The 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix (officially the Marlboro Magyar Nagydij 2001) was a
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
motor race held before 110,000 spectators at the
Hungaroring
The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...
in
Mogyoród
Mogyoród is a small traditional village in Pest County, Hungary. The Battle of Mogyoród took place here on 14 March 1074, between Solomon, King of Hungary and his cousins Géza and Ladislaus, who were claiming rights to the throne. To commemo ...
,
Pest, Hungary on 19 August 2001. It was the 13th race of the
2001 Formula One World Championship
The 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 55th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2001 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 2001 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contest ...
and the 16th
Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungarian Grand Prix (, ) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród at the Hungaroring. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
History Origins
The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on ...
forming part of the series.
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
driver
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
won the 77-lap race from
pole position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...
. His teammate
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
finished second and
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "DC", Coulthard was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' ...
was third for
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
.
Entering the Grand Prix, only Michael Schumacher and Coulthard remained in contention for the
World Drivers' Championship
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...
with Schumacher leading Coulthard by 37
championship points. Ferrari were also in contention to claim the
World Constructors' Championship
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which ...
in Hungary. Michael Schumacher qualified on pole position by setting the fastest lap in qualifying, and he began alongside Coulthard. Barrichello made a brisk start to pass Coulthard and he tactically delayed the McLaren driver from lap 12 to provide his teammate Michael Schumacher with a significant lead over the rest of the field. Schumacher only lost the lead during the
pit stop
Pitstop may refer to:
* Pit stop, in motor racing, when the car stops in the pits for fuel and other consumables to be renewed or replenished
* ''Pit Stop'' (1969 film), a movie directed by Jack Hill
* ''Pit Stop'' (2013 film), a movie directe ...
phases, maintaining the lead for the majority of the race to achieve his seventh victory of 2001 and the 51st of his career. His win confirmed him as the 2001 Drivers' Champion, as Coulthard could not pass his championship points total with four races remaining in the season, and he equalled
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Professor", Prost won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and� ...
for the all-time record of career victories.
Schumacher received praise from many in the Formula One community for his title victory and it was headline news in Germany and Italy. Barrichello's second-place finish helped Ferrari win the World Constructors' Championship for the third consecutive season and the 11th time overall. McLaren were 13 championship points ahead of
Williams in third while
Sauber
Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...
moved one championship point ahead of
British American Racing
British American Racing (BAR) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell Racing, Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership wit ...
(BAR) for fourth.
Background
The 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix was the 13th of the 17 motor races in the
2001 Formula One World Championship
The 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 55th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 2001 Formula One World Championship for Drivers and the 2001 Formula One World Championship for Constructors, which were contest ...
and the 16th running of the
event
Event may refer to:
Gatherings of people
* Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion
* Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest
* Event management, the organization of eve ...
as part of the series. It took place at the 16-turn
Hungaroring
The Hungaroring is a motorsport racetrack in Mogyoród, Pest County, Hungary where the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix is held. In 1986, it became the location of the first Formula One Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix behind the Iron Curtai ...
in
Mogyoród
Mogyoród is a small traditional village in Pest County, Hungary. The Battle of Mogyoród took place here on 14 March 1074, between Solomon, King of Hungary and his cousins Géza and Ladislaus, who were claiming rights to the throne. To commemo ...
,
Pest, Hungary on 19 August.
The Hungaroring has been likened to the
Circuit de Monaco
Circuit de Monaco is a street circuit laid out on the city streets of Monte Carlo and La Condamine around the harbour of the Principality of Monaco. It is commonly, and even officially, referred to as "Monte Carlo" because it is largely inside ...
because it is narrow, making overtaking difficult. The circuit was bumpy and dusty and it did not provide a major advantage to cars installed with powerful engines.
Before the race
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...
driver
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...
led the
World Drivers' Championship
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which a ...
with 84
championship points, ahead of
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard (born 27 March 1971) is a British former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster from Scotland who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "DC", Coulthard was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' ...
of
McLaren
McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...
with 47 championship points and
Williams'
Ralf Schumacher
Ralf Schumacher (born 30 June 1975) is a German former racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Schumacher won six Formula One Grands Prix across 11 seasons.
Born and raised in North Rhine-Westp ...
with 41. Ferrari's
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves Barrichello (; born 23 May 1972) is a Brazilian racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for Full Time Sports. Nicknamed "Rubinho" (), Barrichello competed in Formula One fro ...
was fourth on 40 championship points, and McLaren's
Mika Häkkinen
Mika Pauli Häkkinen (; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with M ...
was fifth with 19 championship points.
In the
World Constructors' Championship
Formula One, abbreviated to F1, is the highest class of open-wheeled auto racing defined by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's world governing body. The "formula" in the name refers to a set of rules to which ...
Ferrari led with 124 championship points, 58 championship points ahead of McLaren. Williams were third with 56 championship points;
Sauber
Sauber Motorsport AG, currently competing in Formula One as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, and also known simply as Kick Sauber or Sauber, is a Swiss motorsport engineering company. It was founded in 1970 (as PP Sauber AG) by Peter Sauber, who pro ...
with 19 championship points and
British American Racing
British American Racing (BAR) was a Formula One constructor that competed in the sport from 1999 to 2005. BAR began by acquiring Tyrrell Racing, Tyrrell, and used Supertec engines for their first year. Subsequently, they formed a partnership wit ...
(BAR) with 16 championship points contended for fourth place.
A maximum of 40 championship points were available for the final four races, which meant Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher could still win the title. Michael Schumacher needed to win the Grand Prix, regardless of where Coulthard and Ralf Schumacher finished. Had both Ferrari cars finished first and second, the team would secure the World Constructors' Championship for the third consecutive year.
By winning the race, Michael Schumacher would take his 51st career victory, putting him equal with four-time World Champion
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost (; born 24 February 1955) is a French former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "the Professor", Prost won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and� ...
and join Prost and
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio (, ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995) was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Nicknamed "el Chueco" and "el Maestro", Fangio won five Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles and—at the ti ...
as the third driver to win four or more titles. He said the championship was not in his mindset in Hungary and was looking forward to the race, "I am excited about the possibility of becoming champion a fourth time but if I don't look it, it's because I am not there yet. How can I be excited if I am not there yet? Only having the possibility doesn't count. I will get excited when it is in my pocket." In contrast, Coulthard was within four championship points of Michael Schumacher entering the
Monaco Grand Prix
The Monaco Grand Prix () is a Formula One motor racing event held annually on the Circuit de Monaco, in late May or early June. Run since 1929, it is widely considered to be one of the most important and prestigious automobile races in the wo ...
; he finished fifth after failing to move off the starting
grid
Grid, The Grid, or GRID may refer to:
Space partitioning
* Regular grid, a tessellation of space with translational symmetry, typically formed from parallelograms or higher-dimensional analogs
** Grid graph, a graph structure with nodes connec ...
due to a computer glitch. Thereafter, mechanical attrition and one accident gave Coulthard six championship points in the next five races and fell 37 championship points behind Schumacher.
A total of 11 teams (each representing a different
constructors) fielded two drivers each for the Grand Prix.
There were two driver changes for the race. Having been in one of the Prost cars since the first race of the year in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
,
Jean Alesi
Jean Robert Alesi (; born Giovanni Roberto Alesi, 11 June 1964) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Alesi won the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix with Ferrari.
Born and raised in Avignon, Alesi started karting a ...
completed negotiations for the release of his contract with the French constructor and joined the
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
team for the rest of the season. Alesi's
Prost AP04
The Prost AP04 was the car with which the Prost team competed in the 2001 Formula One World Championship. Over the course of the season, the car was raced by five drivers: French veteran Jean Alesi, Argentine Gastón Mazzacane, Brazilian Luciano ...
was driven by
Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Heinz-Harald Frentzen (; born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Frentzen was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won three Grands Prix across 10 se ...
—whom Jordan sacked before the preceding
German Grand Prix
The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...
—until the conclusion of the season. Both drivers were allowed to familiarise themselves with their new cars in the week before the race. Frentzen and Alesi completed separate shakedown tests (the maximum amount of mileage allowed under the sporting regulations during the three-week summer moratorium from in-season testing) at the
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some from Paris and from Lyon.
It staged the Formula One French Grand Prix from 1991 (succeeding Circuit Paul Ricard ...
and the
Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 1950 British Grand ...
, respectively.
Several teams made modifications to their
cars
A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...
to maximise slow speed
grip and traction and
setup
Setup (the noun) or set up (the verb) may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Set Up'' (2005 film), a 2005 Hong Kong horror film
* ''Setup'' (2011 film), a 2011 action thriller heist film Literature
* ''Set Up'', a 1992 nov ...
for the Hungaroring's high-speed
chicane
A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...
s.
Minardi
Minardi was an Italian automobile racing team and constructor founded in Faenza in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following ...
introduced a revised chassis for both of its race and test
PS01s, which comprised a new titanium
gearbox
A transmission (also called a gearbox) is a mechanical device invented by Louis Renault (who founded Renault) which uses a gear set—two or more gears working together—to change the speed, direction of rotation, or torque multiplication/r ...
and rear
suspension
Suspension or suspended may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Car suspension
* Cell suspension or suspension culture, in biology
* Guarded suspension, a software design pattern in concurrent programming suspending a method call and the calling ...
geometry, tested by
Andrea Piccini
Andrea Piccini (born 12 December 1978 in Sansepolcro) is an Italian racing driver who is the part-owner and team principal of the Iron Lynx Motorsport Lab ELMS and Italian F4 team.
Single Seaters
Piccini began his single seater career in 19 ...
at the
Fiorano Circuit
The Fiorano Circuit () is a private racetrack owned by Ferrari for development and testing purposes. It is located in Fiorano Modenese, near the Italian town of Maranello.
Construction began in 1971 and the circuit officially opened on 8 Apri ...
. McLaren mounted a secondary wing to the tail of the
MP4/16's engine cover above its gearbox and Williams did the same as it installed cooling bodywork on the engine for the first time since the
Malaysian Grand Prix
The Malaysian Grand Prix (, officially the Malaysia Grand Prix from 1963–1965 and 2011–2017 and Malayan Grand Prix in 1962) was an annual auto race held in Malaysia. It was part of the Formula One World Championship from 1999 to 2017 and ...
. The
Benetton and Sauber teams fitted new front wings and undertrays to their vehicles while the former constructor also introduced revised
bargeboards
A bargeboard or rake fascia is a board fastened to each projecting gable of a roof to give it strength and protection, and to conceal the otherwise exposed end grain of the horizontal timbers or purlins of the roof. The word ''bargeboard'' is pro ...
and a rear
diffuser
Diffuser may refer to:
Aerodynamics
* Diffuser (automotive), a shaped section of a car's underbody which improves the car's aerodynamic properties
* Part of a jet engine air intake, especially when operated at supersonic speeds
* The channel bet ...
. Both Ferrari and
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
brought a revised high-
downforce
Downforce is a downwards lift force created by the aerodynamic features of a vehicle. If the vehicle is a car, the purpose of downforce is to allow the car to travel faster by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more gri ...
configuration that was an evolution of the package they utilised at the Monaco Grand Prix.
BAR installed a new diffuser featuring two vertical strakes in each side channel, as well as a new floor and front wing. The
003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to:
* 003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986)
* 1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen
* OO3 gauge model railway
* ''O03 (O2)'' and other related blood type alleles in the AB ...
also featured additional winglets on the engine cover that were used at the Monaco Grand Prix. Jordan brought significant updates, including a new engine cover with a deeper top section and shallower lower section and a revised shape around the rear suspension. The new bodywork was complemented by a new undertray and diffuser. Jordan added a horizontal narrowing chord winglet similar to that of the
Williams FW23
The Williams FW23 was the car with which the Williams team competed in the 2001 Formula One World Championship. It was driven by German Ralf Schumacher, who was in his third year with the team, and Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, a previous Formul ...
ahead of the sidepod inlets. Jordan also modified the pedal arrangement for Alesi's car, as he disliked the
left-foot braking
Left-foot braking is the technique of using the left foot to operate the brake pedal in an automobile, leaving the right foot dedicated to the throttle pedal. It contrasts with the practice of using the left foot to operate the clutch pedal, leav ...
technique used by Frentzen and Zonta.
Arrows brought a new front wing for the
A22 and installed small wings over the rain light and rear
axle
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotation, rotating wheel and axle, wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In ...
used at the Monaco Grand Prix. Prost used its double-element front wing from Monaco and added a small wing over the rear axle. Frentzen used
Brembo
Brembo N.V. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive parts that most notably produces braking systems, for high-performance cars and for the sim racing series Gran Turismo. Its operational head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy, while Amst ...
brakes instead of the
Carbon Industrie
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 electrons. It belongs to group ...
components Alesi preferred.
Practice
A total of four practice sessions preceded Sunday's race, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday.
Friday's two practice sessions were held in hot and clear weather.
[ In the morning session, Michael Schumacher lapped quickest at 1 minute, 16.995 seconds, 0.288 seconds faster than his teammate Barrichello in second. The McLaren cars of Häkkinen and Coulthard, Ralf Schumacher, ]Nick Heidfeld
Nick Lars Heidfeld (; born 10 May 1977) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to .
Born and raised in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Heidfeld began competitive kart racing aged 11. He progressed to Formu ...
of Sauber, Jordan's Jarno Trulli
Jarno Trulli (; born 13 July 1974) is an Italian former racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Trulli won the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix with Renault in Formula One, Renault.
He regularly competed in Formula ...
, the BAR vehicles of Olivier Panis
Olivier Jean Denis Marie Panis (; born 2 September 1966) is a French former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Panis won the 1996 Monaco Grand Prix with Équipe Ligier, Ligier.
Panis competed in Formula One for Équipe Ligier, ...
and Jacques Villeneuve
Jacques Joseph Charles Villeneuve (; born 9 April 1971) is a Canadian former racing driver, who competed in IndyCar from 1994 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1994 to 1995 PPG Indy Car World Series, 1995, and Formula One from to . Villeneuve won t ...
and Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi-Matias Räikkönen (; born 17 October 1979), nicknamed "the Iceman", is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One between 2001 and 2021 for Sauber, McLaren, Ferrari, Lotus, and Alfa Romeo. Räikkönen won the 2007 Formula One ...
for Sauber rounded out the session's top ten drivers. Alesi was restricted to four timed laps because he skidded into a gravel trap at turn 13.[ Ralf Schumacher avoided curtailing his session after a spin into the turn one gravel trap and reversing out of it.] Coulthard understeered into the turn 12 chicane gravel trap and pushed the McLaren's undertray through the bottom of its monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
on a serrated kerb
A curb (American English) or kerb (British English) is the edge where a raised sidewalk/pavement or road median/central reservation meets a street/other roadway.
History
Although curbs have been used throughout modern history, and indeed ...
with five minutes left,[ causing a four-minute stoppage to clear carbon fibre debris.][
Michael Schumacher repeated his morning form in the afternoon session with the day's fastest lap of 1 minute, 16.651 seconds. Barrichello in second closed to within 0.083 seconds of his teammate and Häkkinen third. Ralf Schumacher was fourth-fastest, ahead of Jaguar's ]Eddie Irvine
Edmund "Eddie" Irvine Jr. (; born 10 November 1965) is a former racing driver from Northern Ireland, who competed Formula One drivers from the United Kingdom, under the British flag in Formula One from to . Irvine was runner-up in the Formula ...
, Alesi, Giancarlo Fisichella
Giancarlo "Giano" Fisichella (; born 14 January 1973), also known as Fisico or Fisi, is an Italian racing driver and motorsport executive, who competed in Formula One from to . Fisichella won three Formula One Grands Prix across 14 seasons.
Bo ...
of Benetton, Heidfeld, Panis and Coulthard in fifth to tenth. Several drivers, including Frentzen, Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher, spun or went off the circuit during the session without damaging their cars. After Friday's sessions, Ferrari and Coulthard lodged a complaint with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
The Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; ) is an international organisation with two primary functions surrounding use of the automobile. Its mobility division advocacy, advocates the interests of motoring organisations, the automot ...
race director Charlie Whiting
Charles Whiting (12 August 1952 – 14 March 2019) was Chief Mechanic for the Brabham F1 team and latterly the Formula One race director. He served as the FIA Formula One Race Director, Safety Delegate, Permanent Starter and head of the F1 Tech ...
over the height of the kerbs at turn 12. Race officials agreed to lower its height by on Saturday morning to allow cars to be propelled more smoothly over turn 12.
It continued to be hot and humid for the two Saturday morning practice sessions. Michael Schumacher led the third practice session at 1 minute, 15.466 seconds. His teammate Barrichello remained in second. The two McLaren cars of Häkkinen and Coulthard were third and fourth. Heidfeld, Ralf Schumacher, Panis, Trulli, Juan Pablo Montoya
Juan Pablo Montoya Roldán (; born 20 September 1975) is a Colombian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to , IndyCar between 1999 and 2022, and the NASCAR Cup Series between 2006 and 2024. Montoya won seven Formula One Grand ...
of the Williams team and Räikkönen were in positions six through ten. While the session passed relatively peacefully, Räikkönen stopped on track midway through practice with his car's overheating exhaust system
An exhaust system is used to guide reaction exhaust gases away from a controlled combustion inside an engine or stove. The entire system conveys burnt gases from the engine and includes one or more exhaust pipes. Depending on the overall syste ...
catching fire, which was extinguished by track marshals.
Coulthard was quickest in the final practice session to prevent Ferrari from leading every session with a 1-minute, 15.266 seconds lap. Michael Schumacher could not go faster after going wide onto the grass exiting turn six and later spun off the track at turn 12. He remained in second in front of his teammate Barrichello in third and the faster Heidfeld in fourth. Häkkinen, Trulli, Ralf Schumacher, Montoya, Irvine and Fisichella were fifth through tenth. Seven minutes into the session, Ralf Schumacher beached his car in a gravel trap at turn nine and Minardi's Tarso Marques
Tarso Anibal Santanna Marques (born 19 January 1976) is a Brazilian racing driver. He previously participated in 24 Formula One Grands Prix, all driving for the Minardi team, but scored no championship points in three separate seasons and never co ...
spun at turn nine.
Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's one hour qualifying session saw each driver limited to twelve laps, with the starting order decided by their fastest laps. During this session the 107% rule
The 107% rule is a sporting regulation affecting Formula One racing Formula One racing#Qualifying, qualifying sessions. During the first phase of qualifying, if the circuit is dry, any driver who is eliminated in the first qualifying session and f ...
was in effect, requiring each driver to remain within 107 per cent of the fastest lap time to qualify for the race. It remained hot and clear with the air temperature from and a track temperature between . Several drivers waited for 20 minutes before commencing their first timed laps. Michael Schumacher overtook Hakkinen as the fastest driver on his first attempt, having opted to do two timed laps. He set his quickest lap with 20 minutes remaining, taking his ninth pole position of the season and the 41st of his career with a new qualifying track record of 1 minute, 14.059 seconds. He was joined on the grid's front row by Coulthard who was 0.801 seconds slower;[ an oversteer put him wide at the left-hand turn 13 and Frentzen had earlier slowed him. Barrichello in third was delayed by Montoya early on after which his Ferrari's balance changed and developed more understeer due to rising track temperatures.] Ralf Schumacher was the highest-placed Michelin
Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
shod car in fourth,[ and fifth-placed Trulli aborted one timed lap following an error.] Häkkinen had difficulty finding an ideal setup for his McLaren and took sixth. Heidfeld, seventh, aborted two of his timed laps through separate minor errors. Eighth-placed Montoya had a power understeer that caused him to spin. An understeer in Räikkönen's Sauber on his last two laps put him ninth. Villeneuve adjusted his car's setup to qualify tenth.[
Panis in 11th was the fastest driver not to qualify in the top ten because he lost time with an electrical fault and spun because of an inoperable ]traction control system
A traction control system (TCS), is typically (but not necessarily) a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction (i.e., wheelspin) of the driven road wheels. TC ...
. Alesi made it an all-French sixth row in 12th; he admitted he required additional familiarity with his car. The Jaguars occupied 13th and 14th places: Pedro de la Rosa
Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former racing driver, motorsport executive and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One between and . In Japanese motorsport, de la Rosa won the Formula Nippon Championship a ...
ahead of his teammate Irvine; the former made errors on his first two timed laps and the latter said he over-drove trying to qualify in the top ten. Fisichella in the faster of the two Benetton cars in 15th reported a loss of grip.[ Frentzen in a lightly fuelled car could not match his form from the morning's practice sessions and took 16th. Two engine failures in practice required ]Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...
to drive the spare Benetton, which had poor grip and balance and left him 17th. Button felt the spare car which featured different steering arms that made it feel heavier to him did not suit his driving style. Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver who competes in Formula One for Aston Martin in Formula One, Aston Martin. Alonso has won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with ...
qualified his Minardi in 18th. Luciano Burti
Luciano Pucci Burti (born 5 March 1975) is a Brazilian former racing driver who raced in Formula One in 2000 and 2001. He was later a commentator for TV Globo.
Early career
Burti's early career saw him graduate through the usual channels and ...
of the Prost team had balance problems that caused his car to yearn from understeer and oversteer and was 19th. The two Arrows of Enrique Bernoldi
Enrique Antônio Langue e Silvério de Bernoldi (; born 19 October 1978) is a Brazilian professional racing driver who raced for the Arrows Formula One team in 2001 and 2002, and was the test driver for British American Racing (later Honda) be ...
and Jos Verstappen
Johannes Franciscus "Jos" Verstappen (; born 4 March 1972) is a Dutch racing and rally driver, who competes in the European Rally Championship as a privateer. Verstappen competed in Formula One between and .
Born and raised in Dutch Limburg, ...
were 20th and 21st; Verstappen drove Arrows' spare vehicle after damaging his race car in a crash during practice and Bernoldi's engine cut out on his final timed lap.[ Tarso Marques for Minardi was the final qualifier in 22nd as he had a setup that could not be changed for increased car performance due to him replacing a sensor.]
Qualifying classification
Warm-up
A half an hour warm-up session took place on Sunday morning in dry and hot weather. All drivers fine-tuned their race set-ups against the weather of the time, and set laps in their spare cars.[ While he was briefly delayed by a battery fault that affected his car's gear change mechanism,][ Coulthard led with a lap of 1 minute and 16.915 seconds with the Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Barrichello second and third. Ralf Schumacher, Häkkinen, Trulli, Heidfeld, Panis, Räikkönen and Irvine occupied positions four to ten.] Bernoldi was the only driver to lose control of his car during the session, running wide at the first corner and continued.[
]
Race
The race took place in the afternoon from 14:00 local time and before 110,000 spectators. It lasted 77 laps over a distance of . The weather was hot and humid with some cloud cover, with the air temperature between and the track temperature from ; conditions were expected to remain consistent with a light south-easterly wind and a 20 per cent chance of rain was forecast. Tyre consistency from over the season was predicted to allow for a one-stop strategy and had the possibility of a slower car impeding the leaders for several laps. A two stop-strategy was theorised to give drivers a better chance of maintaining on-track position. While on a reconnaissance lap, Michael Schumacher locked his rear brakes and ran into the turn 12 gravel trap en route to the grid. The Ferrari mechanics removed most of the stones from his car and replaced the left-hand side turning vane as a precaution to ensure there was no loose bodywork and changed his tyres. In the meantime, Coulthard's race car had a gearbox problem and he switched to the spare McLaren for the start.
Michael Schumacher made a brisk start to maintain his pole position advantage. Coulthard in second made a slow getaway on the dirty side of the track, providing less grip, and Barrichello overtook him on his left into turn one. Barrichello then veered across to protect his teammate from a challenge by Coulthard. In the middle of the pack, Irvine attempted to pass Fisichella on the left; he lost control of the rear of his car on some dirt and got beached in the gravel trap. Trulli slowed to avoid a collision with Heidfeld. Further round the lap, Marques ran off the circuit after he and Frentzen made contact in turn two; both drivers continued. Verstappen made the best getaway in the field, moving from 21st to 16th by the conclusion of the first lap, as Frentzen fell four positions over the same distance. At the end of the first lap, Michael Schumacher led his teammate Barrichello by 1.3 seconds with Coulthard a further half a second behind in third. Ralf Schumacher was fourth, Trulli fifth and Häkkinen sixth. As the top three began to pull away from the rest of the field, extending their deficit over Ralf Schumacher to 6.8 seconds on lap five, the stewards informed the Benetton team that Button had jumped the start for which he was imposed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty. He took the penalty on the following lap.
Meanwhile, Michael Schumacher was conserving his tyre usage because he felt going faster would become more important as the race progressed. Trulli in fifth slowed Häkkinen, Heidfeld, Montoya and Heidfeld from the eighth lap as Hakkinen attempted an unsuccessful overtake on Trulli. On lap nine, Burti became the Grand Prix's second retirement after he spun into a gravel trap at turn 14 on heavily blistered tyres reducing grip. Alesi overtook de la Rosa at turn two for 12th on lap 10. At the front of the field, Barrichello began to tactically slow Coulthard by a second per lap on lap 12, allowing his teammate Michael Schumacher to lead comfortably while lapping slower traffic later on. That lap, Bernoldi locked his rear brakes in him catching Alonso and retired by spinning into a gravel trap at turn four. On lap 13, Button passed Marques to retake 18th. By his first pit stop of the race at the conclusion of the 28th lap, Michael Schumacher extended his lead to 12.8 seconds and broke Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell (; born 8 August 1953) is a British former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Mansell won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won 31 Grands Prix across 15 seasons ...
's official lap record from the 1992 edition. His stop lasted 8.4 seconds and relinquished the lead to his teammate Barrichello. Michael Schumacher rejoined the race in third, ahead of his brother Ralf Schumacher.[
On the 29th lap, Trulli entered the pit lane for his first pit stop. He emerged in 12th after a refuelling rig was lodged in his car for five extra seconds.] Ralf Schumacher entered the pit lane on the following lap and he remained in fourth place. Barrichello stayed on the track until at the end of lap 31 to delay Coulthard in second before entering the pit lane for a 9.1 second pit stop to take on of fuel. The tactic did not work as Coulthard's pit stop on the next lap was faster than Barrichello's and he overtook him. Coulthard was therefore able to drive in clear air and given an opportunity to close up to Michael Schumacher.[ Further back, Button overtook Alonso for 17th on lap 33.] Two more retirements occurred during this stage of the Grand Prix: on lap 35, Button lost control of the rear of the rear of his Benetton car through the final corner, and stopped in the centre of the circuit on the start/finish line. He remained there due to the car stalling because his traction control system failed to operate,[ engaged in gear,] and facing the opposite direction before marshals extricated him under yellow flag conditions. Alonso spun into a gravel trap at turn one when his rear brakes failed on the 38th lap.[ As Coulthard lowered the gap to Michael Schumacher to 11 seconds, he could not get closer to the Ferrari driver who made a second pit stop on lap 52.]
Barrichello made his second pit stop on the next lap, and he rejoined in third, behind his teammate Michael Schumacher. Coulthard led laps 53 and 54 and it appeared he would retain second since the deficit between him and Barrichello was 22.6 seconds. During his second pit stop, the car's refuelling rig was jammed for two seconds. Coulthard emerged in third, behind Barrichello. On that lap, Trulli pulled off to the side of the track to retire with an hydraulic failure. On the 58th lap, Panis drove into the garage to allow his team to rectify an electrical fault with his car. Behind the top three, the fifth-placed Häkkinen, who set the overall fastest lap of 1 minute and 16.723 seconds on lap 51, was two seconds a lap faster than Ralf Schumacher in fourth. He lined up a pass on the inside in the corners; he could not pass because of the Williams' higher straightline speed. Frentzen joined the list of retirees by spinning into a gravel trap on lap 64. Marques was instructed by his team via radio to stop at the side of the track at turn 12 and switch his car's engine off because of low fuel pressure soon after. On the 70th lap, Fisichella's engine failed, causing him to spin into a gravel trap beside the circuit, and forcing him to retire.
Häkkinen made the race's final pit stop for fuel on lap 71. He remained in fifth and fell back from Ralf Schumacher. Two laps later, Panis parked his car in the garage to retire after one exploratory lap. At the front, Michael Schumacher slowed and Barrichello held off Coulthard to enable his teammate to take his seventh victory of the season, and the 51st of his career in a time of 1 hour, 41 minutes, 49.675 seconds at an average speed of , equalling Prost's all-time wins record. He became the 2001 Drivers' Champion and secured his fourth title as Coulthard could not catch his championship points total with four races left in the season. Michael Schumacher also became the first driver to win consecutive World Drivers' Championships with Ferrari since Alberto Ascari
Alberto Ascari (13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Ascari won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in and with Ferrari, and won 13 Grands Prix across ...
in the 1953 season.[ Barrichello finished 3.363 seconds behind in second to win Ferrari's third World Constructors' Championship in a row and 11th overall.] Coulthard took third, with Ralf Schumacher fourth, Häkkinen fifth and Heidfeld sixth. The final classified finishers were Räikkönen, Montoya, Villeneuve, Alesi, de la Rosa and Verstappen.[ The attrition rate was high with 12 of the 22 starters not finishing the race.][
]
Post-race
The top three drivers appeared on the podium to collect their trophies and spoke to the media in a later press conference. Michael Schumacher called his fourth World Drivers' Championship and his record-equalling 51st career victory "a great achievement" and said comparisons of his three other titles and equalling Juan Manuel Fangio's five titles were unimportant, "I think we want to enjoy this and each one is different and each victory feels different. It's always something special, to win a Grand Prix, to win a championship even more, so that's what counts." Barrichello spoke of his pride at helping Ferrari securing the World Constructors' Championship and admitted to having mixed feelings over falling behind Coulthard after the first round of pit stops, "The first time I was so disappointed and the second time I was so happy, I couldn't believe it myself. I think it was probably the same with DC but just the opposite. Fortunately for me, it worked out. I had a wonderful start."[ Coulthard was unemotional over losing the title because he sought to win, saying, "It makes no difference to me really whether I'm second, third or fourth, whatever it happens to be. What's important is how I perform in each of the individual races and providing I know that I've given 100 per cent effort from myself, which I know isn't always the case, but that's obviously the goal, to try and achieve that, then I can't do more than that."][
Michael Schumacher received praise for his fourth World Drivers' Championship and it was headline news in Germany and Italy.][ He was officially congratulated by ]Gerhard Schröder
Gerhard Fritz Kurt Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German former politician and Lobbying, lobbyist who served as Chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (S ...
, the chancellor of Germany
The chancellor of Germany, officially the federal chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, is the head of the federal Cabinet of Germany, government of Germany. The chancellor is the chief executive of the Federal Government of Germany, ...
, who wrote a letter to Schumacher saying that his driving ability brought excitement to the sport and wished him well for the 2002 season. Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat S.p.A., Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial ...
, the head of the FIAT Group
Stellantis Europe S.p.A. (formerly Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A. and FCA Italy S.p.A.), is the Italian subsidiary of the multinational automaker Stellantis, dedicated to the production and selling of passenger cars and light commercial vehicles ...
, said he was overjoyed with the result, and the president of Ferrari Luca di Montezemolo
Luca Cordero di Montezemolo (; born 31 August 1947) is an Italian businessman who is best known as the former chairman of Ferrari, Fiat S.p.A., Confindustria and Alitalia.
Montezemolo descends from an aristocratic family from the region of Pied ...
praised the team for their work over the season. Button predicted Ferrari would continue to be Formula One's dominant team and Schumacher its best driver in the long-term. Mansell echoed Button's belief, adding, "If Ferrari maintain the impetus they currently have and given the personnel... then I can't see anyone stopping them for the next few years, not unless someone comes up with the perfect package." Around 2,000 people watched the event on a large television screen in Michael Schumacher's hometown of Kerpen
Kerpen (; Ripuarian: ''Kerpe'') is the most populated town in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany). It is located about 20 kilometres southwest from Cologne. As of 2023, Kerpen has a total population of 67,627.
Division of ...
in the Lower Rhine region
The Lower Rhine region or Niederrhein () is a region around the Lower Rhine section of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between approximately Oberhausen and Krefeld in the East and the Dutch border around Kleve in the West ...
with the town decorated in the colours of Ferrari. Church bells in Maranello
Maranello ( Modenese: ) is a city of Italy in the province of Modena, in the region of Emilia-Romagna, 18 km from Modena, with a population of 17,504 as of 2017. It is known worldwide as the home of Ferrari and the Formula One racing team, ...
, the Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna (, , both , ; or ; ) is an Regions of Italy, administrative region of northern Italy, comprising the historical regions of Emilia (region), Emilia and Romagna. Its capital is Bologna. It has an area of , and a population of 4.4 m ...
town where Ferrari's headquarters are based, rang with several of the marque's road cars driving slowly and fans of the team celebrating Schumacher's accomplishment.
Ralf Schumacher, who finished fourth, called it "the toughest race of the year" because his vehicle had understeer and oversteer, "I had to work very hard to defend my position against Mika Hakkinen, which I managed to do." Häkkinen apportioned blame onto Trulli for his fifth-place result and said that him setting a new track record was of little consolation, "During the first 29 laps of the race, I was stuck behind Trulli, who was about 1.5 seconds slower per lap than me. It was only after his first pit stop that I could start to make inroads on Ralf Schumacher, who by then was about 30 seconds ahead." Irvine said he accepted responsibility for his first lap accident that ended his running, "I made a big charge at the beginning but maybe I carried too much into the corner and paid the price. With so few races left and only four points earned from the season so far, we've got to address the issues before Spa."
The race result left Michael Schumacher as the World Drivers' Champion with 94 championship points. Coulthard remained in second with 51 championship points. Third-placed Barrichello was five championship points behind Coulthard. Ralf Schumacher in fourth was a further two championship points behind Barrichello. With 21 championship points, Häkkinen was fifth. Ferrari won the World Constructors' Championship with 140 championship points. McLaren in second (72 championship points) were 13 championship points ahead of Williams in third. Sauber were fourth with 20 championship points and the team increased their advantage over BAR to four championship points with four races remaining in the season. After his title victory, Michael Schumacher said he was still focused on winning races, and also considered helping his teammate Barrichello to finish second, something which Ferrari team principal Jean Todt
Jean Henri Todt (; born 25 February 1946) is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and then Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed chief executi ...
reiterated.[
]
Race classification
Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold.
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
;Constructors' Championship standings
* Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
* Bold text and an asterisk indicates the 2001 World Champions.
References
{{Portal bar, Formula One, Sports, Hungary
Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungarian Grand Prix (, ) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród at the Hungaroring. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
History Origins
The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on ...
Hungarian Grand Prix
Grand Prix
( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to:
* Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition
** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship
*** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...
Hungarian Grand Prix
The Hungarian Grand Prix (, ) is a motor racing event held annually in Mogyoród at the Hungaroring. Since 1986, the race has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Championship.
History Origins
The first Hungarian Grand Prix was held on ...