Giancarlo Fisichella, who is celebrating his 43rd birthday on this day, had to wait until the 2003 Brazilian Grand Prix - his 103rd career start - to secure his maiden F1 win in one of the most bizarre and chaotic races in recent memory.
Driving the unfancied Jordan, Fisico steadily worked his way up from an already strong eighth on the grid, staying out of the numerous pitfalls that Interlagos threw at the drivers that Sunday. Torrential rains led to a flurry of accidents and the race was eventually stopped when Fernando Alonso struck a tyre that had come off Mark Webber’s wrecked Jaguar at the final corner.
With F1 rules stating that results are based on positions two laps prior to the red flag, Fisichella was supposed to be the winner but a glitch in the timing system showed McLaren’s Kimi Raikkonen as the victor instead.
The podium ceremony went on with a disappointed-looking Fisichella stepping on the second step. However, the FIA overturned the decision in favour of the Italian a few days later, which resulted in Kimi having to hand the winner’s trophy back to Giancarlo at the next event in Imola (pictured above).
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