The 2002 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on May 12, 2002 at the A1-Ring. It was the sixth round of the 2002 Formula One season.This race is known for its infamous "staged finish", where race leader Rubens Barrichello, who was running first, was ordered to allow Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher to overtake him under "team orders" and win the Grand Prix. Ferrari wanted their number one driver Schumacher to win the race and collect the maximum points for the Drivers' Championship. Barrichello let him pass on the last lap at the finish line which greatly upset the spectators. Barrichello had also yielded second place to Schumacher at the line in the previous year's event.
On the podium, in response to the jeers of the crowd, Schumacher insisted that Barrichello take the top spot on the podium. Schumacher took the trophy for first place from the Austrian chancellor and gave it to Barrichello, who then took the second place trophy. Barrichello, Schumacher and Ferrari were fined one million U.S. dollars for the failure to observe Article 170 of the Formula One Sporting Regulations concerning the podium ceremony. As a result of this, and another incident at the United States Grand Prix, the FIA declared new rules against "team orders" artificially affecting race results.
The race also featured a huge accident between Takuma Sato and Nick Heidfeld. Heidfeld lost control over his car due to a rear suspension failure on the way into a corner, causing it to spin across the infield and back across the circuit, spinning backwards into the side of Sato's car. Sato suffered minor injuries but got stuck in the wreckage and it took several minutes for the race track stewards to cut him out from the vehicle.
Read more about 2002 Austrian Grand Prix: Qualifying, Classification
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