Who won the 2003 F1 World Championship?

Michael Schumacher won the 2003 Formula 1 drivers' championship driving the Ferrari F2003-GA.

Which team won the 2003 constructors' championship?

Ferrari won the 2003 constructors' championship.

How many races were there in the 2003 F1 season?

The 2003 Formula 1 season had 16 Grands Prix.

F1 Legend Sim/Seasons/2003

2003 F1 Season

16 races · Ferrari F2003-GA

After two years of crushing dominance, 2003 brought the excitement back to Formula 1. A new, more level points system and a fierce tyre war between Bridgestone and Michelin closed the gap to Ferrari, who no longer had the best car on the grid.

Kimi Räikkönen with McLaren and Juan Pablo Montoya with Williams fought back all season long, and the championship reached the final race at Suzuka still alive. There, with careful, calculating driving, Michael Schumacher secured the points he needed.

The German thus claimed his sixth world title, surpassing none other than Juan Manuel Fangio, whose record of five championships had stood for almost half a century and which many believed unbeatable. It was one of the most symbolic milestones of his career.

Drivers' Champion

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari F2003-GA

Constructors' Champion

Ferrari

16 races

See the 2003 simulation Ver en español

Key moment

"Schumacher equals Fangio with his sixth title in Japan, tears on the podium."

The 2003 grid, car by car

The 10 teams that raced in 2003, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#	Team	Our rating	Drivers
1	Ferrari	96	Michael Schumacher · Rubens Barrichello
2	Williams	94	Juan Pablo Montoya · Ralf Schumacher
3	McLaren	94	Kimi Räikkönen · David Coulthard
4	Renault	89	Fernando Alonso · Jarno Trulli
5	Sauber	82	Heinz-Harald Frentzen · Nick Heidfeld
6	BAR	81	Jenson Button · Jacques Villeneuve
7	Jaguar	80	Mark Webber · Antonio Pizzonia
8	Jordan	78	Giancarlo Fisichella · Ralph Firman
9	Toyota	78	Olivier Panis · Cristiano da Matta
10	Minardi	69	Jos Verstappen · Justin Wilson

How 2003 actually ended

The official final standings, from Australian Grand Prix to Japanese Grand Prix. This is the real result, not the simulation above.

Driver	Points	Wins	Podiums	Poles
1Michael SchumacherFerrari	93	6	8	5
2Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren	91	1	10	2
3Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams	82	2	9	1
4Rubens BarrichelloFerrari	65	2	8	3
5Ralf SchumacherWilliams	58	2	3	3
6Fernando AlonsoRenault	55	1	4	2
7David CoulthardMcLaren	51	1	3	0
8Jarno TrulliRenault	33	0	1	0

It came down to 2 points: Schumacher and Räikkönen finished closer than a fourth place is worth. 8 different drivers won that year, and the final Grand Prix went to Rubens Barrichello.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

What if 2003 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 2003 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 17-race championship 100 times.

Driver	Avg. finish	Titles
Michael Schumacherreal championFerrari	P1	100%
Kimi RäikkönenMcLaren	P2.5	0%
Rubens BarrichelloFerrari	P3.8	0%
Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams	P3.9	0%
Fernando AlonsoRenault	P4.8	0%
Ralf SchumacherWilliams	P5.6	0%

Michael Schumacher wins 100% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Kimi Räikkönen manages 0%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.

Drivers of 2003

Michael Schumacher

★ 7

Keep reading

What we have measured about 2003 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.

All articles