Monza 2003: Schumacher, Montoya and record speed excitement

Monza is the Temple of Speed, and that's not just a cliché. This track holds the record for the fastest race in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship, a record that has stood for 22 seasons. The 2003 edition of the Italian Grand Prix was won by Michael Schumacher at an average speed of 247.586 km/h, breaking a record that had stood for 32 year, also set on this very track, namely the 242.616 km/h achieved by Peter Gethin in a BRM in 1971, in a Grand Prix that also went down in history for having the smallest margin ever between the first and second place finishers: just one hundredth of a second between Gethin and Ronnie Peterson (and, in fact, the top five drivers crossed the finish line within just 0.61 seconds of each other).

The 2003 race was one of the turning points of that year's championship. After the previous Grand Prix in Budapest, the standings had become incredibly tight, with three drivers separated by just two points: Schumacher was in the lead with 72, followed by Montoya with 71, and Raikkonen with 70. With only three races left, as after Monza came Indianapolis and Suzuka, anything was possible. Never before had the era of Ferrari-Schumacher dominance seemed so threatened.

Schumacher's main rival seemed to be Juan Pablo Montoya. Kimi Raikkonen, the Finn, was held back by the fact that McLaren had been unable to introduce their revolutionary new car, the MP4-18, designed by Adrian Newey, during the season. Some components had been carried over to the MP4-17D, but that was still just an evolution of the previous year's car. At Monza, the Grove-based team had to do without the other Schumacher, Ralf, who was replaced after Friday practice by test driver Marc Gené, due to lingering effects from a serious crash he had suffered during testing the previous week. Montoya did everything he could to beat the elder Schumacher, and their duel ignited the Autodromo right from qualifying: only 51 thousandths of a second separated the Ferrari F2003-GA (the car named by Luca di Montezemolo in memory of Gianni Agnelli) from the Williams FW25. On the second row, but with a bigger gap, were Rubens Barrichello in the second Ferrari and Raikkonen in the McLaren.

The race itself was thrilling, especially in the opening stages. At the bottleneck of the first chicane after the start, Michael held onto the lead, but Montoya pulled alongside him at the Roggia chicane, and the two went through it nearly side by side, wheels almost touching: neither wanted to yield, both aware that being first at the end of lap one could be decisive for the final outcome.

The German came out on top, laying the groundwork for his fifth victory of the season. Montoya stayed closely behind Schumacher the entire race but never had a real chance to overtake and had to settle for second place. Michael led almost the entire race, except during the two pit stops. During the second stop, the crowd and many in the paddock were briefly confused when the Ferrari  Number 1 came back onto the track just behind a Williams. Some hoped Montoya, who had pitted a lap earlier, had pulled off a miracle with an undercut, but it was just an optical illusion: the Williams was Gené's, who hadn't stopped yet!

The race ended without further surprises. The top four finished in the same positions they had started, but the 64 minutes and 19 seconds from lights out to the chequered flag were heart-stopping, for those in the garages as well as in the stands.
A record-breaking, high-speed thrill from start to finish!