2003, Brazil – Raikkonen or Fisichella?
As far as post-race drama and confusion go, the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix is right up there, given that victory went to Jordan, then McLaren, then Jordan again.
Scheduled to last 71 laps, the rain-plagued, incident-plagued race was red-flagged after 56 laps due to a pair of terrifying accidents involving Jaguar driver Mark Webber and Renault’s Fernando Alonso.
First, Webber lost control of his car at the Arquibancadas corner and crashed into the barriers, before the debris he scattered across the track caught Fernando Alonso, who was approaching and hit heavily into 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 his McLaren rival Kimi Raikkonen to take victory on a two-lap count.
But that was not the end, as a post-race review confirmed that Fisichella had moved into P1 two full laps before the stop, meaning he was the deserved winner, and leading to an unusual trophy presentation at the following round at Imola.