2003 Formula One World Championship

It was Schumacher's sixth World Drivers' title overall, breaking Juan Manuel Fangio's 46-year-old record.

Both electronic driver aids had been used since the 2001 Spanish Grand Prix, but a change in the technical regulations saw the FIA banning both systems for 2004.

Reigning Drivers' Champion Michael Schumacher started in pole position, with his teammate Rubens Barrichello beside him.

The track was drying quickly and the changeable conditions took some by surprise: Barrichello crashed on lap five, followed by rookies Ralph Firman and Cristiano da Matta.

After two safety car periods, it was last-starting Räikkönen that found himself in the lead of the race, followed by Schumacher and McLaren teammate David Coulthard.

Soon, however, Schumacher sustained damage from a curb stone and received a black-and-orange flag, forcing him to pit for repairs.

Fernando Alonso, being the then-youngest driver to achieve pole position, started ahead of Jarno Trulli.

Justin Wilson, driving for Minardi, had to retire when his HANS device got loose and pinched his shoulders, resulting in temporary paralysis of both his arms.

For qualifying, it was no different, and the majority of drivers signed a petition, mandating the FIA to cancel the session if track conditions did not improve.

When the field was released, Coulthard immediately overtook Barrichello, and in the next three laps, Räikkönen passed both of them to take the lead.

The sporting regulations said to take the order from two laps before the race suspension as the final result, and Räikkönen was declared the winner.

When the FIA found a timekeeping error, however, this was corrected and Fisichella was awarded his first-ever win in an unofficial ceremony ahead of the next race.

The next race in Spain saw Ferrari debut their new car and their drivers taking up the front row in qualifying.

The European Grand Prix, held at the Nürburgring, saw Kimi Räikkönen take pole position and lead the race, until his McLaren's engine broke down on lap 25.

His teammate Juan Pablo Montoya and his brother Michael Schumacher collided on lap 43, dropping the German down to sixth.

For the British Grand Prix, it was Rubens Barrichello who achieved pole position, but Jarno Trulli in the Renault who led into the first corner.

There was a brief safety car intervention to clear up debris from David Coulthard's McLaren, but the race was truly disrupted when, on lap 11, Neil Horan invaded the track.

The Toyota drivers Cristiano da Matta and Olivier Panis opted not to pit and took the lead, ahead of Coulthard.

[25] Montoya held on to win, ahead of Coulthard and Trulli, the Renault driver scoring his only podium of the season.

On home soil at Monza, with the support of the tifosi, the Scuderia Ferrari did what they had to do: Michael Schumacher qualified on pole and won.

Kimi Räikkönen had not given up his championship hopes and achieved pole position for the United States Grand Prix.

Barrichello managed second and Olivier Panis scored Toyota's best qualifying result when he set the third-fastest time.

Räikkönen made a clean start, but Barrichello was passed by Panis when his launch control failed to automatically shift up to second gear.

Mark Webber shortly led the race before crashing out, with the same happening to then-leader David Coulthard.

Schumacher was careful to stay out of trouble at the start, looking to score at least one point, but when trying to overtake Takuma Sato, he hit the local driver's rear wheel and lost his front wing.

This practically handed the Constructors' Championship to Williams, until Montoya suddenly retired with a hydraulics problem.

Schumacher narrowly avoided a replication of his incident at the chicane, this time with Cristiano da Matta, but it led to his brother Ralf running into the back of him.

Michael Schumacher ended the season on 93 points, ahead of Kimi Räikkönen with 91 and Juan Pablo Montoya with 82.