2001 Monaco Grand Prix
edit| 2001 Monaco Grand Prix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 6 of 18 in the 2001 Formula One World Championship | |||
 | |||
| Race details | |||
| Date | May 13, 2001 | ||
| Official name | LXV Grand Prix de Monaco | ||
| Location | Circuit de Monaco | ||
| Course | Street circuit | ||
| Course length | 3.34 km (2.08 miles) | ||
| Distance | 78 laps, 260.52 km (162.24 miles) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||
| Time | 1:17.382 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |
 Michael Schumacher | Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:17.215 on lap 51 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Second | Ferrari | ||
| Third | Williams-BMW | ||
Qualifying
editIt was a Ferrari on pole once again, but this time it was Michael Schumacher who took pole position. However, the major surprise of the day was Heinz-Harald Frentzen who qualified superbly to take second. Ralf Schumacher was third and David Coulthard was fourth ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya who also beat Rubens Barrichello who crashed on his first run and then got blocked on his last to sixth. Jarno Trulli was seventh and eighth went to Nick Heidfeld as Mika Häkkinen had major troubles and was just able to compete. He had only one run and he got bumped by traffic in it, pushing him down to 17th.
Race
editAt the start, polesitter Michael Schumacher was immediately challenged by Heinz-Harald Frentzen and as the two came together in the first corner, they touched and both went wide and dropped back allowing Ralf Schumacher, David Coulthard and Juan Pablo Montoya to get ahead. Ralf was leading from Coulthard, Montoya, Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Nick Heidfeld, Jarno Trulli and Frentzen. Trulli then waved Frentzen through on lap 5 and so Frentzen was there to capitalize when Heidfeld made a mistake on lap 13 to climb up to sixth, but the top 5, running together were 18 seconds ahead. Soon afterwards, Trulli retired when his engine blew. During the first round of stops, Coulthard was quicker and got ahead of Ralf who was holding Montoya, Schumacher and Barrichello up. Afterwards, when Coulthard had increased his lead to 5 seconds, Ralf waved Montoya through.
Nothing changed until the second round of stops during which Schumacher was shortfueled in order to get ahead of Ralf. The plan worked. Frentzen, who was closing in on this battle lost 15 seconds but not a place when a fuel rig failed to connect. Just before the third round of stops, Montoya made a mistake and crashed into a wall on lap 57. During these stops, Barrichello was the next and last person to take a place from Ralf with a quicker stop. On the last lap, at the second corner, a wheel fell off Schumacher's car and he was forced to retire. Frentzen had closed right up on Ralf and tried to pass him at the chicane and Ralf nearly forced him onto the wall to defend his place which he duly did. Coulthard won from Barrichello, Ralf, Frentzen, Schumacher(who was classified fifth), Heidfeld, Jacques Villeneuve and the charging Mika Häkkinen.
Classification
edit
Notes
edit- Lap Leaders: Ralf Schumacher 25 (1-25), David Coulthard 49 (26-48, 53-78), Juan Pablo Montoya 2 (49-50), Michael Schumacher 2 (51-52)
- Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, starting on the front row, touched into the first corner. Amazingly, both did not hit the wall nor go up the escape road and continued on, Schumacher down to fourth and Frentzen down to eighth.
- Kimi Räikkönen's car was on its side after a collision with Luciano Burti and Enrique Bernoldi. Räikkönen escaped unharmed.
- David Coulthard's first win of the season.
- Michael Schumacher was second at the start of the last lap but a wheel fell of his car and he was forced to retire. He was classified fifth.
Standings after Grand Prix
editDrivers
- 1. Ralf Schumacher - 48
- 2. David Coulthard - 35
- 3. Juan Pablo Montoya - 26
- 4. Michael Schumacher - 23
- 5. Rubens Barrichello - 21
- 6. Mika Häkkinen - 16
- 7. Heinz-Harald Frentzen - 16
- 8. Jacques Villeneuve - 12
Constructors