2001 Italian Grand Prix

  2001 Italian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 15 of 17 in the 2001 Formula One season
Autodromo Nazionale Monza
Date	16 September 2001
Official name	LXXII Gran Premio Campari d'Italia
Location	Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza, Italy
Course	Permanent racing facility 5.793 km (3.600 mi)
Distance	53 laps, 306.719 km (190.586 mi)
Weather	Sunny
Attendance	110,000
Pole position
Driver	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW
Time	1:22.216
Fastest lap
Driver	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW
Time	1:25.073 on lap 39
Podium
First	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW
Second	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
Third	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW
Lap leaders

The 2001 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on 16 September 2001. It was the fifteenth round of the 2001 Formula One season. The race, contested over 53 laps, was the first Formula One victory for Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya after a long battle with Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, who finished second. The other Williams driver Ralf Schumacher finished third.

Report

Background

This was the first F1 race held after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States. As a mark of respect, several teams altered their cars' liveries. The Ferraris ran without any sponsorship livery and sported matte black nose-cones. The Jaguar team fitted black engine covers to their R2 cars while the Jordan-Hondas featured American flag decals. Mika Häkkinen announced that he was to take a sabbatical at the end of the season citing the reason to spend more time with his family.^[1]

Race

The pre-race build-up was notable for the fact that Michael Schumacher attempted to organise a pact that would see the drivers treat the first lap as if it were taking place behind the safety car. The plan failed, with Jacques Villeneuve and Benetton's Flavio Briatore refusing to accept the pact. Schumacher had been keen to avoid any accidents at the start, due to a combination of the effects of the 11 September 2001 attacks earlier that week; the death of a marshal in a pile-up at the beginning of the previous year's race; and the horrific accident in the previous day's ChampCar race in Germany, in which former F1 driver Alex Zanardi was critically injured, resulting in the amputation of both legs. In pre-race interviews, several drivers stated that it was important to ensure that the race pass by without a further major incident. However, a one-minute silence was observed.^[2]

At the start, few people in the grandstands waved their flags and quietly applauded partly due to the suggestion of Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. One such spectator waved a United States flag.^[2]

At the start, Montoya led Barrichello into the first corner with Michael Schumacher passing his brother Ralf for third. Jenson Button attempted to pass the Jordan of Jarno Trulli but both drivers ended up colliding. Barrichello was on a two-stop strategy in order to fight the faster Williams. After intense pressure, the Brazilian passed the Colombian on lap 8 and started opening up a gap in order to make his strategy work after the pit stops. But his first stop on lap 20 was disastrous because of a problem in the fuel hose. That ruined all the gap he had made on Montoya and also allowed Ralf Schumacher to take second. Barrichello soon passed Ralf and started going after Montoya again, but he didn't have enough laps to challenge him. After 53 laps, Montoya took his first Grand Prix win and the first for a Colombian driver in Formula One. Barrichello finished second, five seconds behind. Ralf finished third ahead of his brother Michael, who had a very quiet race.^[3] On the podium ceremony, Montoya wore a black band on his overalls.^[2]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap	Grid
1	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	1:22.216		1
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:22.528	+0.312	2
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:22.624	+0.408	3
4	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	1:22.841	+0.625	4
5	11	Jarno Trulli	Jordan-Honda	1:23.126	+0.910	5
6	4	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:23.148	+0.932	6
7	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:23.394	+1.178	7
8	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	1:23.417	+1.201	8
9	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber-Petronas	1:23.595	+1.379	9
10	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:23.693	+1.477	10
11	8	Jenson Button	Benetton-Renault	1:23.892	+1.676	11
12	22	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Prost-Acer	1:23.943	+1.727	12
13	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:24.031	+1.815	13
14	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Renault	1:24.090	+1.874	14
15	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	1:24.164	+1.948	15
16	12	Jean Alesi	Jordan-Honda	1:24.198	+1.982	16
17	9	Olivier Panis	BAR-Honda	1:24.677	+2.461	17
18	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows-Asiatech	1:25.444	+3.228	18
19	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows-Asiatech	1:25.511	+3.295	19
20	23	Tomáš Enge	Prost-Acer	1:26.039	+3.823	20
21	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi-European	1:26.218	+4.002	21
22	20	Alex Yoong	Minardi-European	1:27.463	+5.247	22

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	53	1:16:58.493	1	10
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	53	+5.175	2	6
3	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	53	+17.335	4	4
4	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	53	+24.991	3	3
5	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar-Cosworth	53	+1:14.984	10	2
6	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	53	+1:22.469	15	1
7	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber-Petronas	53	+1:23.107	9
8	12	Jean Alesi	Jordan-Honda	52	+1 Lap	16
9	9	Olivier Panis	BAR-Honda	52	+1 Lap	17
10	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Renault	52	+1 Lap	14
11	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	52	+1 Lap	8
12	23	Tomáš Enge	Prost-Acer	52	+1 Lap	20
13	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi-European	51	+2 Laps	21
Ret	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows-Asiatech	46	Crankshaft	18
Ret	20	Alex Yoong	Minardi-European	44	Spun off	22
Ret	22	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Prost-Acer	28	Gearbox	12
Ret	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows-Asiatech	25	Fuel Pressure	19
Ret	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	19	Gearbox	7
Ret	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	14	Engine	13
Ret	4	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	6	Engine	6
Ret	8	Jenson Button	Benetton-Renault	4	Engine	11
Ret	11	Jarno Trulli	Jordan-Honda	0	Stalled	5

Notes

• First win: Juan Pablo Montoya
• First race: Alex Yoong (first Malaysian driver), Tomáš Enge (first Czech driver).
• Giancarlo Fisichella and Nick Heidfeld started this race from the pit lane.

Standings after the race

• Bold text indicates the World Champions.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 107 2 David Coulthard 57 3 Rubens Barrichello 54 4 Ralf Schumacher 48 5 Juan Pablo Montoya 25

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 161 2 McLaren-Mercedes 81 3 Williams-BMW 73 4 Sauber-Petronas 20 5 BAR-Honda 17

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

Coordinates: 45°36′56″N 9°16′52″E / 45.61556°N 9.28111°E / 45.61556; 9.28111