[20] Toyota's Olivier Panis spent a day at France's Circuit Paul Ricard testing aerodynamic modifications on the TF103 car.

"[9] Montoya felt convinced his car would perform well at Indianapolis because its engine was suited for IMS's main straight, and he anticipated a close duel with his championship rivals.

[9] He told reporters that he did not have to win the Grand Prix, just finish ahead of Michael Schumacher and Räikkönen to become World Champion in Japan.

[8] He stated that the MP4-17D's characteristics would be better suited at Indianapolis than at Monza, and that he needed a strong finish late in the season to remain in contention for the championship.

[26] The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's (FIA; Formula One's governing body) president Max Mosley warned Ferrari, Williams, and McLaren and their drivers that any evidence of team orders in Indianapolis following their ban in October 2002 due to Barrichello being ordered to let teammate Michael Schumacher win the Austrian Grand Prix would be referred to the race stewards for thorough analysis.

[28] McLaren owner Ron Dennis predicted that team orders would not be an issue in the final two races, expecting that teammates would help each other in the championship battle.

[31] Allan McNish (Renault), Björn Wirdheim (Jordan) and Gianmaria Bruni (Minardi) were the three drivers who drove a third car in only the Friday private test session.

[34][35] BAR's Jenson Button was cleared to compete after a high-speed crash during testing in Jerez that forced him to visit a London hospital for a check-up.

[42] A rubber seal came out of a crack between two concrete slabs on the main straight 19 minutes into the session, necessitating a four-minute stoppage to allow marshals to clear the debris.

[43] The FIA moved the start time of all Saturday's events by an hour to better accommodate world television viewers due to the title duel.

[47] His car stopped on the main straight with smoke billowing from it,[42] prompting its removal from the circuit to the pit lane and oil cleaning by marshals.

[29][42][47] The second practice session was held on a circuit in cool, overcast weather with damp parts due to nighttime rain and electrical thunderstorms.

[53][54] Trulli maintained his pace with a lap of 1:12.408, ahead of Ralf Schumacher, Montoya, Barrichello, Alonso, Toyota's Cristiano da Matta, Panis, Sauber's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and the Jaguar pair of Webber and Wilson.

[51] A fuel pressure issue caused Michael Schumacher to stop his Ferrari on his installation lap at turn nine two minutes into the session and marshals removed the car from the track.

[72] Michael Schumacher's Ferrari lacked grip and had handling issues as he appeared to commit small driver errors en route to seventh.

[72] Webber's Jaguar lacked grip and balance due to his car carrying a heavy fuel load, causing him to understeer and come 14th.

[72] Minardi teammates Verstappen (19th) and Kiesa (20th) completed the starting order, with both cars carrying a heavy fuel load, resulting in significant oversteer and poor rear-end handling.

[82][83][84] Panis passed the slow-starting Barrichello to go third to second as the latter had an automatic gearchange upshift glitch that prompted him to change gears manually.

[82][87] After McLaren checked camera evidence, Dennis talked with the race director regarding the pass, but the FIA stewards did not penalise Michael Schumacher with a drive-through penalty, ruling that he completed the manoeuvre shortly before entering the yellow flag zone.

[82] Michael Schumacher was passed for third on the inside on the main straight by Coulthard on lap seven, as his Bridgestone grooved tyres performed worse than the Michelins in the changing track conditions.

[82] This made cars difficult to drive, and team managers tried to mitigate the effects of the changing conditions by predicting whether the track would remain wet or dry.

On lap 21, Button lost control of his car on the wet track, and Wilson moved into second place as drivers began stopping for rain tyres.

[29][79][81] During lap 33, Michael Schumacher caught Frentzen and overtook him without much defence at the end of the back straight for second place so that he could begin closing up to race leader Button.

[82][83] On lap 42, Button pulled over to the side of the main straight with smoke billoiwing from his engine due to a loss of hydraulic pressure,[79][83] something BAR were aware of but were unable to rectify.

Michael Schumacher made his third pit stop for fuel and dry tyres at the end of lap 48, giving Frentzen the race lead.

[76][85] Fisichella's slower car delayed Frentzen, allowing Räikkönen to reduce the gap and overtake him on the inside into turn one for second at the start of lap 55.

[81][82] Villeneuve retired from the race on lap 66, with smoke and fire erupting from the rear of his car into turn eight,[79] ending a possible duel with Wilson for eighth.

[93] Räikkönen said he lost the race due to changing weather conditions and admitted he was slightly disappointed to finish second, adding, "I was fighting as much as I could.

"[96] Trulli blamed his poor qualifying performance on his lack of a better finish, but he felt his car improved throughout the race and he attacked regardless of the conditions.

"[99] The weather, according to Brawn, was critical to winning the race,[86] whereas Williams chief operations engineer Sam Michael said his team had made numerous mistakes in their strategy and that they would review them.