2001 Malaysian Grand Prix
edit| 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 2 of 18 in the 2001 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | March 18, 2001 | ||
| Official name | X Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix | ||
| Location |
Sepang International Circuit Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.543 km (3.376 miles) | ||
| Distance | 56 laps, 310.408 km (189.056 miles) | ||
| Weather | Sunny, partly cloudy | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Williams-BMW | ||
| Time | 1:35.748 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | |
| Time | 1:42.561 on lap 56 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Williams-BMW | ||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
Qualifying
editThe first round of the year in Australia ended in a Williams 1-2 and Juan Pablo Montoya continued to keep the team's form up with a superb pole position, beating Rubens Barrichello who had dominated practice. Mika Häkkinen and David Coulthard in their McLarens battled it out for third, with the Finn coming out on top. Michael Schumacher looked strangely lacklustre in fifth, and the case was the same with his brother Ralf Schumacher, who was in sixth. Heinz-Harald Frentzen was seventh ahead of Jarno Trulli.
Race
editRubens Barrichello had a better start than polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya but Montoya immediately took the inside line to lead. Michael Schumacher did not have a good time, dropping backwards down to seventh and having to fight to keep Jarno Trulli behind him. Montoya led from Barrichello, Mika Häkkinen, David Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Schumacher and Trulli. The top five quickly pulled away from the rest. Nothing changed until Trulli's gearbox failed on lap 13. At the front, Montoya and Barrichello built a lead of 3 seconds from the McLarens and Ralf. During the stops, it began to rain as well and so the drivers refuelled as well as changing to wet tires. In between, Barrichello jumped Montoya in the stops but Montoya immediately passed him into Turn 3. Ralf also got by Coulthard in the stops.
On lap 22, Barrichello retook the lead from Montoya and motored away. Montoya, trying to keep up ran wide at a corner, and dropped down to third behind Häkkinen. Häkkinen's engine then failed on lap 29, and Montoya spun off while changing his line to avoid him. Montoya's car was stuck in a dangerous position, and marshals pushed him back on to the track but by then Schumacher and Frentzen had passed. It now stopped raining, and the drivers went for their second round of stops early. There were no changes but Frentzen gambled on staying out in the hope that it would rain again. His wet tyres got destroyed in the drying track and one of them burst on lap 39, sending him into the wall. Coulthard was right behind Ralf but dropped away when his engine began to make unfamiliar sounds. He coasted to third behind Barrichello and Ralf, but ahead of Schumacher, Montoya, Jacques Villeneuve, Olivier Panis and Giancarlo Fisichella.
Classification
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Notes
edit- Lap Leaders: Juan Pablo Montoya 20 (1-16, 19-22), Rubens Barrichello 35 (17, 23-39, 42-58), Ralf Schumacher 3 (18, 40-41)
- This race was run under wet/dry conditions.
- Mika Häkkinen's engine blew up in front of Juan Pablo Montoya, causing the Colombian to spin off into the gravel trap, losing a few places.
- On lap 3, it rained in parts of the circuit, and some drivers went off the track. Jos Verstappen and Enrique Bernoldi were stuck in the gravel.
- Heinz-Harald Frentzen's tyre blew up spetacularly on the start-finish straight, and a marshal risked his own life to pick it up.
Standings after Grand Prix
editDrivers
- 1. Ralf Schumacher - 18
- 2. Rubens Barrichello - 13
- 3. Juan Pablo Montoya - 12
- 4. David Coulthard - 12
- 5. Michael Schumacher - 5
- 6. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 5
- 7. Jarno Trulli - 4
- 8. Jacques Villeneuve - 3
Constructors