* Lap 1: At the start of the race Michael Schumacher jumps into the lead with Rubens Barrichello slotting into second and Juan Pablo Montoya seeing off a challenge in the first corner from a fast-starting Jarno Trulli. This allows Takuma Sato and Ralf Schumacher to get ahead of the Renault although Jenson Button is stuck behind Trulli. Then come Cristiano da Matta, David Coulthard, Olivier Panis and a fast-starting Mark Webber. In the course of the lap da Matta goes off and is passed by Webber and Coulthard loses out to Panis. At the end of the lap Michael Schumacher is 1.5secs ahead of Barrichello with Montoya eight-tenths behind Rubens. Next up is Sato, Ralf Schumacher, Trulli, Button and Panis. The top 10 is completed by Coulthard and Webber. The big loser is da Matta who is behind the two Saubers in 13th place. Raikkonen is up to 14th from 19th but Fernando Alonso’s hopes of making up places are frustrated when he damages his front wing on another car and has to pit. He drops to the tail of the field.
* Lap 2: Michael Schumacher increases his lead to 2.7secs but it is already clear that Montoya cannot keep up with second-placed Barrichello, as he drops more than a second behind the Brazilian. Further back Webber passes Coulthard to move to ninth and da Matta gets past Felipe Massa to move up to 12th.
* Lap 3: The gap at the front is up to 3.3secs and Barrichello’s lead over Montoya goes out to 2.4secs.
* Lap 6: The positions are unchanged despite a lively battle for 14th between Christian Klien and Kimi Raikkonen. Schumacher’s lead is up to 4.1secs and Barrichello is now nearly six seconds clear of Montoya. The only hope is that Montoya is running with a lot more fuel than the two Ferraris. In the midfield Olivier Panis comes into the pits and falls from 8th place down to 17th.
* Lap 7: Ralf Schumacher and Sato come to blows as Ralf passes the BAR. The Japanese driver does not to back off and the cars collide. This puts Schumacher into a spin and allows Trulli to pass Sato. Ralf has to pit for repairs. Also pitting is da Matta in the Toyota.
* Lap 8: Kimi Raikkonen goes out with a burst of flame at the back of the car.
* Lap 9: The major pit stops begin with Michael Schumacher, Webber, Coulthard and Massa coming in. Down at the back Zsolt Baumgartner is also a pit caller. Barrichello goes into the lead while Coulthard and Webber leave pit lane absolutely side by side, Webber eventually having to give way to the McLaren.
* Lap 10: Barrichello, Montoya and Trulli all pit and for a lap Sato is in the lead with Button second. Also stopping are Giancarlo Fisichella and Klien. Montoya’s stop confirms that the Williams-BMWs are not competitive with the Ferraris.
* Lap 11: Sato’s moment of glory is brief as he pits at the end of lap leaving Button in the lead but he too needs to stop. Also stopping is Giorgio Pantano who was running eighth because of all the pit stops.
* Lap 12: Button pits and Michael Schumacher goes back into the lead. He is around 10 seconds ahead of Barrichello who in turn is four seconds ahead of Montoya. There is then a big gap back to Trulli, Sato, Button and Nick Heidfeld, who is yet to stop. Then comes Coulthard and Webber.
* Lap 13: Heidfeld pits and drops back down the order, allowing Coulthard to move up to seventh and Webber to eighth.
* Lap 15: Klien, running 12th, has a spin and falls behind Massa and Alonso.
* Lap 17: There have been no major changes in the order. Sato however goes over a kerb and damages his front wing and is overtaken for fifth by Button. Sato heads for the pits for a new nose. He rejoins in 14th place.
* Lap 19: Klien pits and falls back behind the Jordans.
* Lap 20: Panis stops again and falls from ninth to 14th.
* Lap 21: Da Matta pits for a second time and he drops to 14th.
* Lap 23: Coulthard and Webber come into the pits for a second time. Coulthard gets out faster and slots in ahead of Massa and Sato. Webber is caught behind them.
* Lap 24: Michael Schumacher stops for a second time. Barrichello goes into the lead. Also pitting is Ralf Schumacher who has fought back to eighth. He drops to 14th.
* Lap 25: Trulli comes into the pits and drops behind Button. Massa and Pantano are also in the pits for a second time. In the midfield Mark Webber has an off but he does not lose any positions.
* Lap 26: Barrichello stays out and it is Montoya who goes into pitlane. Button is also in the pits. He is followed in by Fisichella and Alonso, stopping for the first time since his first lap pit stop.
* Lap 27: Barrichello comes into the pits and so Michael Schumacher leads again. Barrichello is second 12secs behind. Montoya is third with Trulli fourth and Button fifth. Coulthard and Sato follow through while Webber is under serious attack from Alonso for eighth place.
* Lap 28: Da Matta is overtaken by Ralf Schumacher for 12th place.
* Lap 31: The order at the front is stable but the battle between Webber and Alonso is a lively one. Alonso finally forces his way through when Webber makes a slight mistake at the first corner. Further back Ralf Schumacher punts Fisichella into a spin and moves ahead, with da Matta also taking advantage of the situation.
* Lap 33: Sato goes past Coulthard on the inside at the first corner to take sixth place.
* Lap 34: Heidfeld pits for a second time, indicating that he is on a two-stop strategy. He is too far back to make much of an impression.
* Lap 37: The final pit stops begin with Sato and Panis leading the way.
* Lap 38: Trulli, Coulthard and Webber all pit. Further back da Matta has his third stop.
* Lap 39: Montoya pits and Button is briefly third.
* Lap 40: The stops continue with Button stopping. He gets out ahead of Trulli to grab fourth place. Alonso has climbed to eighth but stops and drops back to 10th.
* Lap 41: Michael Schumacher stops again. The pit stop is without incident but Barrichello goes back into the lead. Schumacher is however well clear of Montoya.
* Lap 43: After leading for two laps Barrichello stops again. Schumacher goes back into the lead. Barrichello rejoins 10 secs ahead of Montoya, who is three seconds ahead of Button. Further back Fisichella has his final stop but the strategy has not been a success and he rejoins 13th.
* Lap 45: Sixth-placed Ralf Schumacher has his final stop but this drops him behind Sato, Alonso and Coulthard.
* Lap 47: Montoya begins to slow with gearbox trouble. At the tail of the field Baumgartner retires with a blown engine.
* Lap 49: Button passes Montoya to take third place.
* Lap 50: Montoya falls behind Trulli, while further back Sato is under pressure from Alonso for sixth place. Coulthard comes into the pits and the team works on the car. David tries to rejoin but the cars stops at the end of the pitlane. This puts Ralf Schumacher up to eighth.
* Lap 53: Montoya’s problems are getting worse and he is overtaken by both Sato and Alonso.
* Lap 54: Ralf Schumacher passes Montoya for seventh place.
* Lap 56: Webber and Panis pass Montoya for eighth and ninth places.
* Lap 57: Michael Schumacher wins his third consecutive race to give himself a huge advantage in the World Championship. Barrichello is second and Button third for the second race running. The remaining points go to Trulli, Sato, Alonso, Ralf Schumacher and Webber.