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__FORCETOC__ SUMMARY The 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix was one of the messiest F1 grands prix in recent memory. Due to regulation changes for the new season, teams were only allowed to bring one wet-weather tyre compound to the race. All the teams on Bridgestone tyres had only brought an intermediate tyre, and this was deemed unsuitable for the torrential conditions. The race was started under the safety car and it was apparent that several more safety car periods would probably follow. Originally scheduled for 71 laps, the race saw several storm fronts make their way across the circuit, leaving the track drenched with very little grip. Numerous drivers, including defending World Champion Michael Schumacher , spun off the track; there were also several accidents that afternoon, as drivers fought the inclement weather as well as each other. Several teams to adopt a radical pit strategy whereby they filled their cars with fuel early in the race, hoping that they would save enough fuel under the safety car to avoid having to stop again. This strategy paid off for Giancarlo Fisichella, whose usually uncompetitive Jordan rose from last in the field after an early pit stop to an eventual first place after the race was stopped prematurely. However, it is unlikely that Fisichella would have been able to complete the race on that fuel load had the race continued to its full distance. "Honestly, it was on the limit," he later said after being asked about his strategy. After race leader David Coulthard was called for a pit-stop (thus costing his race victory, and even a podium),his team-mate Kimi Räikkönen was leading the race after 53 laps, but a mistake allowed Giancarlo Fisichella to assume the lead on lap 54. Near the end of his 54th lap, Mark Webber crashed hard while exiting the final corner, bringing out the safety car. However, Fernando Alonso failed to take notice of the waved yellow flags, and clipped one of Webber's stray tires at full speed next time around (his 55th lap), his Renault was vaulted into a sack of street car tires protecting a guardrail; the impact split open the safety device, spilling street car tires all across the circuit, making it nearly impossible to continue the race safely. Thus, as Alonso limped to the medical ambulance, the Red Flag was shown, ending the event immediately for safety concerns. Under the Formula One Regulations in place at the time, article 154 stated that, if 75% of the race distance had been completed (in this case 54 completed laps), it was "deemed to have finished when the leading car crossed the line at the end of the lap two laps prior to that {Link without Title} during which the signal to stop was given". Thus the stewards, believing that Fisichella was on his 55th lap (and had therefore completed the 54 laps required for a full result), awarded the victory to the race leader at the end of the 53rd lap, namely Räikkönen. Fisichella was demoted to second place, and Alonso, though in an ambulance, was awarded third. Several days later, though, after the chaos of the tumultuous grand prix had died down, the official scoring evidence showed that Fisichella had just started his 56th lap before the red flag signal was given; this meant that the race results should have been determined as of the end of the 54th lap, not the end of the 53rd lap. And since Fisichella was leading after 54 laps, he was belatedly named the race winner in an April 11 FIA decision handed down in Paris . After hearing the argument and seeing the timing evidence for themselves, McLaren declined to file a protest; Räikkönen, whose points tally was reduced by 2 (to 8, from 10), would eventually lose the 2003 championship to Michael Schumacher by 2 points, although had they finished evel on points, Schumacher would have still won the championship by virtue of having won more races. Incidentally, this was also the 200th Grand Prix for Jordan Grand Prix. A ceremony was held at the next grand prix at Imola where Räikkönen and Ron Dennis handed over the winning driver's and constructor's trophies to Fisichella and Eddie Jordan . The 75% (54 lap) race distance rule mentioned above and discussed at length at the time is really a red herring - it was pure coincidence that the incident happened so close to it. At no stage was it believed that 75% of the race hadn't been completed: thus, under article 154, the race had to be stopped and the results declared. If, to take a hypothetical example, the red flag had been thrown on Fisichella's 54th lap, then the accidents would have been cleared away, the classifications from the end of lap 52 retained and a restart taken place for a further 15-lap (71 original race laps minus 53 completed laps minus three) session to finish the race, as mandated under article 156. Alternatively, if it was deemed too dangerous to continue, the race would have been declared at the end of lap 52 and half points awarded. In a notable interview in the February, 2005 edition of F1Racing magazine, Minardi owner Paul Stoddart commented that had Jos Verstappen finished the race, he could very well have scored a podium or even won. The team had noted the weather forecast just before the race started, and changed Verstappen's strategy to a one stop, timed for a change to wet tyres. The expected rain would then lead to a good chance of spins and safety car periods, which would fall into the Minardi strategy as the car would not need to pit. Stoddart was correct in his plans, and had Verstappen finished the race he would likely have scored many points. However, the Dutch driver spun out early due to the changing conditions and was unable to finish the race. Stoddart said it was the only time in Minardi's history that the team started a race with the full realistic intention to win. When he went out, Verstappen had been leading Fisichella for several laps on an identical strategy. CLASSIFICATION NOTES
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