fisichella returned to the circuit with ten minutes remaining but set one timed lap due to a rear wheel lock. Nicolas Kiesa's engine failed with eight minutes left. Webber's engine stalled at the pit lane exit and was pushed to the garage for repairs.
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. The first session on Friday morning took place in dry and sunny conditions. Panis lapped fastest with a time of 1:21.770 set five minutes before the session concluded, 0.694 seconds ahead of second-placed Trulli. Montoya, Barrichello, Montoya, Toyota's Cristiano da Matta, Webber, Ralf Schumacher, McLaren's David Coulthard, Michael Schumacher and Alonso were in positions three to ten. Several drivers encountered spins and offs during the session due to the circuit's thick dust and dirt. With 15 minutes remaining, Michael Schumacher spun through 360 degrees at turn nine, forcing Panis to brake hard at the exit. Wilson sustained gearbox cooling system damage, spilling fluid onto the back wheels, while Kiesa did not participate in the practice because Minardi mechanics were rebuilding the engine after it failed during testing.
During the second practice session, which took place in hot weather conditions, Alonso was fastest with a 1:22.950 lap he set in the session's closing moments, 0.324 seconds faster than Michael Schumacher. Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Trulli, Panis, Webber and Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld completed the top ten. The dirty circuit caught out multiple drivers who moved off from the racing line for the second session.
Ralph Firman's Jordan car's rear wing dislodged from a support failure on the straight heading to the left-hand turn five and went airborne, removing downforce from the car. As Firman entered the corner, his car snapped right, went backwards across the grass verge at the side of the gravel trap, losing little speed, and struck the tyre barrier sideways, showering photographers behind the barrier with debris. The collision's force, measured at 46G, bent the crash barrier out of shape and knocked Firman unconscious. Practice was stopped for 28 minutes, as Firman was transported to the circuit's medical centre and then to Orszagos Traumatologiai Intezet at Sebeszeti Osztaly for tests, observations and X-rays. Firman sustained a mild concussion, a bruised ankle and a left heel fracture. Baumgartner replaced him for the remainder of the event after the Formula One Commission's permanent bureau and stewards approved a request from Jordan for the driver change, waiving the 14-day super-licence application rule because he completed more than in testing. Race director Charlie Whiting investigated the accident scene as the rear wing and car were removed from the area. Jordan investigated the accident and decided to prevent Fisichella from continuing in the session as a precaution.
Ralf Schumacher led the final practice session with a 1:21.939 lap, the second sub-1:22 lap of the weekend. His brother Michael Schumacher was 0.374 seconds slower in second. Barrichello, Montoya, Webber, Räikkönen, the Renault duo of Alonso and Trulli, Coulthard and Panis followed in the top ten. Räikkönen's engine failed with smoke billowing from the rear, ending his session five minutes early. Da Matta ran wide and spun on the dusty circuit into the turn nine gravel trap; this was caused by excess oversteer and he missed the session's closing ten minutes. Kiesa avoided the gravel after losing control on the dirt, however teammate Jos Verstappen's cracked rear wing forced him to end his session early. A 15-minute warm-up session held in dry and sunny weather saw Michael Schumacher lap fastest with a 1:22.210 time, ahead of Alonso, Montoya, Webber, Ralf Schumacher, Trulli, Barrichello, Coulthard and Heidfeld.
Qualifying