2001 San Marino Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Ralf Schumacher became a Grand Prix winner at Imola, launching from third to first and bringing Williams back to the top step. David Coulthard finished second, with Rubens Barrichello rescuing a podium for Ferrari after Michael Schumacher retired.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	David Coulthard	McLaren
Pole time	1:23.054
Fastest lap	Ralf Schumacher	Williams
Fastest-lap time	1:25.524 on lap 27
First	Ralf Schumacher	Williams
Second	David Coulthard	McLaren
Third	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
13 April 2001	Practice 1	11:00
13 April 2001	Practice 2	13:00
14 April 2001	Practice 3	09:00
14 April 2001	Practice 4	10:15
14 April 2001	Qualifying	13:00
15 April 2001	Warm-up	09:30
15 April 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 4 leading the 2001 F1 World Championship on 26 points, with David Coulthard on 20. Ferrari headed the constructors’ standings after the preceding race with 36 points.

Race entries

The field remained unchanged for the first European race of the season. Imola was also the last Grand Prix before electronic driver aids, including traction control, were permitted again at the following round in Spain.

Free Practice

Overnight rain left Imola damp for Friday’s opening practice, with drivers initially using wet-weather tyres before conditions improved. Rubens Barrichello led Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari one-two. Jos Verstappen stopped with fuel-pressure trouble and Fernando Alonso suffered a hydraulic fault, while the slippery final corner caught out several drivers.

A drier circuit allowed Michael Schumacher to lower the benchmark substantially in the afternoon, with Rubens Barrichello again second. David Coulthard‘s McLaren became stranded in the Acque Minerali gravel after a gear-selection problem. Juan Pablo Montoya also lost valuable running when an engine problem required a replacement, limiting Williams‘ preparation.

Friday Practice Classification — Combined

2001 San Marino Grand Prix opening-day practice, 13 April 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:25.096	44
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.276s	38
3	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+0.733s	43
4	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+1.245s	28
5	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+1.439s	43
6	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+1.456s	41
7	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+1.503s	41
8	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+1.643s	35
9	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	+1.827s	46
10	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	+1.837s	43
11	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	+2.036s	24
12	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+2.046s	40
13	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+2.310s	44
14	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	+2.341s	37
15	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+3.226s	39
16	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost	+3.490s	38
17	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+3.806s	39
18	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	+3.835s	20
19	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+4.177s	39
20	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	+4.493s	33
21	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+4.654s	7
22	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+14.716s	19

More overnight rain made Saturday’s first practice cold and slippery, and Ferrari again set the pace. Luciano Burti crashed at Tosa after losing the rear of his Jaguar, damaging the front suspension and missing the final session while repairs were completed. Others also slid off as the low temperatures slowed the track’s recovery.

Sunshine appeared during the final session, although much of the running still required wet-weather tyres. Michael Schumacher remained quickest ahead of Rubens Barrichello, with David Coulthard third and Kimi Räikkönen fourth. The improving surface meant teams faced a difficult judgement: the grip available for qualifying could be very different from their practice experience.

Saturday Practice Classification — Combined

2001 San Marino Grand Prix Saturday practice, 14 April 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:30.737	27
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.266s	22
3	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	+0.799s	26
4	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+0.989s	27
5	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+1.427s	24
6	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+1.655s	25
7	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+2.288s	19
8	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+2.334s	29
9	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+3.147s	19
10	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+3.299s	21
11	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	+3.794s	25
12	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+3.811s	24
13	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+4.052s	21
14	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+4.211s	31
15	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost	+4.319s	27
16	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	+5.309s	27
17	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	+5.321s	30
18	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	+5.934s	28
19	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+7.569s	24
20	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+8.477s	21
21	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+11.034s	14
22	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	No time	2

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

Qualifying

David Coulthard claimed pole with a late 1:23.054, heading a McLaren front-row lockout and ending Michael Schumacher‘s sequence of seven poles. Ralf Schumacher qualified third, with Michael fourth. Jarno Trulli split the Ferraris in fifth, while Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya followed.

Ferrari‘s harder tyre choice proved less effective over a qualifying lap than McLaren‘s softer option, and Michael Schumacher also lost time through errors. Kimi Räikkönen qualified tenth, beating team-mate Nick Heidfeld. The drying circuit rewarded late improvements, making the final runs decisive in the one-hour session.

Qualifying Classification

2001 San Marino Grand Prix Qualifying, 14 April 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:23.054	12
2	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	1:23.282	12
3	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	1:23.357	12
4	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:23.593	12
5	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	1:23.658	12
6	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:23.786	10
7	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	1:24.141	12
8	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	1:24.213	12
9	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	1:24.436	11
10	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	1:24.671	12
11	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	1:24.769	12
12	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	1:25.007	12
13	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	1:25.392	12
14	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	1:25.411	12
15	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	1:25.572	12
16	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	1:25.872	12
17	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	1:26.062	12
18	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	1:26.855	12
19	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	1:26.902	11
20	23	Gastón Mazzacane	Prost	1:27.750	12
21	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	1:27.758	11
22	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	1:28.281	12

Sunday warm-up

David Coulthard led warm-up in dry, sunny conditions, ahead of Ralf Schumacher and Häkkinen. Both of those pursuers visited the gravel, while Fernando Alonso again encountered mechanical trouble and changed cars. Kimi Räikkönen had difficulties with both the spare and his race car, leaving Sauber with less preparation than it wanted.

Warm-up Classification

2001 San Marino Grand Prix Warm-up, 15 April 2001

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time / Gap	Laps
1	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	1:26.440	14
2	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	+0.287s	11
3	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	+0.396s	14
4	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	+0.489s	14
5	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	+0.501s	13
6	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	+0.508s	14
7	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	+0.514s	16
8	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	+1.052s	10
9	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	+1.094s	15
10	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	+1.135s	16
11	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	+1.288s	13
12	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	+1.595s	15
13	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	+1.702s	11
14	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost	+1.964s	12
15	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	+2.199s	13
16	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	+2.215s	12
17	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	+2.907s	14
18	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	+3.040s	10
19	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	+3.153s	5
20	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	+3.183s	16
21	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	+3.590s	6
22	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	+3.710s	7

What happened in the 2001 San Marino Grand Prix?

Ralf Schumacher made a superb start to pass both McLarens before the first chicane. David Coulthard settled into pursuit, but the Williams had the pace to build a useful margin. Behind them, Jarno Trulli held up a group of cars while Michael Schumacher struggled with technical problems and an eventual puncture before retiring.

The pit-stop sequence preserved Ralf Schumacher‘s advantage, and he managed the closing laps to secure his first victory, Williams‘ first since 1997. David Coulthard finished 4.3 seconds behind. Rubens Barrichello worked his way onto the podium, ahead of Häkkinen, while the two Jordans completed the points in fifth and sixth.

Juan Pablo Montoya‘s challenge ended after a troubled stop and clutch failure, and Kimi Räikkönen retired when his steering wheel detached. Ralf Schumacher‘s breakthrough also marked the first victory of the Williams-BMW partnership. David Coulthard‘s second place brought him level on points with Michael Schumacher at the head of the championship.

After the race, Michael Schumacher headed the drivers’ standings with 26 points, followed by David Coulthard on 26. Ferrari led the constructors’ table on 40, with McLaren on 30.

2001 San Marino Grand Prix race results

The 2001 San Marino Grand Prix was held on 15 April 2001, with a scheduled start of 14:00 local time.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	62	1:30:44.817	10
2	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	62	+4.352	6
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	62	+34.766	4
4	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren	62	+36.315	3
5	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	62	+1:25.558	2
6	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	61	+1 Lap	1
7	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	61	+1 Lap	0
8	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	61	+1 Lap	0
9	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	61	+1 Lap	0
10	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	60	+2 Laps	0
11	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	60	+2 Laps	0
12	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	60	+2 Laps	0
Ret	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	50	Engine	0
Ret	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	48	Clutch	0
Ret	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	42	Engine	0
Ret	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	31	Engine	0
Ret	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	30	Engine	0
Ret	23	Gastón Mazzacane	Prost	28	Engine	0
Ret	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	24	Suspension	0
Ret	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	17	Steering/Accident	0
Ret	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	6	Exhaust	0
Ret	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	5	Brakes/Accident	0

2001 San Marino Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time	Avg. Speed
1	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams	27	1:25.524	207.646
2	4	David Coulthard	McLaren	44	1:25.569	207.537
3	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	46	1:26.117	206.217
4	3	Mika Hakkinen	McLaren	61	1:26.308	205.760
5	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams	46	1:26.385	205.577
6	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	21	1:27.229	203.588
7	11	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Jordan	36	1:27.243	203.555
8	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber	57	1:27.350	203.306
9	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan	20	1:27.358	203.287
10	9	Olivier Panis	BAR	47	1:27.582	202.767
11	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR	27	1:27.614	202.693
12	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar	28	1:27.854	202.139
13	19	Luciano Burti	Jaguar	29	1:27.932	201.960
14	22	Jean Alesi	Prost	44	1:28.369	200.961
15	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber	17	1:28.604	200.428
16	23	Gaston Mazzacane	Prost	21	1:28.954	199.640
17	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows	37	1:28.956	199.635
18	8	Jenson Button	Benetton	38	1:29.096	199.322
19	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton	14	1:29.644	198.103
20	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows	4	1:30.403	196.440
21	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi	4	1:31.671	193.723
22	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi	38	1:31.725	193.609

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 San Marino Grand Prix.

2001 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Michael Schumacher	German	Ferrari	26
2	David Coulthard	British	McLaren	26
3	Rubens Barrichello	Brazilian	Ferrari	14
4	Ralf Schumacher	German	Williams	12
5	Nick Heidfeld	German	Sauber	7
6	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	German	Jordan	6
7	Mika Häkkinen	Finnish	McLaren	4
8	Jarno Trulli	Italian	Jordan	4
9	Olivier Panis	French	BAR	3
10	Giancarlo Fisichella	Italian	Benetton	1
11	Kimi Räikkönen	Finnish	Sauber	1
–	Jos Verstappen	Dutch	Arrows	0
–	Jacques Villeneuve	Canadian	BAR	0
–	Jean Alesi	French	Prost	0
–	Luciano Burti	Brazilian	Jaguar	0
–	Tarso Marques	Brazilian	Minardi	0
–	Jenson Button	British	Benetton	0
–	Enrique Bernoldi	Brazilian	Arrows	0
–	Eddie Irvine	British	Jaguar	0
–	Fernando Alonso	Spanish	Minardi	0
–	Gastón Mazzacane	Argentine	Prost	0
–	Juan Pablo Montoya	Colombian	Williams	0

2001 Post-Race F1 Constructors' Championship Standings

POS	Car	PTS
1	Ferrari	40
2	McLaren	30
3	Williams	12
4	Jordan	10
5	Sauber	8
6	BAR	3
7	Benetton	1
–	Arrows	0
–	Prost	0
–	Jaguar	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