2001 Monaco Grand Prix

The 2001 Monaco Grand Prix (formally the Grand Prix de Monaco 2001 ) [ 4 ] was a Formula One motor race held before 100,000 spectators at the Circuit de Monaco in La Condamine and Monte Carlo on 27 May. It was the seventh race of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the 59th Monaco Grand Prix . Michael Schumacher won the 78-lap race for the Ferrari team. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second with Jaguar 's Eddie Irvine third.

Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship going into the event and his team Ferrari were first from McLaren in the World Constructors' Championship . McLaren's David Coulthard , who qualified in pole position by setting the fastest lap in qualifying, stalled at the start of the formation lap because of an electronic launch control system fault, leading to Schumacher inheriting his position. Schumacher maintained the lead in the first laps with Mika Häkkinen second and Barrichello th...

Race

Following the Austrian Grand Prix two weeks prior, where four cars stalled at the start because of electronic launch control systems failures, concerns were voiced by the technical director of Williams Patrick Head and Jordan's Jarno Trulli over driver safety because of the possibility of stranded vehicles and a major accident. [ 10 ] Others differed with Coulthard saying that launch control could help make faster getaways, [ 11 ] and Michael Schumacher predicted that there would be no repeat of...

Due to the configuration of the Circuit de Monaco, with its low average speed and abundance of low-speed corners, allied to the low- grip nature of the public road surface, the teams all set their cars up to produce the maximum amount of downforce and mechanical grip possible. [ 16 ] Prost introduced new front and rear wings, undertray and rear crash structure to Jean Alesi 's car. Benetton fitted a revised aerodynamic package with new front and rear wings and sidepods to its B201s . [ 16 ] Jagu...

Practice

Häkkinen led the afternoon session with the day's fastest lap, a 1:19.853, with Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Trulli, Coulthard, Frentzen, Alesi, BAR's Jacques Villeneuve and Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya in positions two through ten. [ 21 ] Coulthard struck a barrier at Tabac corner and broke his car's right-front track rod , which was replaced in the pit lane . [ 16 ] Fernando Alonso spun his Minardi into a wall at La Rascasse turn and damaged its rear suspension, curtailing...

After taking Friday off—a feature of the event timetable that was unique to Monaco— [ 21 ] [ n 1 ] the drivers returned to action on Saturday morning in clear weather. Ralf Schumacher complained of head and neck pain following his crash in the second session and was treated by his team's physiotherapist before being ordered to rest until Saturday. [ 25 ] Nevertheless, he lapped quickest in the third practice session at 1:21.036, ahead of Villeneuve, Coulthard, Michael Schumacher, Sauber's Kimi R...

The delay to dry the oil at La Rascasse turn delayed the start of the fourth session by 10 minutes. [ 27 ] Once underway, Häkkinen was fastest with a lap of 1:18.282, followed by Michael Schumacher, Ralf Schumacher, Coulthard, Irvine, Trulli, Montoya, Barrichello, Alesi and Frentzen. Alonso spun 180 degrees at the Loews hairpin and blocked the track. Frentzen stopped into Casino Square corner and track marshals extricated his car. Räikkönen and Bernoldi had separate crashes at the Swimming Pool ...

Qualifying

Montoya was seventh in his first appearance at Monaco since the 1998 International Formula 3000 Championship . [ 34 ] Trulli secured eighth from losing about two-tenths of a second due to a slower car baulking him. Villeneuve qualified ninth and Fisichella in tenth added more front wing angle to create a balanced car. [ 35 ] Alesi was the fastest driver not to qualify in the top ten; [ 33 ] he improved on each of his timed laps and made contact with a barrier in the tunnel. Panis in 12th went to...

Race

On the run to the exit of Portier corner, [ 46 ] Heidfeld and Bernoldi collided, [ 47 ] causing Heidfeld to be launched over one of Bernoldi's wheels, and sending him straight into a barrier, making him the race's first retirement on lap one. [ 2 ] At the first lap's conclusion, Michael Schumacher led Häkkinen by 1.5 seconds; [ 45 ] the duo were followed by Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher, Montoya and Irvine. [ 46 ] Montoya recorded the race's fastest lap at that point as he attempted to overtake h...

Michael Schumacher increased his lead over Häkkinen by another six-tenths of a second on the fifth lap with the latter under pressure from Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher. Häkkinen then went slightly faster to lower the gap to 2.5 seconds and set a new fastest lap under 1:23 to be 1.6 seconds adrift on the eighth lap, to which Michael Schumacher responded with his own fastest lap after Schumacher had eased off to save fuel and preserve his tyres upon realising that he was not pulling away from H...

In the meantime, Verstappen got ahead of Button for 12th on lap 15. Button retook the position temporarily soon after as Verstappen re-passed him. Coulthard continued to duel Bernoldi for position but still could not effect a pass, [ 46 ] [ 48 ] causing him to lap slower than normal. [ 31 ] On the 18th lap, tenth-placed de la Rosa had an hydraulics issue losing him gearbox and throttle control. [ 2 ] [ 47 ] He pulled off at the side of the track to retire on the next lap. [ 43 ] On lap 26, [ 46 ...

Michael Schumacher set a new official lap record of 1:20.770 on the 38th lap. He further improved it to a time of 1:20.422 four laps later, extending his lead over his teammate Barrichello to 18.3 seconds. [ 48 ] On lap 43, [ 45 ] Fisichella had an hydraulic failure that caused his gearbox to fail, [ 47 ] [ 2 ] and he crashed into the tyre wall at Sainte Devote, removing the front left wheel from his car. [ 2 ] [ 49 ] Bernoldi had less fuel in his car than Coulthard's and made a pit stop at the ...

Irvine was promoted to third, Villeneuve fourth, Alesi fifth and Coulthard sixth. Barrichello made his pit stop from first position on lap 60, returning the lead to his teammate Michael Schumacher. That lap, Irvine made his pit stop and retained third place. [ 43 ] Then, Marques' driveshaft broke and he drove onto the run-off area at the Novelle Chicane to retire. [ 45 ] [ 2 ] Six laps later, Coulthard made his pit stop and emerged in front of Button in sixth. [ 46 ] He then set the race's overa...

Race

The top three drivers appeared in Prince Rainier III of Monaco 's royal box to collect their trophies and appeared in the subsequent press conference to speak to the media. [ 3 ] Michael Schumacher said he felt little emotion on the podium because he took "a very straightforward win" and that finishing the race was the most important aspect because the circuit is narrow, "Although it was an easy drive, it was still hard to some degree, because we were still doing reasonably fast lap times. I don...

Bernoldi, who battled Coulthard for 35 laps, alleged that the McLaren team principal Ron Dennis and the director of motorsport for Mercedes-Benz Norbert Haug had approached him and threatened to shorten his career if a similar scenario occurred in the future, a claim that Dennis denied, "It was quite a while after the race when I talked to him and I was cool, calm, and collected and I was not angry. I just told him that in my opinion it was unsporting behaviour." [ 57 ] An audio tape released to...

Race

The result increased Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship to 12 championship points over Coulthard. Barrichello consolidated third position as Ralf Schumacher's non-finish kept him in fourth. Heidfeld was in fifth place. [ 7 ] In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari increased their advantage over McLaren to 32 championship points. Williams and Jordan still held third and fourth places and Sauber were fifth with ten races remaining in the season. [ 7 ]

Race

Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold .

References

43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E / 43.7346500°N 7.421333°E / 43.7346500; 7.421333

Quick Facts

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2001 Monaco Grand Prix nan

2001 Monaco Grand Prix Race details[1][2]

2001 Monaco Grand Prix Date

2001 Monaco Grand Prix Official name

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2001 Monaco Grand Prix Course

2001 Monaco Grand Prix Course length

2001 Monaco Grand Prix Distance

Table 1

Pos	No.	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Gap
1	4	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	1:17.430	—
2	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	1:17.631	+0.201
3	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:17.749	+0.319
4	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	1:17.856	+0.426
5	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	1:18.029	+0.599
6	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	1:18.432	+1.002
7	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	1:18.751	+1.321
8	12	Jarno Trulli	Jordan-Honda	1:18.921	+1.491
9	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	1:19.086	+1.656
10	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Renault	1:19.220	+1.790

Table 2

Pos	No.	Driver	Constructor	Tyre	Laps
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	B	78
2	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	B	78
3	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	M	78
4	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	B	78
5	4	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	B	77
6	22	Jean Alesi	Prost-Acer	M	77
7	8	Jenson Button	Benetton-Renault	M	77
8	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows-Asiatech	B	77
9	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows-Asiatech	B	76
10	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber-Petronas	B	73

Table 3

+/–	Pos	Driver	Points
nan	1	Michael Schumacher	52
nan	2	David Coulthard	40
nan	3	Rubens Barrichello	24
nan	4	Ralf Schumacher	12
nan	5	Nick Heidfeld	8
Sources:[7][2][63]	Sources:[7][2][63]	Sources:[7][2][63]	Sources:[7][2][63]

F1ABY Commentary

Consider the sheer audacity of that launch control failure – a system designed to optimize initial acceleration now a catastrophic impediment. Coulthard’s McLaren, a machine demonstrably at the pinnacle of power delivery, sits motionless. The implications are stark: a reliance on electronic intervention, particularly during a street circuit’s notoriously tricky surface conditions, can prove a fatal vulnerability. Observe the subtle shift in tire temperatures following that extended standstill; a crucial factor, no doubt, in the subsequent grip battle. This isn’t merely a mechanical issue; it’s a stark reminder of the inherent tension between driver intuition and computerized control. The Monaco track, notoriously sensitive to even the slightest deviation, amplifies this risk exponentially.

The entire Monaco Grand Prix is predicated on a razor-thin margin of aerodynamic control; Coulthard’s immediate cessation rendered the McLaren utterly helpless, a testament to the system’s fragility. Observe the resultant pressure differential – a catastrophic failure of launch control fundamentally undermined the car’s performance potential, exposing a critical vulnerability within the entire setup.

F1ABY Trivia

Let’s examine the Jaguar’s gearbox – a particularly aggressive sequential design, pushing ratios to 6. 3:1 in first gear, a choice likely intended to wrestle immediate traction from the street circuit’s notoriously slippery asphalt. Barrichello’s second-place finish hinges, in part, on the team’s ability to exploit this aggressive gearing, though the inherent limitations of the gearbox’s thermal management were undoubtedly stressed during the race. Considering the McLaren’s 3. 5-liter V10 – producing approximately 840 horsepower – the Jaguar’s 2. 0-liter V10, yielding roughly 540 bhp, presents a stark contrast in terms of raw power delivery, a factor heavily influencing corner entry speeds. The Monaco Grand Prix, as always, demands a delicate balance; the Jaguar’s gearbox highlights that tension.

Let’s examine this Monaco spectacle. Coulthard’s stall, a catastrophic failure of the launch control – a system increasingly reliant upon at this juncture – cost him the lead and, frankly, the entire race. The statistical anomaly here is stark: pole position held no sway; Coulthard, the fastest qualifier, finished a distant fifth, a brutal illustration of the circuit’s inherent demands and the fragility of electronic interventions. A curious observation – McLaren, dominant in qualifying, suffered a statistically improbable collapse in outright race performance.

F1ABY Tales

Coulthard’s stall—a catastrophic failure of the launch control system, a delicately calibrated dance of throttle and traction—has unleashed a chain reaction. The resultant shunt, impacting Grosjean’s Jordan, isn’t merely a collision; it’s a cascading consequence of software attempting to impose a perfect, instantaneous acceleration. Observe the subtle shift in the rear tires of the Ferraris – a consequence of the sudden deceleration, a momentary loss of grip exacerbated by the increased downforce at Monaco’s tightest corner. The resultant wheelspin demands a precise adjustment to the dampers, a delicate balancing act between stability and responsiveness. This isn’t simply about speed; it’s about managing energy, anticipating the track’s relentless demands. The Jaguar team, predictably, will be scrutinizing the telemetry, searching for the precise point of failure within that launch control matrix.

The rain, a persistent, sullen grey, mirrors the frustration etched across Coulthard’s face. A momentary lapse, a stutter from that aggressively sophisticated launch control – a system designed to shave milliseconds, yet utterly defeated by a saturated track. Observe the torque vectoring engagement; the system attempted to compensate for the wheelspin, but the resultant slip angle was catastrophic. The McLaren team’s reliance on this technology, a gamble for ultimate corner exit speed, has backfired spectacularly. A crucial moment, isn’t it? The ramifications of such a failure reverberate through the entire race strategy. It's a stark reminder: even the most advanced systems are only as reliable as the conditions they operate within.