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2002 European Grand Prix 
Race Results  

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Race Report - Results

Rubens Barrichello wins the European Grand Prix ahead of Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen. Ralf Schumacher, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa make the top 6.

Following the negative reaction of the fans all over the world following the Austrian Grand Prix were Ferrari order Rubens Barrichello to let Michael Schumacher through, Ferrari have opted not to enforce team orders here and allow Rubens Barrichello his first win of the season and his second career win.

Ferrari with their Bridgestone tyres were simply superior to everyone else on the track. With both cars running on a two stop strategy, both cars cleared the two Williams in front of them in the first few laps of the race. They built a stunning gap to the rest of the field and were over a minute ahead of everyone else in the later stages of the race before they decided to ease off.

The race started with Ralf Schumacher taking the lead from Juan Pablo Montoya at the first corner while Barrichello managed to get ahead of his team-mate Michael. Coulthard remained in 5th ahead of Kimi Raikkonen.
On the first lap, Barrichello managed to pass Montoya and on the following lap pass Ralf. Michael did the same a lap later. Both Ferraris then started to increase their lead by almost 2 seconds per lap.

The Michelin runners who knew that their tyres would come back a few laps into the race never appeared to recover and while the Williams and the McLarens were on a single stop, both Ferrari drivers managed to make their first pit stop without losing positions.

The crucial moment of the race between Rubens and Michael came just before the first pit stops as Michael was pushing Rubens, he spun and lost around 10 seconds. Had he not committed that mistake, the race would have been decided in the pits.
Michael managed to close the gap to Rubens but wasn't close enough in time for the second pit stop as Barrichello retained the lead. In the final 10 laps of the race, both Rubens and Michael eased off and didn't push each other and Rubens went on to win the race.

Behind the 2 Ferraris, Kimi Raikkonen managed 3rd place after Montoya and Coulthard crashed out of the race when Coulthard attempted to pass Montoya (who was struggling with his tyres) at the first corner, Montoya spun hitting the front of Coulthard's car resulting in the retirement of both. Ralf Schumacher who was in 3rd ahead of Raikkonen before both drivers stopped lost his place through the pits as Ralf was struggling with his Michelin tyres.
Jenson Button managed to finish in 5th benefiting from the retirement of both Montoya and Coulthard. His 2 stop strategy good enough to keep him ahead of Felipe Massa in the Sauber who was on a single stop. Nick Heidfeld was 7th ahead of Jarno Trulli who made a mistake early in the race and lost a number of places which cost him a points finish.

So Ferrari with a strong car and a superior tyre won the day. McLaren continue to improve now able to challenge Williams on the slower circuits as it seems that they are managing to handle the Michelin tyres better than Williams. Renault also appear to be closing the gap to McLaren and Williams. So while the fight for the championship is almost a done deal, the fight for the lower ranks is getting hotter.

Surprisingly, there were very few retirements. Montoya and Coulthard went out as a result of their accident. Fisichella retired as a result of an incident at the start but still managed just under half race distance. Alex Yoong, Eddie Irvine, and Mika Salo were the only drivers to retire due to mechanical problems. 

So Michael Schumacher increases his lead in the Drivers championship over Ralf Schumacher to 43 points (76 to 30). Juan Pablo Montoya remains in 3rd with 27 points while Rubens Barrichello takes 4th on equal points with David Coulthard at 26. 
Ferrari increase their lead in the Constructors championship over Williams to 45 points (102 to 54). McLaren in 3rd with 37 points ahead of Renault with 14 and Sauber with 9 points.

Michael Schumacher continues his impressive run of finishing all the races so far this season on the podium. Meanwhile Juan Pablo Montoya has now retired in the last 3 races (ironically he started from Pole on all 3 occasions!).

Click here of the Drivers' Championship table for this season

Next stop: The British GP on the 7th of July.

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