Formula 1
Japanese GP: Williams race notes
Juan Pablo Montoya came fourth today in the last race of the 2002 season, the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka and secured his third place in the Drivers' Championship. It did not go so well for team-mate Ralf Schumacher celebrating his 100th GP start, ...
Published: Oct 15, 2002, 10:42 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Juan Pablo Montoya came fourth today in the last race of the 2002 season, the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka and secured his third place in the Drivers' Championship. It did not go so well for team-mate Ralf Schumacher celebrating his 100th GP start, who experienced an engine failure with four laps to go when he was running in a strong third position. Ralf finished the season in fourth position in the Drivers' Championship. The BMW WilliamsF1 Team had previously secured second place in the Constructors' Championship two weeks ago.
Juan Pablo Montoya
"The strategy for me today was really bringing the car home and this is what I did. The car was a bit oversteery in the first part of the race but it improved after we made some little changes during the pit stop. I started closing the gap to the cars in front of me but then towards the end I thought that it was really pointless to push anymore and jeopardise my position. After Ralf's failure I was told to take it easy and this is what I did. I am obviously delighted that I have achieved third place in the Drivers' Championship in my second season in F1. It's been a good season and the only regret I have is that I could not get any race victories."
Ralf Schumacher
"I was having a good race today, my car was well balanced and third place was only four laps away. The fact that I had to retire is therefore even more painful. Now we are going to collectively concentrate on the next season in order to do a better job."
Sam Michael (Chief Operations Engineer, WilliamsF1):
"It is a shame to have one car fail in the last race. Ralf did a good job with a solid drive for 3rd place but then unfortunately retired due to an engine problem. Juan brought home his car in fourth place to secure his third place in the drivers' championship. We had good pit stops today and our pit crew has shown a good step forward in the pit lane throughout the season. Today's race highlighted again that we have a lot of work to do before the next season starts in Melbourne. Ferrari has dominated the whole year as they did here in Suzuka."
Mario Theissen (BMW Motorsport Director):
"Ralf drove a fantastic race, with no mistakes. He missed the podium position that he was hoping for at the very last moment due to an engine failure. We will clarify the reason for the failure in Munich by stripping the engine. It is cold comfort for us the fact that in the 2002 season we have completed the highest number of laps of all teams."
Juan Pablo Montoya: 4th
Chassis: FW24 04
Fastest Lap: 1:36,757 lap 38 (4th overall)
Ralf Schumacher: DNF (engine failure on lap 49)
Chassis: FW24 06
Fastest Lap: 1:36,590 lap 26 (3rd overall)
-williams-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Japanese GP: Bridgestone race notes
Next article Japanese GP: Ferrari race notes
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Juan Pablo Montoya
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
IndyCar
IndyCar
Team Penske and Chevrolet announce multi-year extension of IndyCar partnership
Juan Pablo Montoya admires Franco Colapinto's "aggressive" approach despite Baku crash
Formula 1
Formula 1
Azerbaijan GP
Juan Pablo Montoya admires Franco Colapinto's "aggressive" approach despite Baku crash
Williams tipped for "huge step" forward at Azerbaijan GP with major upgrade
Formula 1
Formula 1
Spanish GP
Williams tipped for "huge step" forward at Azerbaijan GP with major upgrade
More from
Ferrari
Fred Vasseur "not sure" if Red Bull is currently F1's best team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
14 h
Fred Vasseur "not sure" if Red Bull is currently F1's best team
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
Formula 1
Formula 1
Singapore GP
Charles Leclerc admits he missed a chance against Max Verstappen – but not the obvious one
Latest news
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
10 min
William Byron to run Jeff Gordon throwback Axalta scheme at Phoenix
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
IndyCar
Indy IndyCar 26 min
Alexander Rossi takes over IR-28 testing as IndyCar pushes new chassis to the limit at Sebring
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
31 min
Daniel Suarez will return to Spire Motorsports for 2027 NASCAR Cup season
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Charlotte II
3 h
Spy shots of 2027 NASCAR Ford Mustang testing at Charlotte, but what's different?
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe