2001 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2001 Monaco Grand Prix, otherwise officially known as the LIXe Grand Prix de Monaco, was the seventh round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged on 27 May 2001 at the Circuit de Monaco in Monte Carlo, Monaco.'Monaco GP, 2001', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr670.html, (Accessed 06/11/2019) The race would not be remembered as a classic, as Michael Schumacher claimed a dominant victory ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello as the two faltered.
Indeed, it had been David Coulthard, Schumacher's main title rival, who had seized pole position in qualifying, beating the #1 by two tenths. Mika Häkkinen then shared the second row with Barrichello, while Ralf Schumacher secured fifth ahead of Eddie Irvine in the .
However, Coulthard's hopes of continuing his win streak would be destroyed before the race even began, with a launch control system failure on the formation lap causing him to stall. That forced the Scot to start from the back of the grid once McLaren got him started, effectively gifting Michael Schumacher an opposed run into Sainte Devote.
That, ultimately, proved to be the case, with the #1 Ferrari immediately streaking into the lead when the race began, with Häkkinen trying to hang on in second. Behind, Barrichello shadowed them in third, while Irvine tried to make an ambitious outside lunge on Ralf Schumacher to grab fourth, only to be passed by Schumacher's teammate Juan Pablo Montoya.
The rest of the opening lap saw Coulthard make some minor group at the back of the field, picking up a place when Nick Heidfeld was bounced into the barriers at Portier by Enrique Bernoldi. Otherwise, there was little change in the early stages, with Michael Schumacher easing away from Häkkinen, while Barrichello led the two Williams'.
The fight for the lead soon became an exchange of fastest laps, before Häkkinen began to sense that something was wrong with his steering, causing his McLaren to ease to the right. On lap thirteen the issue worsened as he ran through the tunnel, allowing Barrichello to streak past and claim second into the Nouvelle Chicane, despite the fact that the Brazilian was braking earlier than usual due to cramp.
Häkkinen ultimately abandoned third at the end of the lap for a quick diagnosis in the McLaren pitbox, where no issues were found. Yet, just two laps later the Finn was back in to retire as the issue persisted, leaving Ralf Schumacher in third ahead of Montoya, while Michael Schumacher continued to build a huge lead.
With that the fight for victory was over, with Schumacher only losing the lead for four laps during the pitstop window as Barrichello stayed out longer. Behind, however, there would be some intense fighting between the two Williams and Irvine for third, although that would be settled by mechanical strife for the two Williams long before the end of the race.
Barrichello steadily closed up onto the back of Schumacher in the closing laps, with Ferrari almost staging a dead heat as the pair flashed across the line. Ultimately, however, it was Schumacher's victory half a second ahead of the Brazilian, with Irvine in third to claim 's maiden F1 podium finish. Jacques Villeneuve ran out of time to catch the Ulsterman and so had to settle for fourth, while Coulthard secured fifth late on to keep his title hopes alive.
==Background==
There was a change to the off-track personnel ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix, as injury prevented Bernd Mayländer for serving as the Safety Car driver, the first time he had missed a Grand Prix since obtaining the role in 2000.'Marcel Fassler scores first DTM win.', crash.net, (Crash Media Group, 20/05/2001), https://www.crash.net/dtm/news/26455/1/marcel-fassler-scores-first-dtm-win, (Accessed 08/05/2020) He was replaced by fellow Mercedes Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters and factory driver Marcel Fässler, while also missing out on several races in the DTM. Fässler, meanwhile, had also signed to be a test driver with for 2001, fresh from claiming his maiden DTM victory the weekend before.
===A Scottish Pretender===
David Coulthard would leave Austria as a serious title contender after his second win of the campaign, moving onto 38 points after the opening third of the season. That left him just four behind Michael Schumacher after the late swap, suggesting that the controversial switch was the correct call by the Scuderia. It did, however, mean that Rubens Barrichello fell twenty points behind the Scot in third, with Ralf Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld also losing ground.
In the Constructors Championship it had been an even day for Ferrari and at the head of the field, both having claimed ten points across the weekend. That meant that the former's lead remained a healthy eighteen points after six races, with a fair gap back to third placed . were next, a point ahead of , while had become the eighth constructor to claim a place on the score board.
===Entry List===
The full entry list for the is outlined below:
No. 	Driver 	Entrant 	Constructor 	Chassis 	Engine 	Model 	Tyre
1 	Michael Schumacher 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2001 	 	050 3.0 V10 	
2 	Rubens Barrichello 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F2001 	 	050 3.0 V10 	
3 	Mika Häkkinen 	West McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-16 	 	FO 110K 3.0 V10 	
4 	David Coulthard 	West McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-16 	 	FO 110K 3.0 V10 	
5 	Ralf Schumacher 	BMW Williams F1 Team 	 	FW23 	 	P80 3.0 V10 	
6 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	BMW Williams F1 Team 	 	FW23 	 	P80 3.0 V10 	
7 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	Mild Seven Benetton Renault 	 	B201 	 	RS21 3.0 V10 	
8 	Jenson Button 	Mild Seven Benetton Renault 	 	B201 	 	RS21 3.0 V10 	
9 	Olivier Panis 	Lucky Strike BAR Honda 	 	003 	 	RA001E 3.0 V10 	
10 	Jacques Villeneuve 	Lucky Strike BAR Honda 	 	003 	 	RA001E 3.0 V10 	
11 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	B&H Jordan Honda 	 	EJ11 	 	RA001E 3.0 V10 	
12 	Jarno Trulli 	B&H Jordan Honda 	 	EJ11 	 	RA001E 3.0 V10 	
14 	Jos Verstappen 	Orange Arrows Asiatech 	 	A22 	 	001 3.0 V10 	
15 	Enrique Bernoldi 	Orange Arrows Asiatech 	 	A22 	 	001 3.0 V10 	
16 	Nick Heidfeld 	Red Bull Sauber Petronas 	 	C20 	 	01A 3.0 V10 	
17 	Kimi Räikkönen 	Red Bull Sauber Petronas 	 	C20 	 	01A 3.0 V10 	
18 	Eddie Irvine 	Jaguar Racing 	 	R2 	 	CR-3 3.0 V10 	
19 	Pedro de la Rosa 	Jaguar Racing 	 	R2 	 	CR-3 3.0 V10 	
20 	Tarso Marques 	European Minardi F1 	 	PS01 	 	European 3.0 V10 	
21 	Fernando Alonso 	European Minardi F1 	 	PS01 	 	European 3.0 V10 	
22 	Jean Alesi 	Prost Grand Prix 	 	AP04 	 	01A 3.0 V10 	
23 	Luciano Burti 	Prost Grand Prix 	 	AP04 	 	01A 3.0 V10 	
Source:'Monaco 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/engages.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)
==Practice Overview==
==Qualifying==
===Qualifying Report===
===Qualifying Results===
The full qualifying results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Time 	Gap 	Ave. Speed
1 	4 	David Coulthard 	 	1:17.430 	— 	156.683 km/h
2 	1 	Michael Schumacher 	 	1:17.631 	+0.201s 	156.278 km/h
3 	3 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	1:17.749 	+0.319s 	156.041 km/h
4 	2 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	1:17.856 	+0.426s 	155.826 km/h
5 	5 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	1:18.029 	+0.599s 	155.481 km/h
6 	18 	Eddie Irvine 	 	1:18.432 	+1.002s 	154.682 km/h
7 	6 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	 	1:18.751 	+1.321s 	154.055 km/h
8 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	1:18.921 	+1.491s 	153.723 km/h
9 	10 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	1:19.086 	+1.656s 	153.403 km/h
10 	7 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	1:19.220 	+1.790s 	153.143 km/h
11 	22 	Jean Alesi 	 	1:19.245 	+1.815s 	153.095 km/h
12 	9 	Olivier Panis 	 	1:19.294 	+1.864s 	153.000 km/h
13 	11 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	1:19.316 	+1.886s 	152.958 km/h
14 	19 	Pedro de la Rosa 	 	1:20.033 	+2.603s 	151.587 km/h
15 	17 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:20.081 	+2.651s 	151.497 km/h
16 	16 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	1:20.261 	+2.831s 	151.157 km/h
17 	8 	Jenson Button 	 	1:20.342 	+2.912s 	151.004 km/h
18 	21 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:20.788 	+3.358s 	150.171 km/h
19 	14 	Jos Verstappen 	 	1:20.823 	+3.393s 	150.106 km/h
20 	15 	Enrique Bernoldi 	 	1:21.336 	+3.906s 	149.159 km/h
21 	23 	Luciano Burti 	 	1:21.771 	+4.341s 	148.366 km/h
22 	20 	Tarso Marques 	 	1:22.201 	+4.771s 	147.589 km/h
107% Time: 1:22.850 	107% Time: 1:22.850 	107% Time: 1:22.850 	107% Time: 1:22.850 	107% Time: 1:22.850 	107% Time: 1:22.850 	107% Time: 1:22.850
Source:'Monaco 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)'Grand Prix de Monaco 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), , (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)'Grand Prix de Monaco 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), , (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)'Grand Prix de Monaco 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), , (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)'Grand Prix de Monaco 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), , (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)'Grand Prix de Monaco 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), , (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)'Grand Prix de Monaco 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), , (Accessed 06/11/2019)	Source:'Monaco 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)'Grand Prix de Monaco 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), , (Accessed 06/11/2019)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
*Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
===Grid===
** Coulthard started the race from the back of the grid after stalling on the formation lap.
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor	Laps 	Time/Retired	Grid 	Points
1 	1 	Michael Schumacher 	 	78 	1:47:22.561 	2 	10
2 	2 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	78 	+0.431s 	4 	6
3 	18 	Eddie Irvine 	 	78 	+30.698s 	6 	4
4 	10 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	78 	+32.454s 	9 	3
5 	4 	David Coulthard 	 	77 	+1 Lap 	1 	2
6 	22 	Jean Alesi 	 	77 	+1 Lap 	11 	1
7 	8 	Jenson Button 	 	77 	+1 Lap 	17 	
8 	14 	Jos Verstappen 	 	77 	+1 Lap 	19 	
9 	15 	Enrique Bernoldi 	 	76 	+2 Laps 	20 	
10 	17 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	73 	+5 Laps 	15 	
Ret 	5 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	57 	Electrical 	5 	
Ret 	20 	Tarso Marques 	 	56 	Transmission	22 	
Ret 	21 	Fernando Alonso 	 	54 	Gearbox 	18 	
Ret 	11 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	 	49 	Accident 	13 	
Ret 	7 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	43 	Accident 	10 	
Ret 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	30 	Hydraulics 	8 	
Ret 	23 	Luciano Burti 	 	24 	Gearbox 	21 	
Ret 	19 	Pedro de la Rosa 	 	18 	Hydraulics 	14 	
Ret 	3 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	15 	Steering 	3 	
Ret 	9 	Olivier Panis 	 	13 	Steering 	12 	
Ret 	6 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	 	2 	Spin 	7 	
Ret 	16 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	0 	Collision 	16 	
Source:	Source:	Source: 	Source: 	Source:	Source: 	Source:	Source:
==Milestones==
* 250th Grand Prix start for as a constructor.'7. Monaco 2001', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/monaco.aspx, (Accessed 06/11/2019)
* registered their 500th individual race entry as an engine supplier.'2001 Monaco GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2001&gp=Monaco%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 06/11/2019)
* Twelfth and final pole position for David Coulthard.
* 48th career victory for Michael Schumacher.
* secured their 139th win as a constructor and engine supplier.
* Rubens Barrichello claimed his twentieth podium finish.
* Eddie Irvine claimed a maiden podium finish for as a constructor.
==Standings==
Michael Schumacher extended his lead in the Drivers Championship as a result of the Monaco Grand Prix, leaving the Principality with 52 points to his credit. That left him twelve clear of closest challenger David Coulthard, with the Scot himself sixteen clear of Rubens Barrichello in third. The Brazilian himself ended the day with double the points of fourth placed Ralf Schumacher, with Nick Heidfeld still holding on to his top five status.
, meanwhile, had claimed their second one-two of the campaign to move onto 76 points, leaving them in command of the Constructors Championship once again. Indeed, that result moved them 32 points clear of in second, who themselves held a 26 point advantage over third placed . and completed the top five, with points for and meaning everyone bar had registered points in 2001.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Michael Schumacher 	52 	
2 	David Coulthard 	40 	
3 	Rubens Barrichello 	24 	
4 	Ralf Schumacher 	12 	
5 	Nick Heidfeld 	8 	
6 	Jacques Villeneuve 	7 	4
7 	Jarno Trulli 	7 	1
8 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	6 	1
9 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	6 	1
10 	Olivier Panis 	5 	1
11 	Eddie Irvine 	4 	4
12 	Kimi Räikkönen 	4 	1
13 	Mika Häkkinen 	2 	1
14 	Jos Verstappen 	1 	1
15 	Jean Alesi 	1 	1
16 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	1 	2
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	76 	
2 	 	44 	
3 	 	18 	
4 	 	13 	
5 	 	12 	1
6 	 	12 	1
7 	 	4 	2
8 	 	1 	1
9 	 	1 	1
10 	 	1 	
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
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References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Monaco Grand Prix
Category:2001 Grands Prix