Rubens Barrichello was quickest in the morning warm-up session after completing 12 laps in his race car while polesitter for this afternoons race, Michael Schumacher was third. The German did 7 laps in the T-car and 4 in his racecar, which came to a halt out on final sector of the circuit with about five minutes remaining due to an hydraulic problem on the F2002.

The session was red flagged with just over one minute to go, when the rear wing of Mark Webber's Minardi flew off as he went down the straight, sending the car off into the gravel, causing grave concerns for the team in the race. As with all incidents of this type, the FIA technical staff examined the cause of this morning's rear wing failure and team boss Paul Stoddart announced shortly afterward that the team would not be competing.

All twenty competitors made their way to the grid, Eddie Irvine now in 20th place after losing his 15th best time due to a fuel irregularity. Track temperature was sitting at 22 degrees as team personnel left the grid to allow the formation la to get underway. Disaster for Rubens Barrichello, the Brazilian driver failing to get away from his second spot on the grid! Michael Schumacher leads the rest of the field back around to await the start of the 65 lap race as his teammate is pushed back into the pits, the engine on his F2002 still running and the Brazilian will now be forced to start from pitlane.

And it's go in Barcelona! Barrichello fails to make the start as teammate Michael Schumacher leads the pack into the first corner. Jenson Button gets past Kimi Raikkonen for fourth but the Finn reclaims the position. Ralf Schumacher is second with Juan Pablo Montoya in third but Michael is pulling out over a second a lap on his younger brother. Meanwhile Rubens Barrichello still fails to join the race, the Brazilian now out of the car.

The McLaren drivers are fourth and sixth with Kimi Raikkonen ahead of Coulthard. Jarno Trulli is up to ninth and at the back of the field, Eddie Irvine has passed his teammate for 19th place but shortly afterward the Spaniard beaches his Jaguar in the gravel, putting an end to his home GP. Mika Salo pits his Toyota with a suspected puncture and there is a rear wing on the track, it has come off Kimi Raikkonen's McLaren and the young Finn pits and retires. The Jordan of Giancarlo Fisichella joins Raikkonen and de la Rosa in retirement, the Jordan driver out of the Spanish GP. After just 6 laps we are down to 16 runners.

Michael Schumacher continues his dominance here, the German ace over six seconds ahead of his Williams driving brother Ralf after seven laps. Panis is right on the gearbox of Heinz-Harald Frentzen's gearbox but the Frenchman can't get by. Meanwhile Takuma Sato spins his EJ12 at turn 13. Another double DNF for Jordan!

Michael Schumacher sets fastest lap after fastest lap constantly pulling away from the rest of the field. After Minardi's wing problems earlier, McLaren technical director Adrian Newey is sitting on pit wall with a worried expression, however at this stage it doesn't appear as if the Woking outfit have any intention of calling David into the pits. Just like Imola, Michael Schumacher is controlling the race at with 15 laps gone, it doesn't appear as if much will change anytime soon.

Lap 24 and the pitstops begin, all in and out with no problems. Juan Pablo Montoya's seems a little long as race leader Michael Schumacher comes in. No major problems for the German, who completes the lap a second quicker than Montoya, however he did have a minor moment with the fuel nozzle. David Coulthard doesn't come in and the Scot is in second while Oliver Panis finally gets past Frentzen, but it was due to a quicker pitstop, not an on track passing manoeuvre.

Problems for Ralf Schumacher! Juan Pablo Montoya takes third place from his teammate who ran wide at damaged the nose on his Williams. The German pits for 28 seconds and returns to the circuit in 13th place. David Coulthard finally pits and comes back out in fourth, still unable to get past Jenson Button, however the gap has been reduced to under a second.

David continues to harry the third placed Renault, but he just can't get past. The battle allows Jarno Trulli to close the gap to the McLaren making it a three way battle for the third step on the podium, but Coulthard finally makes the move at the end of the main straight. Meanwhile Michael Schumacher is almost half a minute ahead of second placed Juan Pablo Montoya and the Ferrari driver now puts a lap on younger brother Ralf, who is still in 13th place.

Jarno Trulli puts a move on his teammate and moves his Renault up into fourth place, it appears as if Jenson Button may have a problem, the young Brit's times dropping off. Jacques Villeneuve passes Enrique Bernoldi for tenth place, the next man in the Canadians sights being Heinz-Harald Frentzen. Bernoldi then pits for over 40 seconds and drops way back down the field.

Lap 41 and Ralf Schumacher pits for a third time. The mechanics change the nose on his Williams and he is in and out in 10.8 seconds. Eddie Irvine enters pitlane slowly followed by Nick Heidfeld and Jenson Button. Heidfeld has a better stop and gets out in front of Button. Meanwhile, Eddie Irvine retires the sole remaining Jaguar. Olivier Panis is also in the pits but there is a problem for the Frenchman and he parks his BAR on the exit of pitlane.

Juan Pablo Montoya enters the pits next and there is an accident after the Colombian lifts off too early and hits the lollipop man! The mechanic appears injured but it is unknown at this stage just how bad after Juan drove over his foot. Michael Schumacher in for his second stop and no problems for the German who retains his lead after a perfect stop. Montoya is still in second with Coulthard back in third after his second and final stop. 48 laps down and we are left with 12 runners, Michael Schumacher, Juan Montoya, David Coulthard, Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld, Jenson Button, Felipe Massa, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Jacques Villeneuve, Ralf Schumacher and Mika Salo.

Massa and Button are fighting for sixth place but Heinz-Harald Frentzen closes in on the duo making it a three way battle for the final point. Button is experiencing engine problems but he continues to hang onto his position. Michael eases off his blistering pace in the final laps, he has the win sewn up here today so he appears to be just nursing the car home at a comfortable pace.

Frentzen continues to harry Massa but the rookie driver holds off the Arrows, however the ailing Renault of Jenson Button loses even more time and Massa moves past and into sixth with Frentzen going into seventh. Jarno Trulli starts losing time with only a few laps to go and drops out of the points. Disaster for the Italian, but joy for Arrows as Heinz-Harald Frentzen moves into the points! Jenson Button finally retires. Final lap and Michael begins the run home. Trulli pits and Ralf Schumacher pulls off but Michael crosses the line to claim his fourth victory of the season, another superb performance from the reigning world champion!

Top six from the Spanish Grand Prix were: Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya, David Coulthard, Nick Heidfeld, Felipe Massa and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.