2002
ABOUT THIS SEASON
“I love you,” a champagne drenched Michael shouts down from the podium. But on this 21st July, his profession of ardour is directed not just at wife Corinna but also the entire team – from mechanics to team principal, from trucker to race engineer.
For today, Michael is not only the fastest man on the track; he is also the fastest world champion of all time. By race eleven out of sixteen – and six GP outings before the end of the season – he secures his fifth championship title at Magny Cours and, at the same time, draws level with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio. But he doesn’t see himself as a living legend. “The team is the legend, not me,” he emphasises. Without his team, without the hard work on the track and in the factory in Maranello, this moment of triumph and the hat trick of titles for Ferrari would never have happened.
A little bit of luck
A little bit of luck does play a role in the outcome, not as to whether or not Michael will win the World Championship but rather how soon. “I can honestly say that I wasn’t thinking about the title because I didn’t have the feeling that it was going to happen here,” he says afterwards. Michael travels to France with a 54-point lead over team-mate Rubens Barrichello but a mistake, crossing the white line of the pit lane exit, sets him back. He claws his way up to the front again but it is only in the fifth from last lap that the title really comes within his grasp.
Kimi Räikkönen, who is in the lead, skids on an oil spill shed by Allan McNish’s Toyota. “It was pure luck,” Michael admits, “I had never expected anything like that.” As he takes the lead, the thought enters Michael’s mind for the first time this weekend that title might be winnable.
“I think they were the worst five laps of my career. They never seemed to end, they went on for ever. Suddenly there was all this weight on my shoulders and the pressure not to make any mistakes or any false moves.”
After 72 laps five-time World Champion
After 72 laps, he crosses the finishing line as five-times Formula One World Champion. “Then suddenly, all the pressure is off; you realise you’ve done it – it’s a fantastic moment, all your feelings come spilling out…I can’t really find the right words to describe it.”
Next comes Hockenheim, a home race for the outgoing and incoming champion, where his fans fete him not so much in words as in jubilant cheering, blaring klaxons and fireworks. With his first home win since 1995, Michael puts the icing on the cake for the Ferrari championship party. But even in this celebratory year for the Reds, there are two races where triumph is clouded by controversy.
















The world of Formula One marks down 12th May.
Rubens Barrichello is in the lead as the Austrian GP draws to a close. But even though he ought to be standing at the top of the podium at the awards ceremony, he is not the winner – as in the previous year, Michael overtakes him on the home stretch, on team orders. This re-imposition of team strategy causes a storm of outrage; and when Michael tries to cross the finishing line together with Rubens Barrichello at the US Grand Prix at Indianapolis, there is renewed criticism. Instead of Michael, Barrichello wins by 0.011 seconds or a lead of 48 centimetres.
But none of this puts a dampener on Michael’s triumphal procession. A uniquely reliable series of cars means that he finishes all 17 races, scores points in all 17 and even takes his place on the podium for all 17. In total, he achieves eleven wins, five 2nd places and one 3rd place. “The hunger is still there, not because I am out to set records, but purely for the joy of racing. Hopefully it will lead to another title win.”
Courtesy by motorsport-magazin.com
STATS
2002 Saison Figures
1
DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP
11
GRAND PRIX WINS
17
PODIUM POSITIONS
144
POINTS TOTAL
7
FASTEST LAPS
7
POLE POSITION
THE CAR
Ferrari F2002

ALL GRAND PRIX
The races of 2002

03.03.2002
MELBOURNE
Australia
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 2
Rennen 1

17.03.2002
SEPANG
Malaysia
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 1
Rennen 3

31.03.2002
SAO PAULO
Brazil
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 2
Rennen 1

14.04.2002
IMOLA
San Marino
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 1
Rennen 1

28.04.2002
BARCELONA
Spain
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 1
Rennen 1

12.05.2002
SPIELBERG
Austria
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 3
Rennen 1

26.05.2002
MONTE CARLO
Monaco
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 3
Rennen 2

09.06.2002
MONTREAL
Canada
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 2
Rennen 1

23.06.2002
NÜRBURGRING
EUROPEAN GP
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 2
Rennen 2

07.07.2002
SILVERSTONE
Great Britain
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 3
Rennen 1

21.07.2002
MAGNY-COURS
France
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 2
Rennen 1

28.07.2002
HOCKENHEIM
Germany
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 1
Rennen 1

18.08.2002
BUDAPEST
Hungary
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 2
Rennen 2

01.09.2002
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS
Belgium
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 1
Rennen 1

15.09.2002
MONZA
Italy
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 2
Rennen 2

29.09.2002
INDIANAPOLIS
USA
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 1
Rennen 2

13.10.2002
SUZUKA
Japan
PLATZIERUNG
Quali. 1
Rennen 1