2001 Italian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Juan Pablo Montoya claimed his first Formula 1 victory at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, holding off Rubens Barrichello with Ralf Schumacher third. The sporting breakthrough came during a sombre weekend following the attacks of 11 September 2001 and Alex Zanardi‘s serious accident in Germany.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams
Pole time	1:22.216
Fastest lap	Ralf Schumacher	Williams
Fastest-lap time	1:25.073 on lap 39
First	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams
Second	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
Third	Ralf Schumacher	Williams

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
14 September 2001	Practice 1	10:50
14 September 2001	Practice 2	13:00
15 September 2001	Practice 3	09:00
15 September 2001	Practice 4	10:15
15 September 2001	Qualifying	13:00
16 September 2001	Warm-up	09:30
16 September 2001	Race	14:00

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Michael Schumacher arrived at round 15 leading the 2001 F1 World Championship on 104 points, with David Coulthard on 57. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 152 points.

Race entries

Alex Yoong replaced Tarso Marques at Minardi to become Malaysia’s first Formula 1 driver. Tomáš Tomas Enge joined Prost in place of Luciano Burti, who was recovering from his Spa accident. Ferrari raced without its usual advertising and with black nose cones as a mark of respect for the victims of the attacks.

Free Practice

Friday’s first practice began at 10:50, ten minutes earlier than usual, to accommodate the planned midday silence. Michael Schumacher was quickest, but both Saubers crashed in separate incidents and Jos Verstappen hit the barriers before setting a time. The damage made the opening session especially costly for those teams.

Ralf Schumacher headed Juan Pablo Montoya in the afternoon, confirming Williams‘ strength on Monza‘s long straights. A brief shower added uncertainty, and Juan Pablo Montoya repeatedly used the escape route at the first chicane. Eddie Irvine spun into the Ascari gravel with brake trouble, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen also went off after striking a kerb.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

2001 Italian Grand Prix opening-day practice, 14 September 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	1:24.667	43
2	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+0.400s	37
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.464s	34
4	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar	+0.538s	43
5	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.644s	39
6	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.676s	37
7	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.877s	39
8	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+1.073s	9
9	12	Jean Alesi	Jordan	+1.182s	37
10	22	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Prost	+1.193s	37
11	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.244s	50
12	11	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	+1.320s	39
13	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+1.530s	39
14	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+1.687s	43
15	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+1.854s	40
16	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+2.034s	4
17	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	+2.305s	34
18	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+2.550s	44
19	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+2.734s	23
20	23	Tomas Enge	Prost	+2.995s	29
21	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+3.233s	18
22	20	Alex Yoong	Minardi	+3.583s	31

Overnight thunderstorms left a damp circuit for Saturday’s first session. Juan Pablo Montoya was fastest as a dry line appeared and drivers moved away from intermediates. Several leading drivers chose not to set times, limiting their exposure while conditions improved rather than using up running on an unrepresentative surface.

Michael Schumacher set the weekend’s fastest time in the final practice once the track had dried. Juan Pablo Montoya and Jarno Trulli followed, with Rubens Barrichello fourth after briefly leading. Tomas Enge recovered from a spin at Ascari, continuing his introduction to Formula 1 ahead of his first qualifying session.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

2001 Italian Grand Prix Saturday practice, 15 September 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:23.178	14
2	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+0.299s	19
3	11	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	+0.584s	19
4	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.650s	19
5	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.695s	17
6	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+0.739s	19
7	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+1.073s	35
8	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+1.085s	18
9	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar	+1.397s	25
10	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+1.408s	35
11	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+1.464s	24
12	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+1.505s	14
13	12	Jean Alesi	Jordan	+1.750s	10
14	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+1.812s	27
15	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+1.884s	12
16	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+2.080s	16
17	22	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Prost	+2.422s	20
18	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+3.107s	24
19	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+4.131s	23
20	23	Tomas Enge	Prost	+4.886s	17
21	20	Alex Yoong	Minardi	No time	2
22	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	No time	2

Each practice table combines that day’s two sessions, showing each driver’s best time and total laps.

Qualifying

Juan Pablo Montoya secured pole with a 1:22.216, ahead of Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher. Ralf Schumacher qualified fourth, with Jarno Trulli fifth and David Coulthard sixth. Williams‘ speed and the warmer conditions suited its Michelin tyres, giving Juan Pablo Montoya another opportunity to convert pole into victory.

Häkkinen crashed heavily at Lesmo near the end of the session, bringing out a lengthy red flag, but escaped injury and retained seventh. Tomas Enge qualified twentieth after engine trouble, while both Minardi drivers suffered gearbox-actuator problems and had to share the spare car.

Qualifying Classification

2001 Italian Grand Prix Qualifying, 15 September 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	1:22.216	12
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:22.528	11
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:22.624	10
4	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	1:22.841	12
5	11	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	1:23.126	12
6	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:23.148	12
7	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:23.394	11
8	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	1:23.417	12
9	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	1:23.595	11
10	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar	1:23.693	11
11	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	1:23.892	12
12	22	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Prost	1:23.943	12
13	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	1:24.031	10
14	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:24.090	9
15	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	1:24.164	12
16	12	Jean Alesi	Jordan	1:24.198	12
17	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	1:24.677	11
18	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	1:25.444	12
19	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	1:25.511	12
20	23	Tomáš Enge	Prost	1:26.039	9
21	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	1:26.218	9
22	20	Alex Yoong	Minardi	1:27.463	11

Sunday warm-up

Michael Schumacher led a closely matched warm-up in sunny, windy conditions, with David Coulthard and Juan Pablo Montoya next. The teams checked fuel loads and race balance, and the first nine drivers were covered by less than a second. A further minute’s silence preceded the drivers’ parade before the race.

Warm-up Classification

2001 Italian Grand Prix Warm-up, 16 September 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:26.029	14
2	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.057s	14
3	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+0.218s	15
4	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.267s	10
5	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+0.360s	12
6	11	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	+0.417s	14
7	12	Jean Alesi	Jordan	+0.749s	12
8	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+0.764s	11
9	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.796s	10
10	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+1.132s	12
11	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+1.189s	14
12	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar	+1.322s	14
13	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+1.429s	15
14	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+1.519s	16
15	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+1.679s	10
16	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+1.737s	14
17	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.108s	10
18	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+2.604s	14
19	22	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Prost	+2.723s	15
20	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	+2.998s	8
21	20	Alex Yoong	Minardi	+3.797s	11
22	23	Tomas Enge	Prost	+4.416s	7

What happened in the 2001 Italian Grand Prix?

Juan Pablo Montoya held the lead at the start, but Rubens Barrichello‘s lighter Ferrari soon challenged and passed him. The teams had chosen different strategies: Williams planned one stop and Ferrari two. A problem with Rubens Barrichello‘s refuelling equipment cost him valuable seconds at his first stop and weakened his bid for victory.

Juan Pablo Montoya regained the lead through the pit sequence and kept enough in hand despite Rubens Barrichello‘s late recovery. The Ferrari driver passed Ralf Schumacher for second, but could not catch the leading Williams. Juan Pablo Montoya crossed the line to become Colombia’s first Grand Prix winner.

Michael Schumacher finished fourth, followed by Pedro de la Rosa and Jacques Villeneuve. Both McLarens retired, while Tomas Enge completed his debut and Alex Yoong spun out late on. There was no champagne spraying on the podium, reflecting the sombre mood surrounding the event.

After the race, Michael Schumacher headed the drivers’ standings with 107 points, followed by David Coulthard on 57. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 161, with McLaren on 81.

2001 Italian Grand Prix race results

The 2001 Italian Grand Prix was held on 16 September 2001, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

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

Nick Heidfeld and Giancarlo Fisichella started the race from the pitlane.

2001 Italian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	39	1:25.073	245.140
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	39	1:25.221	244.714
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	52	1:25.525	243.844
4	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	52	1:25.657	243.468
5	12	Jean Alesi	Jordan	28	1:26.365	241.472
6	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar	34	1:26.381	241.428
7	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	31	1:26.386	241.414
8	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	51	1:26.656	240.661
9	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	31	1:26.657	240.659
10	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	52	1:26.825	240.193
11	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	29	1:27.283	238.933
12	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	4	1:27.323	238.823
13	22	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Prost	28	1:27.394	238.629
14	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	15	1:27.627	237.995
15	23	Tomas Enge	Prost	52	1:27.643	237.951
16	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	50	1:27.709	237.772
17	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	22	1:27.945	237.134
18	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	4	1:28.268	236.266
19	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	24	1:28.578	235.439
20	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	2	1:29.262	233.635
21	20	Alex Yoong	Minardi	21	1:30.605	230.172

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. Average speeds are in km/h. No fastest-lap bonus point was awarded.

2001 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 2001 Italian Grand Prix.

2001 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	107
2	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	57
3	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Ferrari	54
4	Ralf Schumacher	German	Williams	48
5	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	Williams	25
6	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	24
7	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	BAR	12
8	Nick Heidfeld	German	Sauber	11
9	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Sauber	9
10	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Jordan	9
11	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	8
12	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Jordan / Prost	6
13	Olivier Panis	French	BAR	5
14	Jean Alesi	French	Prost / Jordan	5
15	Eddie Irvine	British	Jaguar	4
16	Pedro de la Rosa	Spanish	Jaguar	3
17	Jenson Button	British	Benetton	2
18	Jos Verstappen	Dutch	Arrows	1
–	Ricardo Zonta	Brazilian	Jordan	0
–	Luciano Burti	Brazilian	Jaguar / Prost	0
–	Enrique Bernoldi	Brazilian	Arrows	0
–	Tarso Marques	Brazilian	Minardi	0
–	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Minardi	0
–	Gastón Mazzacane	Argentine	Prost	0
–	Tomáš Enge	Czech	Prost	0
–	Alex Yoong	Malaysian	Minardi	0

2001 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	161
2	McLaren	81
3	Williams	73
4	Sauber	20
5	BAR	17
6	Jordan	16
7	Benetton	10
8	Jaguar	7
9	Prost	4
10	Arrows	1
–	Minardi	0

2001 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	2001 Australian Grand Prix	Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne	4 March
2	2001 Malaysian Grand Prix	Sepang International Circuit, Sepang	18 March
3	2001 Brazilian Grand Prix	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo	1 April
4	2001 San Marino Grand Prix	Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola	15 April
5	2001 Spanish Grand Prix	Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló	29 April
6	2001 Austrian Grand Prix	A1-Ring, Spielberg	13 May
7	2001 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	27 May
8	2001 Canadian Grand Prix	Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montréal	10 June
9	2001 European Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	24 June
10	2001 French Grand Prix	Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours, Magny-Cours	1 July
11	2001 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	15 July
12	2001 German Grand Prix	Hockenheimring, Hockenheim	29 July
13	2001 Hungarian Grand Prix	Hungaroring, Mogyoród	19 August
14	2001 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	2 September
15	2001 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	16 September
16	2001 United States Grand Prix	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis	30 September
17	2001 Japanese Grand Prix	Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka	14 October