page_title: 2001 Italian Grand Prix
section_title: Race
hierarchical_section_title: 2001 Italian Grand Prix / Race
caption_attribution_description: Talladega, AL 4-08 arriving for nascar race
context_page_description: The 2001 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 16 September 2001 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza, Italy. It was the fifteenth round of the 2001 Formula One season and the 72nd Italian Grand Prix. The 53-lap race was won by Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya after starting from pole position. Rubens Barrichello finished second in a Ferrari with Montoya's teammate Ralf Schumacher third.
  Montoya maintained his start-line advantage and led until he was passed by Barrichello on the ninth lap. Barrichello pulled away from Montoya and held the lead until his one and only pit stop on lap 19 which proved problematic because of a faulty refuelling rig. Montoya was utilising a one-stop strategy and made a pit stop on lap 29, which allowed his teammate Ralf Schumacher to lead for six laps. Barrichello regained the lead on lap 36, until Montoya took over the position on lap 42 when Barrichello made a pit stop for the second time. Barrichello started to reduce the gap between himself and Montoya but was unable to challenge the Williams driver who won his first Formula One victory.
context_section_description: The race started at 14:00 local time. The race was held in sunny weather conditions; the air temperature was 19 °C (66 °F) and the track temperature 26 °C (79 °F). During the buildup to the race, Michael Schumacher attempted to organise a pact that would see no overtaking at the first two chicanes. The plan failed, with Villeneuve, Benetton team principal Flavio Briatore and Arrows owner Tom Walkinshaw 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 fire marshal Paolo Gislimberti 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 Formula One driver Alex Zanardi was critically injured, resulting in the amputation of both legs.
  Heidfeld lost hydraulic pressure on the grid; he was required to use the spare Sauber monocoque and start from the pit lane. Fisichella did the same because he had a fuel leak in his car. When the race started, Montoya maintained his pole position advantage going into the first corner, with Barrichello in second and Michael Schumacher in third. Ralf Schumacher passed Michael Schumacher at the Variante Goodyear chicane but Michael challenged Ralf for the position at the exit of Variante della Roggia and got ahead heading into the Curve di Lesmo. Further back, Trulli was hit by Button and was sent into a spin and became the first retirement of the race. Button made a pit stop at the end of the lap for a replacement front wing. Irvine made a good start, rising from thirteenth to seventh by the end of the first lap, while Häkkinen made a poor gateway after going through the chicane to avoid making contact with other drivers and fell to thirteenth. Verstappen made the best start, moving from nineteenth to eighth. At the end of the first lap, Montoya led by half a second from Barrichello, who in turn was followed by Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Coulthard, de la Rosa, Irvine, Verstappen, Räikkönen, Alesi, Villeneuve, Bernoldi, Häkkinen, Panis, Frentzen, Alonso, Enge, Heidfeld, Yoong, Fisichella and Button.
  Barrichello and Michael Schumacher started to maintain the gap between themselves and Montoya, and started to pull away from Ralf Schumacher. Bernoldi passed Villeneuve for tenth position on lap two, while Irvine dropped to ninth one lap later after he was overtaken by Verstappen and Räikkönen. He later fell behind Alesi, Bernoldi and Villeneuve on the fourth lap. Button's engine failed which caused him to retire on lap five. Irvine lost a further three positions to Häkkinen, Panis and Frentzen one lap later. Coulthard became the third retirement of the Grand Prix after an engine failure on lap seven, which meant Verstappen inherited fifth and Räikkönen moved into sixth. Montoya had a blister on one of his rear tyres which caused him to slide under braking, and was slow exiting the Variante della Roggia chicane which allowed Barrichello to take the lead on the ninth lap. Three laps later, Alesi passed Räikkönen for sixth while Häkkinen moved into tenth after passing Bernoldi on lap 13. Irvine retired on lap 14 because he lost horsepower in his car when a cylinder in his engine stopped working. Verstappen fell to seventh after he was passed by Alesi and Räikkönen on lap 16. Yoong spun at Curva di Lesmo and fell to the back of the field.
  Michael Schumacher battled for Montoya for third position until he became the first of the leading drivers to make a scheduled pit stop on lap 18, and rejoined the track in fourth place. The Williams and Ferrari teams were employing different pit stop strategies – the Williams team were planning a one-stop strategy whereas the Ferrari team were planning for two stops.  Barrichello (on a lighter fuel load) was able to quickly extend his lead over Montoya to ten seconds by his first pit stop on lap 19. However, Barrichello's pit stop proved problematic: his refuelling rig failed to work which meant he was stationary for around si
caption: Juan Pablo Montoya (pictured in 2008) won his first Grand Prix after starting from pole position.
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