2002 Spanish Grand Prix

The 2002 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the Gran Premio Marlboro de España 2002) was a Formula One motor race held on 28 April 2002 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain. It was the fifth round of the 2002 Formula One World Championship and was held before 100,000 spectators. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher won the 65-lap race from pole position. Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya finished in second and McLaren's David Coulthard was third.

Heading into the race, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship and his team Ferrari led the World Constructors Championship. He started on pole position after setting the quickest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session, and he led every lap of the race to win his fourth race of the season and 57th of his career. Montoya finished second 35.630 seconds behind, despite a botched second scheduled pit stop, and Coulthard finished third, another 6.993 seconds back, his second podium of the season.

Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship increased to 21 championship points following the race. Montoya's second-place finish moved him past his teammate Ralf Schumacher, who retired from the Grand Prix. Ferrari extended their World Constructors' Championship lead over Williams to seven championship points with twelve races remaining in the season.

The 2002 Spanish Grand Prix was the fifth round of seventeen in the 2002 Formula One World Championship and took place on 28 April 2002 at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Catalonia, Spain, close to Barcelona. Heading into the race, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 34 championship points, followed by the Williams pair of Ralf Schumacher (20) and Juan Pablo Montoya (17). Renault's Jenson Button was fourth with 8 championship points and Ferrari's Rubens Barrichello was fifth on 6. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 40 championship points, three ahead of Williams in second. McLaren were third with nine championship points, followed by Renault on nine and Jaguar with three.

Following the San Marino Grand Prix on 14 April, the teams tested their racing setups, aerodynamics, car components, tyres and electronics at European circuits in preparation for the Spanish Grand Prix. The Arrows, British American Racing (BAR), Jaguar, Jordan, Minardi, Renault, Sauber and Williams teams spent three days testing at Northamptonshire's Silverstone Circuit. McLaren and Toyota spent three days at Italy's Mugello Circuit, while Ferrari spent four days at the same track. Ferrari also tested for three days at Italy's Monza Circuit, and also spent a day at their private test facility, the Fiorano Circuit.

Michael Schumacher, the pre-race favourite, had won three of the past four races in the 2002 season and had won the Spanish Grand Prix three times in 10 entries. He stated that Ferrari would be focused on the race in Spain and would take a race-by-race approach, despite him scoring eight more championship points than at this point last season. Michael Schumacher added Ferrari were confident the potential of the F2002 would be demonstrated more in Spain. Despite being 17 championship points behind Michael Schumacher, Montoya maintained a positive attitude, "We still have a chance at fighting back. It is a matter of who can evolve the car quicker. I don't know if I can beat Michael here but you never know." Coulthard finished sixth in the San Marino Grand Prix, but he was looking forward to racing in Spain after three days of testing at Mugello.

There were eleven teams (each representing a different constructor) with two drivers each for the Grand Prix, with no changes from the season entry list. Ferrari updated their F2002 cars with new torsion bars, modified the screens behind the front wheels, and introduced new front and rear wings. McLaren improved the MP4-17's rear suspension layout while Williams received a more powerful BMW engine and a new rear wing. Cosworth and Honda both introduced new improved versions of their engines; Jaguar used the more powerful Cosworth engine in the race, while Arrows used the old engine specification. Mercedes introduced a new, more reliable engine specification for the McLarens, increasing power and driveability.

Two one-hour practice sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday preceded the race. The first practice session on Friday morning was held in sunny and humid weather. The Ferraris led practice due to the track's fast, long bends, while McLaren and Williams were behind due to car balance concerns. Michael Schumacher was fastest with a lap time of 1:20.681, 0.061 seconds faster than teammate Barrichello. Sauber's Felipe Massa, McLaren's Kimi Räikkönen, Renault's Jarno Trulli, Arrows's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Coulthard, Massa's teammate Nick Heidfeld, Jordan's Giancarlo Fisichella and Arrows's Enrique Bernoldi completed the top ten. Some drivers lost control of their cars and went off the circuit during the session. Jordan's Takuma Sato was the only driver who did not set a lap because he stopped his car after the pit lane exit shortly after the session began due to an electrical connection failure to an engine sensor. He was not allowed to continue with the session since the usage of spare cars was prohibited before qualifying.