2001 Brazilian Grand Prix

The XXX Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil, otherwise known as the 2001 Brazilian Grand Prix, was the third round of the FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil, on 1 April 2001.'Brazilian GP, 2001', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr666.html, (Accessed 05/11/2019) The race, which was the 666th Grand Prix to be staged and 30th in Brazil, would see David Coulthard claim victory in treacherous conditions.
Qualifying would, as ever, see Championship leader Michael Schumacher claim his seventh straight pole position, sharing the front row with his brother Ralf, marking the first time that two siblings had locked out the top end of the field. Mika Häkkinen was next for ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, while home hero Rubens Barrichello would start from sixth behind Coulthard.
There would, however, be confusion on the grid at the start, with Häkkinen stalling on the grid as the lights went out meaning the Safety Car was called upon instantaneously. That, however, was not before Montoya had made a barnstorming start to grab second from his teammate Ralf Schumacher off the line, benefiting from a slow start from the German racer.
The safety car duly stayed out for a lap before the Finn's car was dragged back to the pitlane, allowing the race to get fully underway. Once again the man to watch was Montoya, who aced the restart beautifully to lunge inside Michael Schumacher for the lead into the Senna S, just as Barrichello removed himself from contention by rear-ending Ralf Schumacher a few yards behind.
Montoya duly managed to build a small one second lead over the #1 during the early stages, planning on a long first stint as dark clouds gathered over the circuit. Schumacher duly stopped on lap 25, dropping half a minute behind the Colombian racer as Montoya upped his pace ahead of Coulthard.
Indeed, many began to question whether Montoya would stop at all, with the #6 starting lap 39 with no signs of life from his pitcrew. Yet, his hopes of a maiden victory were ended a few moments later as he came through turn four, for Jos Verstappen would slam into the back of the Williams and destroyed both cars.
Coulthard inherited the lead and duly made his stop, emerging a second or so ahead of Schumacher as the clouds above the Autódromo finally began to release their load. Indeed, by lap 46 the clouds themselves seemed to have descended upon the circuit, prompting Schumacher to sweep in for intermediate Bridgestones, while Coulthard stayed out for an additional lap.
That stop, which coincided with Schumacher's planned second, ensured that the German racer emerged back with the lead of the race, although Coulthard, who had made his one and only planned stop, rejoined within striking distance. Schumacher then made a rare mistake and came to a sliding stop at turn four, allowing Coulthard to charge past a few moments later when they came to lap Tarso Marques.
With that the race was over, with Coulthard easing away from the German ace to claim victory by over a quarter of a minute, a stark contrast to the Malaysian Grand Prix a fortnight earlier. Behind, Nick Heidfeld battled into third and his maiden podium finish ahead of Olivier Panis, while Jarno Trulli and Giancarlo Fisichella completed the point scorers having had several adventures of their own.
==Background==
A second victory in two races in had left Michael Schumacher with command in the Championship after the opening two rounds, leaving Malaysia with a full twenty points to his name. That translated into a ten point advantage over the men in second, with David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello level on ten points after a second and third place finish apiece. Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Nick Heidfeld then completed the top five, with eight drivers on the score sheet.
In the Constructors Championship had also established a strangle hold after the opening two rounds, leaving Malaysia with 30 points in their grasp. were their closest challengers, but were already nineteen points behind after just two races, and with a seemingly inferior car. Behind, completed the early top three ahead of , with the only other scorers.
===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 	 	F1-2001 	 	050 3.0 V10 	
2 	Rubens Barrichello 	Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 	 	F1-2001 	 	050 3.0 V10 	
3 	Mika Häkkinen 	West McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-16 	 	FO110K 3.0 V10 	
4 	David Coulthard 	West McLaren Mercedes 	 	MP4-16 	 	FO110K 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 	 	A21 	 	001 3.0 V10 	
15 	Enrique Bernoldi 	Orange Arrows Asiatech 	 	A21 	 	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 	Luciano Burti 	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 Acer 	 	AP04 	 	01A 3.0 V10 	
23 	Gastón Mazzacane 	Prost Acer 	 	AP04 	 	01A 3.0 V10 	
Source:'Brazil 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/engages.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)
==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 	1 	Michael Schumacher 	 	1:13.780 	— 	210.252 km/h
2 	5 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	1:14.090 	+0.310s 	209.372 km/h
3 	3 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	1:14.122 	+0.342s 	209.282 km/h
4 	6 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	 	1:14.165 	+0.385s 	209.161 km/h
5 	4 	David Coulthard 	 	1:14.178 	+0.398s 	209.124 km/h
6 	2 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	1:14.191 	+0.411s 	209.087 km/h
7 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	1:14.630 	+0.850s 	207.857 km/h
8 	11 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	1:14.633 	+0.853s 	207.849 km/h
9 	16 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	1:14.810 	+1.030s 	207.357 km/h
10 	17 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	1:14.924 	+1.144s 	207.042 km/h
11 	9 	Olivier Panis 	 	1:15.046 	+1.266s 	206.705 km/h
12 	10 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	1:15.182 	+1.402s 	206.331 km/h
13 	18 	Eddie Irvine 	 	1:15.192 	+1.412s 	206.304 km/h
14 	19 	Luciano Burti 	 	1:15.371 	+1.591s 	205.814 km/h
15 	22 	Jean Alesi 	 	1:15.437 	+1.657s 	205.634 km/h
16 	15 	Enrique Bernoldi 	 	1:15.657 	+1.877s 	205.036 km/h
17 	14 	Jos Verstappen 	 	1:15.704 	+1.924s 	204.909 km/h
18 	7 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	1:16.175 	+2.395s 	203.642 km/h
19 	21 	Fernando Alonso 	 	1:16.184 	+2.404s 	203.618 km/h
20 	8 	Jenson Button 	 	1:16.229 	+2.449s 	203.497 km/h
21 	23 	Gastón Mazzacane 	 	1:16.520 	+2.740s 	202.723 km/h
22 	20 	Tarso Marques 	 	1:16.784 	+3.004s 	202.026 km/h
107% Time: 1:18.945 	107% Time: 1:18.945 	107% Time: 1:18.945 	107% Time: 1:18.945 	107% Time: 1:18.945 	107% Time: 1:18.945 	107% Time: 1:18.945
Source:'Brazil 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)'Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2001/races/705/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)'Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2001/races/705/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)'Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2001/races/705/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)'Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2001/races/705/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)'Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2001/races/705/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)'Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2001/races/705/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)'Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2001/races/705/brazil/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 05/11/2019)
*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===
==Race==
===Report===
===Results===
The full results for the are outlined below:
Pos. 	No. 	Driver 	Constructor 	Laps 	Time/Retired 	Grid 	Points
1 	4 	David Coulthard 	 	71 	1:39:00.834 	5 	10
2 	1 	Michael Schumacher 	 	71 	+16.164s 	1 	6
3 	16 	Nick Heidfeld 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	9 	4
4 	9 	Olivier Panis 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	11 	3
5 	12 	Jarno Trulli 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	7 	2
6 	7 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	18 	1
7 	10 	Jacques Villeneuve 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	12 	
8 	22 	Jean Alesi 	 	70 	+1 Lap 	15 	
9 	20 	Tarso Marques 	 	68 	+3 Laps 	22 	
10 	8 	Jenson Button 	 	64 	+7 Laps 	20 	
Ret 	11 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	 	63 	Electrical 	8 	
Ret 	17 	Kimi Räikkönen 	 	55 	Tyre 	10 	
Ret 	5 	Ralf Schumacher 	 	54 	Spin 	2 	
Ret 	23 	Gastón Mazzacane 	 	54 	Clutch 	21 	
Ret 	18 	Eddie Irvine 	 	52 	Spin 	13 	
Ret 	6 	Juan Pablo Montoya 	 	38 	Damage 	4 	
Ret 	14 	Jos Verstappen 	 	37 	Collision 	17 	
Ret 	19 	Luciano Burti 	 	30 	Engine 	14 	
Ret 	21 	Fernando Alonso 	 	25 	Electrical 	19 	
Ret 	15 	Enrique Bernoldi 	 	15 	Hydraulics 	16 	
Ret 	2T 	Rubens Barrichello 	 	2 	Collision 	6 	
Ret 	3 	Mika Häkkinen 	 	0 	Stalled 	3 	
Source:'Brazil 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)	Source:'Brazil 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil/classement.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)
*T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
==Milestones==
* Twentieth race entries for Jenson Button, Nick Heidfeld and Gastón Mazzacane.'2001 Brazilian GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2001&gp=Brazilian%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 05/11/2019)
* Michael Schumacher recorded the 140th pole position for as a constructor and engine supplier.'3. Brazil 2001', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/bresil.aspx, (Accessed 05/11/2019)
* David Coulthard claimed his tenth career victory.
** Also the 25th win for a car using #4 as its race number.
* 131st win for as a constructor.
** Engine partners claimed their 36th win.
* Maiden podium finish for Nick Heidfeld.
==Standings==
Victory for David Coulthard had not only ended Michael Schumacher's six race unbeaten run, but also ensured that the Scot made valuable ground in the Championship hunt. Indeed, Coulthard would leave Brazil just six points behind the German ace, and move ten clear of Rubens Barrichello in third. Behind, Nick Heidfeld had moved back into fourth ahead of Heinz-Harald Frentzen, with eleven drivers on the score sheet after the opening three rounds.
In the Constructors Championship it was still advantage after the opening three rounds, the Scuderia leaving Brazil on 36 points. Their advantage had, however, been cut to fifteen by after Coulthard's win, keeping them within a race's worth of points to the early leaders. Behind, had moved into third ahead of , as and claimed their first points of the campaign.
World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers	World Championship for Drivers
Pos. 	Driver 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	Michael Schumacher 	26 	
2 	David Coulthard 	20 	
3 	Rubens Barrichello 	10 	
4 	Nick Heidfeld 	7 	1
5 	Heinz-Harald Frentzen 	5 	1
6 	Olivier Panis 	3 	4
7 	Jarno Trulli 	2 	5
8 	Ralf Schumacher 	2 	2
9 	Giancarlo Fisichella 	1 	8
10 	Mika Häkkinen 	1 	3
11 	Kimi Räikkönen 	1 	3
World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors	World Championship for Constructors
Pos. 	Team 	Pts. 	+/-
1 	 	36 	
2 	 	21 	
3 	 	8 	1
4 	 	7 	1
5 	 	3 	1
6 	 	2 	1
7 	 	1 	3
Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.
==References==
Images and Videos:
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References:
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:Grand Prix articles
Category:2001 Grands Prix
Category:Brazilian Grand Prix