| 2001 Japanese Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 17 of 17 in the 2001 Formula One World Championship | |||
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| Race details | |||
| Date | October 14, 2001 | ||
| Official name | XXVII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 5.859 km (3.641 mi) | ||
| Distance | 53 laps, 310.527 km (192.953 mi) | ||
| Weather | Cloudy, Mild, Dry, Air Temp: 24°C | ||
| Attendance | 130,000[1] | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:32.484 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Ralf Schumacher | Williams-BMW | |
| Time | 1:36.944 on lap 46 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | Williams-BMW | ||
| Third | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Lap leaders | |||
The 2001 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 October 2001 at the Suzuka Circuit. It was the seventeenth and final race of the 2001 Formula One season. It was the 27th running of the Japanese Grand Prix and the 17th held at Suzuka.
The race was won by the World Champion, German driver Michael Schumacher driving a Ferrari F2001 after starting from pole position. It was Schumacher's fourth victory in the Japanese Grand Prix (expanding his own record), his third for Ferrari and his ninth for the 2001 season. Schumacher won by three seconds over Colombian driver Juan Pablo Montoya in a Williams FW23. Third was taken by British driver David Coulthard in a McLaren MP4-16, having overtaken his teammate Mika Häkkinen late in the race. Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari F2001) and Ralf Schumacher (Williams FW23) completed the points finishers.
Schumacher set a new record for points in a season with 123 and biggest point margin to second-placed Coulthard with 58.
Enrique Bernoldi (Arrows A22) and Alex Yoong (Minardi PS01B) started the race from the pit lane. The race marked Jean Alesi's 201st and last Formula One race after a fourteen-year career. Kimi Räikkönen (Sauber C20) spun off on lap five caused by left-rear suspension failure, forcing Alesi (Jordan EJ11) off in avoidance at the Dunlop Curve (Turn 7). It was Alesi's only retirement of the season. It was, additionally, the last race for the French Prost Grand Prix team as they went bankrupt and closed down during the following off-season. It brought an end to the team which began as Equipe Ligier 32 years earlier and 26 years of Formula One racing. Mika Häkkinen scored his last World Championship points at this race, which was also his final ever start in Formula One.
Classification
Qualifying
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Lap | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 1:32.484 | – |
| 2 | 6 |  Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | 1:33.184 | +0.700 |
| 3 | 5 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams-BMW | 1:33.297 | +0.813 |
| 4 | 2 |  Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 1:33.323 | +0.839 |
| 5 | 3 |  Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:33.662 | +1.178 |
| 6 | 7 |  Giancarlo Fisichella | Benetton-Renault | 1:33.830 | +1.346 |
| 7 | 4 |  David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 1:33.916 | +1.432 |
| 8 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Jordan-Honda | 1:34.002 | +1.518 |
| 9 | 8 | Jenson Button | Benetton-Renault | 1:34.375 | +1.891 |
| 10 | 16 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Petronas | 1:34.386 | +1.902 |
| 11 | 12 |  Jean Alesi | Jordan-Honda | 1:34.420 | +1.936 |
| 12 | 17 | Kimi Räikkönen | Sauber-Petronas | 1:34.581 | +2.097 |
| 13 | 18 | Eddie Irvine | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:34.851 | +2.367 |
| 14 | 10 | .svg.png){kind=small} Jacques Villeneuve | BAR-Honda | 1:35.109 | +2.625 |
| 15 | 22 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Prost-Acer | 1:35.132 | +2.648 |
| 16 | 19 |  Pedro de la Rosa | Jaguar-Cosworth | 1:35.639 | +3.155 |
| 17 | 9 | Olivier Panis | BAR-Honda | 1:35.766 | +3.282 |
| 18 | 21 | Fernando Alonso | Minardi-European | 1:36.410 | +3.926 |
| 19 | 23 |  Tomáš Enge | Prost-Acer | 1:36.446 | +3.962 |
| 20 | 15 | Enrique Bernoldi | Arrows-Asiatech | 1:36.885 | +4.401 |
| 21 | 14 |  Jos Verstappen | Arrows-Asiatech | 1:36.973 | +4.489 |
| 22 | 20 |  Alex Yoong | Minardi-European | 1:38.246 | +5.762 |
| 107% time: 1:38.958 | |||||
| Source:[2] | |||||
Race
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | 53 | 1:27:33.298 | 1 | 10 |
| 2 | 6 | Juan Pablo Montoya | Williams-BMW | 53 | +3.154 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 4 | David Coulthard | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | +23.262 | 7 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | 53 | +35.539 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | 2 | Rubens Barrichello | Ferrari | 53 | +36.544 | 4 | 2 |
| 6 | 5 | Ralf Schumacher | Williams-BMW | 53 | +37.122 | 3 | 1 |
| 7 | 8 | Jenson Button | Benetton-Renault | 53 | +1:37.102 | 9 | |
| 8 | 11 | Jarno Trulli | Jordan-Honda | 52 | +1 Lap | 8 | |
| 9 | 16 | Nick Heidfeld | Sauber-Petronas | 52 | +1 Lap | 10 | |
| 10 | 10 | Jacques Villeneuve | BAR-Honda | 52 | +1 Lap | 14 | |
| 11 | 21 | Fernando Alonso | Minardi-European | 52 | +1 Lap | 18 | |
| 12 | 22 | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | Prost-Acer | 52 | +1 Lap | 15 | |
| 13 | 9 | Olivier Panis | BAR-Honda | 51 | +2 Laps | 17 | |
| 14 | 15 | Enrique Bernoldi | Arrows-Asiatech | 51 | +2 Laps | 20 | |
| 15 | 14 | Jos Verstappen | Arrows-Asiatech | 51 | +2 Laps | 21 | |
| 16 | 20 | Alex Yoong | Minardi-European | 50 | +3 Laps | 22 | |
| 17 | 7 | Giancarlo Fisichella | Benetton-Renault | 47 | Gearbox | 6 | |
| Ret | 19 | Pedro de la Rosa | Jaguar-Cosworth | 45 | Oil Leak | 16 | |
| Ret | 23 | Tomáš Enge | Prost-Acer | 42 | Brakes | 19 | |
| Ret | 18 | Eddie Irvine | Jaguar-Cosworth | 24 | Fuel Rig | 13 | |
| Ret | 17 | Kimi Räikkönen | Sauber-Petronas | 5 | Collision/Suspension | 12 | |
| Ret | 12 | Jean Alesi | Jordan-Honda | 5 | Collision | 11 | |
Source:[3] | |||||||
Notes
- This was the last race for Mika Häkkinen (2x World Champion) and Jean Alesi (race winner).
- It was also the last race for Prost Grand Prix as they declared bankruptcy at the end of 2001 season and Benetton, which was renamed as Renault F1 Team for the following year.
- James Allen replaced retiring veteran commentator, Murray Walker as the lead commentator started from this race until 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Championship standings after the race
- Bold text indicates the World Champions.
- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
- ^ F1 Racing. November 2001.
- ^ F1, STATS. "Japan 2001 - Qualifications • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ "2001 Japanese Grand Prix". Formula1.com. Formula1.com Limited. Archived from the original on 28 October 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ^ a b "Japan 2001 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
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