The 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the 2002 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held before 92,000 spectators at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia on 17 March 2002. It was the second round of 17 in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and the fourth Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix. Williams driver Ralf Schumacher won the 56-lap race after starting from fourth position. His teammate Juan Pablo Montoya finished in second, ahead of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in third.
Going into the race, Michael Schumacher and Ferrari led the World Drivers' Championship and World Constructors Championship, respectively. Michael Schumacher qualified on pole position by setting the fastest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session. At the start of the race, Michael Schumacher and Montoya collided at the first corner, promoting Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello to the race lead. Barrichello maintained the lead until the first round of pit stops when Ralf Schumacher took over the position. Ralf Schumacher led for most of the remainder of the Grand Prix to secure his fourth career victory, with Montoya in second 39.7 seconds behind after serving the first-ever drive-through penalty – imposed on him for the first lap accident. Michael Schumacher secured third on the final lap after overtaking Renault's Jenson Button, who had a suspected anti-roll bar bracket failure that slowed him with two laps remaining.
Ralf Schumacher's and Montoya's one-two finish promoted Williams to the lead of the World Constructors' Championship by eight championship points over Ferrari. Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship was reduced to two championship points over Montoya and four over race winner Ralf Schumacher with 15 races remaining in the season.
Background
The 2002 Malaysian Grand Prix, the second round of seventeen in the 2002 Formula One World Championship, was held at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia on 17 March 2002, the fourth time a Formula One Grand Prix was taking place at Sepang. The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's governing body, had sanctioned a race in Malaysia since the 1960s, with the initial events staged in Singapore, then part of the Malaysian Federation, before moving to the Shah Alam Circuit. When the Formula One Grand Prix debuted in 1999, it was transferred to the purpose-built Sepang International Circuit, where it remained until 2017. The track underwent safety upgrades, with 18 new safety fences installed to protect trackside personnel and the installation of new kerbs and gutters at five corners. A section of track on the straight between turns 11 and 12 was repaved.
After winning the season-opening , Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with ten championship points, ahead of Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya with six and McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen with four. Jaguar's Eddie Irvine and Minardi's Mark Webber were in fourth and fifth positions with three and two championship points, respectively. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with Williams second and McLaren third with ten championship points.
Following the Australian Grand Prix on 3 March, six teams held in-season testing sessions at various European racing courses ahead of the Malaysian Grand Prix. Luciano Burti, Ferrari's test driver, spent four days testing mechanical components and Bridgestone tyres on a F2001 chassis at Italy's Fiorano Circuit. Williams and Renault spent three days at Northamptonshire's Silverstone Circuit, joined by British American Racing (BAR) concentrating on aerodynamic and engine development on the second and third days. Toyota conducted a two-day test of electrical and mechanical components on its TF102 car with test driver Stéphane Sarrazin at Circuit Paul Ricard in Southern France, while Jean Alesi spent three days at the same track testing Michelin tyres in a McLaren MP4-16B car. The Arrows, Jaguar, Jordan, Minardi and Sauber teams did not test.
Ferrari had won all three Formula One races at Sepang since its debut in 1999. Michael Schumacher, the pre-race favourite with most bookmakers, stated he was confident of winning the race after finishing first in Australia with a year-old car. Montoya said coming second in Australia helped him cement "a good start to the season" for himself, adding he was taking a step-by-step approach, "I'm not going to rush into things. Our target is to improve on last year's position and of course to be more consistent" after retiring in Sepang the previous year. His teammate Ralf Schumacher encouraged drivers to take extra precautions to avoid a multi-car accident, as seen on the first lap in Australia. He planned to prevent his brother from winning in Malaysia again and hoped for no monsoons. Renault's Jenson Button was more optimistic, reckoning he could secure a podium result.
Michelin introduced a new radical tyre compound for the race. Tyres were a major topic leading into the Grand Prix, with Michelin predicted to outperform Bridgestone if conditions were hot. However, Michael Schumacher warned Bridgestone had closed the gap on Michelin's warm-weather performance but said a Williams driver would finish on the podium. Ralf Schumacher was convinced that Michelin's new tyre compound would correct an early performance drop-off and help him close the gap to Ferrari in Malaysia. The drivers met on Friday afternoon to discuss a gentlemen's agreement on "non-aggression" at the first corner on the first lap to avoid a multi-car accident as observed at the Australian Grand Prix. The stewards further warned the drivers at the Sunday morning meeting to exercise caution at the first turn.
The Grand Prix featured eleven teams of two drivers (each representing a different constructor), with no changes to the season entry list. Phoenix Finance unsuccessfully attempted to enter the Grand Prix with two 2001-spec Prost AP04 cars possibly powered by -spec TWR engines with drivers Tarso Marques and Gastón Mazzacane after the FIA ruled it had not purchased Prost Grand Prix's entry. Toyota's Mika Salo had a severe case of flu, meaning Ryan Briscoe, Toyota's test driver, was on standby to replace him. However, Salo recovered in time to enter the Grand Prix. To assist the cooling of their internal components in Malaysia's hot and humid atmosphere, teams installed more apertures on their cars. Ferrari again sent two F2001B cars and opened additional vents on their sides. Ralf Schumacher drove a Williams FW24 after it was repaired after being damaged on the opening lap of the preceding Australian Grand Prix due to production constraints, forcing the decision to avoid using a year-old chassis. Renault employed a more powerful qualifying engine for the race and upgraded the rear wing, extractor profile and rear suspension components. The Jaguar team received a new engine and aerodynamic updates for their R3 cars.
Practice Two one-hour practices on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday preceded the race. The Friday practice sessions at Sepang took place shrouded by a smoky haze caused by forest fires in four Peninsular Malaysia states exacerbated by a prolonged drought in parts of Southeast Asia, threatening to significantly limit visibility of the circuit. However, practice was not affected by the haze.
Michael Schumacher lapped fastest in the first practice session, which happened in the morning in hot and humid weather, with a time of 1:38.626, nearly a second faster than his teammate Rubens Barrichello. Sauber's Nick Heidfeld, Arrows' Enrique Bernoldi, Button, Jordan's Takuma Sato, Bernoldi's teammate Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Renault's Jarno Trulli, Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella and Montoya followed in the top ten. Some drivers lost control of their cars as they became acclimatised to the circuit during the session. Around 20 minutes in and after completing three laps, On his first lap, David Coulthard stopped his McLaren exiting turn 11 when an overheating exhaust collector caused the right-rear bodywork to catch fire. Coulthard spent 20 minutes pushing the car back to the pit lane for repairs. Because the rules prohibited using the spare car on Fridays, his team replaced the engine before the start of the second practice. Bernoldi then stopped his car on the grass with a suspected software glitch in the diffuser.
The second practice session held later in the afternoon was also hot and humid, giving the advantage to Michelin-shod cars. McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen set the day's fastest lap of 1:37.399, Friday's only sub-1:37 lap. Coulthard was 0.639 seconds slower in second. Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Salo, Montoya, Barrichello, Button, Trulli and Heidfeld were in positions three to ten. More drivers lost control of their cars during the session. Webber's Asiatech engine failed on his out-lap and billowed smoke in the opening minute of the session and he stopped on the track. Barrichello stopped after turn nine when his Ferrari's engine failed with 15 minutes remaining.
An overnight rainstorm left moist patches off the racing line and lowered grip levels for Saturday morning's third practice session. The forest fires' haze made it humid and overcast. Most drivers did not enter the circuit after halfway through, when more grip was available. Barrichello led with a 1:36.974 lap set late in the session. His teammate Michael Schumacher, Räikkönen, Montoya, Button, Ralf Schumacher, Coulthard, Fisichella and the Sauber duo of Felipe Massa and Heidfeld completed the top ten. Frentzen was the only driver not to set a lap time because of a fractured oil line damaging his engine.
As the circuit temperature increased, it remained hot with a slight hazy mist during the final practice session. Several drivers lost control of their cars on the damp track surface. Montoya recorded the quickest lap time of 1:36.556 27 minutes into the session. Räikkönen was second with a lap set with 16 minutes remaining. Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Coulthard, Michael Schumacher, Button, Fisichella, Massa and Heidfeld rounded out the top ten. Coulthard's right-hand wheels went onto the grass exiting the left-hand corner heading into turn 14. He abandoned his car in the gravel trap after spinning into it. Late in the session, a fire at the rear of Frentzen's car led him to evacuate and mechanics extinguished it.
Qualifying