2003, Brazil – Raikkonen or Fisichella?
For post-race drama and confusion, the 2003 running of the Brazilian Grand Prix is right up there – given that the win went to Jordan, then McLaren, then Jordan again.
Scheduled to run over 71 laps, the rain-hit, incident-filled race was red-flagged after 56 of them following a couple of scary accidents involving Jaguar driver Mark Webber and Renault’s Fernando Alonso.
BEYOND THE GRID: Giancarlo Fisichella on driving with Ferrari, Force India and helping Fernando Alonso become a champion
First, Webber lost control of his car through the Arquibancadas corner and slammed into the barriers, before the debris he littered over the track caught out the approaching Fernando Alonso, who heavily impacted the walls on both sides of the track.
Then came the confusion, with Jordan’s Giancarlo Fisichella – who had made just one pit stop – taking the lead shortly before the race was stopped, and initially celebrating in parc ferme, only for McLaren rival Kimi Raikkonen to be awarded the win on a two-lap count back.
That was not the end of it, though, with a post-race review confirming that Fisichella had moved into P1 two full laps before the stoppage, meaning he was the deserving winner, and leading to an unusual trophy handover at the following round in Imola.
