2001 Malaysian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ferrari turned a chaotic Malaysian Grand Prix into a remarkable one-two at Sepang International Circuit. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello recovered from trips through the gravel and a confused pit stop to sweep back through the field, with David Coulthard completing the podium.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Pole time	1:35.220
Fastest lap	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren
Fastest-lap time	1:40.962 on lap 48
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari
Third	David Coulthard	McLaren

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
16 March 2001	Practice 1	11:00
16 March 2001	Practice 2	13:00
17 March 2001	Practice 3	09:00
17 March 2001	Practice 4	10:15
17 March 2001	Qualifying	13:00
18 March 2001	Warm-up	10:30
18 March 2001	Race	15:00

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 2 leading the 2001 F1 World Championship on 10 points, with David Coulthard on 6. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 14 points.

Race entries

The same 22 drivers continued from Australia. Juan Pablo Montoya, Kimi Räikkönen, Fernando Alonso and Enrique Bernoldi were still finding their feet in Formula 1, with Sepang‘s heat and humidity providing a demanding second weekend.

Free Practice

Rubens Barrichello headed Friday’s first practice as the field worked in hot, humid conditions with limited grip. Juan Pablo Montoya failed to set a time because of a fuel-pump problem, while both Arrows stopped with separate faults. Jenson Button also lost the session to an overheating gearbox, leaving several teams with work to recover in the afternoon.

Jarno Trulli put Jordan quickest in the second session, narrowly ahead of Michael Schumacher. Juan Pablo Montoya‘s difficult day continued with battery trouble, and Fernando Alonso‘s fuel-pump failures restricted his running to the closing stages. Jenson Button finally began setting times, while a separate engine problem troubled Tarso Marques in the other Minardi.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

2001 Malaysian Grand Prix opening-day practice, 16 March 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	1:38.846	39
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.083s	34
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.085s	32
4	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.454s	31
5	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+0.674s	29
6	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+1.015s	26
7	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+1.351s	29
8	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	+1.365s	37
9	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+1.383s	36
10	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+1.771s	33
11	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+2.157s	35
12	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+2.181s	36
13	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.529s	21
14	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+2.746s	37
15	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+2.948s	19
16	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	+2.988s	40
17	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+3.368s	23
18	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+3.695s	22
19	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost	+3.717s	33
20	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	+4.026s	27
21	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	+4.261s	18
22	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+34.342s	5

David Coulthard led the opening Saturday session ahead of the Ferraris, showing McLaren had more to offer than its eventual grid positions would suggest. The heat and humidity remained, making preparation physically demanding as well as technically important. Juan Pablo Montoya was back among the runners after losing much of Friday to reliability problems.

Rubens Barrichello regained the initiative in final practice, with Ralf Schumacher and Mika Häkkinen close behind in the order. Giancarlo Fisichella visited the gravel, while Fernando Alonso stopped with smoke coming from his Minardi after debris caused the engine to overheat. Ferrari had looked strong throughout practice, but Williams and McLaren were firmly in the qualifying picture.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

2001 Malaysian Grand Prix Saturday practice, 17 March 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:36.188	25
2	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+0.287s	23
3	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.331s	21
4	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.360s	19
5	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.626s	25
6	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+0.842s	25
7	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	+1.043s	19
8	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+1.172s	26
9	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+1.203s	25
10	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+1.240s	17
11	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+1.271s	31
12	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+1.275s	25
13	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+1.314s	25
14	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	+1.448s	25
15	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	+1.942s	20
16	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+2.360s	30
17	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+2.524s	23
18	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+2.770s	28
19	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+3.213s	26
20	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost	+3.463s	26
21	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	+3.768s	23
22	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	+3.983s	24

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

Qualifying

Michael Schumacher secured his sixth consecutive pole with a 1:35.220, while Rubens Barrichello made it another all-Ferrari front row. Ralf Schumacher briefly threatened the red cars before settling for third, ahead of Häkkinen and Jarno Trulli. Juan Pablo Montoya qualified sixth after his disrupted preparations, whereas David Coulthard could manage only eighth.

Enrique Bernoldi‘s times were deleted after his Arrows failed dimensional checks, dropping him to the back. Fernando Alonso also endured a difficult session, using the spare Minardi following engine and gearbox work. The one-hour, 12-lap format left little scope to recover once a driver lost a clean run or encountered traffic.

Qualifying Classification

2001 Malaysian Grand Prix Qualifying, 17 March 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:35.220	12
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:35.319	12
3	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	1:35.511	12
4	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:36.040	11
5	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	1:36.180	11
6	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	1:36.218	11
7	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	1:36.397	12
8	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:36.417	12
9	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	1:36.578	11
10	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	1:36.681	12
11	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	1:36.913	12
12	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	1:37.140	12
13	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	1:37.406	12
14	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	1:37.728	9
15	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	1:38.035	12
16	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:38.086	7
17	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	1:38.258	12
18	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	1:38.509	12
EX	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	1:38.708	—
19	23	Gastón Mazzacane	Prost	1:39.006	12
20	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	1:39.714	12
21	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	1:40.249	11

Enrique Bernoldi ‘s fastest time (1:38.708) was cancelled due to incorrect car dimensions.

Sunday warm-up

A tropical shower left the track soaked for warm-up, prompting widespread use of intermediate tyres. Rubens Barrichello set the quickest time as a dry line began to emerge. Fernando Alonso suffered another fuel-pump failure and Eddie Irvine lost his engine, forcing both towards spare cars, while Jenson Button experimented with dry tyres near the end.

Warm-up Classification

2001 Malaysian Grand Prix Warm-up, 18 March 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:49.763	10
2	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	+1.083s	10
3	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	+1.283s	13
4	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+1.502s	11
5	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+1.745s	13
6	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+2.298s	10
7	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+2.553s	11
8	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+3.589s	12
9	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+3.707s	11
10	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+3.719s	12
11	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+5.346s	7
12	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+5.515s	12
13	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+7.301s	9
14	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	+8.069s	12
15	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+8.559s	9
16	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost	+8.653s	9
17	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+8.893s	10
18	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	+11.357s	10
19	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+11.867s	10
20	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	+12.008s	10
21	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	+14.586s	8
22	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+17.284s	4

What happened in the 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix?

An aborted start reduced the race to 55 laps, and the opening phase soon became chaotic. Oil from Olivier Panis‘ failed BAR and a sudden downpour caught out both Ferraris, which slid into the gravel before recovering. Several others spun out, and the safety car appeared as teams scrambled to fit rain tyres.

Ferrari‘s stop was badly delayed, leaving its cars deep in the field, but the decision to use intermediates proved decisive as conditions improved. Michael Schumacher carved through the pack and reclaimed the lead from David Coulthard, with Rubens Barrichello following him into second. Their recovery transformed a potential disaster into a commanding team result.

David Coulthard finished third, followed by Ralf Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Häkkinen. Jos Verstappen had run near the front and defended fiercely, but an additional stop helped leave him outside the points. Schumacher’s second victory in two races strengthened his early championship position after one of the season’s most dramatic afternoons.

After the race, Michael Schumacher headed the drivers’ standings with 20 points, followed by Rubens Barrichello on 10. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 30, with McLaren on 11.

2001 Malaysian Grand Prix race results

The 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix was held on 18 March 2001, with a scheduled start of 15:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	55	1:47:34.801	10
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	55	+ 23.660	6
3	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	55	+ 28.555	4
4	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	55	+ 46.543	3
5	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	55	+ 48.233	2
6	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	55	+ 48.606	1
7	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	55	+ 1:21.560	0
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	54	+ 1 Lap	0
9	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	54	+ 1 Lap	0
10	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	54	+ 1 Lap	0
11	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	53	+ 2 Laps	0
12	23	Gastón Mazzacane	Prost	53	+ 2 Laps	0
13	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	52	+ 3 Laps	0
14	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	51	+ 4 Laps	0
Ret	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	31	Fuel pressure	0
Ret	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	3	Spun off	0
Ret	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	3	Spun off	0
Ret	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	3	Spun off	0
Ret	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	3	Spun off	0
Ret	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	3	Water leak	0
Ret	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	1	Engine/Spun off	0
Ret	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	0	Driveshaft	0

Juan Pablo Montoya started the race from the pit lane.

2001 Malaysian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	48	1:40.962	197.646
2	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	54	1:41.503	196.593
3	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	2	1:41.833	195.956
4	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	2	1:42.037	195.564
5	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	50	1:42.119	195.407
6	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	47	1:42.839	194.039
7	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	55	1:43.029	193.681
8	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	2	1:43.470	192.855
9	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	52	1:43.559	192.690
10	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	52	1:43.697	192.433
11	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	53	1:43.853	192.144
12	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	2	1:43.926	192.009
13	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost	53	1:43.991	191.889
14	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	52	1:44.891	190.243
15	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	2	1:45.328	189.453
16	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	50	1:45.585	188.992
17	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	50	1:46.016	188.224
18	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	2	1:46.982	186.524
19	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	2	1:47.294	185.982
20	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	2	1:51.532	178.915
21	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	0

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 Malaysian Grand Prix.

2001 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	20
2	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Ferrari	10
3	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	10
4	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Jordan	5
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	Sauber	3
6	Ralf Schumacher	German	Williams	2
7	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	1
8	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Sauber	1
–	Jos Verstappen	Dutch	Arrows	0
–	Olivier Panis	French	BAR	0
–	Luciano Burti	Brazilian	Jaguar	0
–	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Jordan	0
–	Jean Alesi	French	Prost	0
–	Jenson Button	British	Benetton	0
–	Eddie Irvine	British	Jaguar	0
–	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Minardi	0
–	Gastón Mazzacane	Argentine	Prost	0
–	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	0
–	Tarso Marques	Brazilian	Minardi	0
–	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	Williams	0
–	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	BAR	0
–	Enrique Bernoldi	Brazilian	Arrows	0

2001 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	30
2	McLaren	11
3	Jordan	5
4	Sauber	4
5	Williams	2
–	Arrows	0
–	BAR	0
–	Jaguar	0
–	Prost	0
–	Benetton	0
–	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