2001 European Grand Prix
The 2001 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 June 2001 at the Nürburgring, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was the ninth race of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the sixth European Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. It was also the last race on this layout until the track was modified in 2002. Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won the 67-lap race from pole position. Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya finished second and McLaren's David Coulthard was third.
Going into the race, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship by 18 championship points over Coulthard and Ferrari led McLaren in the World Constructors' Championship. Michael Schumacher took pole position after setting the quickest lap in the one-hour qualifying session. He led for most of the race, despite being pushed by his brother Ralf Schumacher, until the Williams driver was penalised for crossing the white line at the pit lane exit following his first pit stop on lap 28. Michael Schumacher finished 4.1 seconds ahead of Montoya for his fifth victory of the season and 49th of his career.
Michael Schumacher's victory increased his World Drivers' Championship lead to 24 championship points over Coulthard and 42 ahead of Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello. With eight races left in the season, Ferrari maintained their World Constructors' Championship lead, 41 championship points ahead of McLaren and 57 ahead of Williams.
Background
The 2001 European Grand Prix was the ninth of seventeen Formula One races in the 2001 Formula One World Championship, held on 24 June 2001, at the clockwise Nürburgring, Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany; the circuit hosted the European Grand Prix for the sixth time since its return in. The Nürburgring's layout was used for the final time; it was made longer beginning in.Before the event, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 58 championship points; McLaren driver David Coulthard was second on 40 championship points. Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello was third with 24 championship points, with Williams's Ralf Schumacher and Coulthard's teammate Mika Häkkinen on 22 and 8 championship points respectively. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship on 82 championship points and McLaren were second on 48 championship points, with Williams third on 28 championship points. Sauber were fourth with 15 championship points while Jordan were fifth with 13 championship points.
Following the on 10 June, the teams tested car setups, components and tyres at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire from 12 to 14 June to prepare for the European and British Grands Prix. Jaguar's Eddie Irvine and Sauber's Nick Heidfeld withdrew from testing because of a neck pain and a minor headache. Jarno Trulli and British American Racing's Olivier Panis led the first two days. Alexander Wurz, McLaren's test driver, was fastest on the final day, more than six-tenths of a second faster than Häkkinen. Minardi cancelled a two-day test at Italy's Fiorano Circuit to investigate a driveshaft problem with their car. Ferrari's test driver, Luca Badoer, evaluated electronic controls and engine plans in Fiorano before shaking down three cars for the European Grand Prix.
With 90 championship points available in the next nine Grands Prix, pundits speculated that McLaren may use team orders to favour Coulthard over teammate Häkkinen in the championship race. Coulthard said he was focused on winning races while Häkkinen stated McLaren expected him to win but acknowledged the complexity of the situation. Michael Schumacher was the favourite to win the race, having won four of the previous eight Grands Prix. Despite this, he expressed caution about winning a fourth world title, believing his 18-point lead over Coulthard was insufficient to give him confidence given the large number of championship points still available. Williams's Juan Pablo Montoya had finished only one race across the season and hoped to score championship points in Germany.
The event featured eleven teams with two drivers each, with one change from the season entry list. Having missed the previous event due to a concussion, a headache and dizziness resulting from a crash during Friday practice for the Canadian Grand Prix, Jordan driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen was declared fit to race by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile's Medical Delegate Sid Watkins and returned to his seat taken over by temporary replacement Ricardo Zonta, the team's test driver. Zonta was on standby to replace Frentzen if required. Similarly, Irvine recovered from his injured neck, and Heidfeld was suffering from migraines and disorientation after an accident in Canada; both were passed fit to race.
Few teams made significant technical improvements to their cars for the race. Ferrari, McLaren and Williams each installed the same rear wings onto their cars as did at the, while Williams added new aerodynamic side appendages in front of the air intakes, which necessitated the installation of rubber coverings on the outer edges to protect mechanics when the car were parked. BAR introduced a redesigned front suspension and a new nose with lower-section aerodynamic appendages. During Friday practice, Benetton tried a launch control system on both of their cars to provide for a smoother and quicker start. Jaguar fitted its Monaco-specification front wing and curved sidepod winglets onto its R2 cars. Sauber revised their front wing endplates only for the day before the race and Minardi modified Tarso Marques's pedals for his large feet. Arrows and Prost introduced no new major changes to their cars.
Practice
The race was preceded by four practice sessions, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The first practice on Friday morning was overcast with cold ambient and track conditions. The circuit was dirty, forcing some drivers to lose control and run into the gravel trap. Coulthard posted the fastest lap time of 1:16.888 late in the session, one-tenth of a second faster than teammate Häkkinen. The Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Barrichello, Trulli, Sauber's Kimi Räikkönen, the BAR duo of Panis and Jacques Villeneuve, Heidfeld and Ralf Schumacher followed in the top ten. Irvine's Jaguar had a fuel pump failure, causing it to lose fuel pressure on his out-lap; this forced him to stop at the side of the track and was prevented from setting a lap.Lap times decreased during the second practice session due to the bright weather, which raised the track and ambient temperatures. Häkkinen set the day's quickest lap, a 1:16.408; Coulthard was second-fastest. The Williams drivers were running quicker—Ralf Schumacher in third and Montoya in sixth—they were separated by the Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Barrichello, in fourth and fifth respectively. They were ahead of Trulli, Heidfeld, Prost's Jean Alesi and Panis in positions seven to ten. Some drivers went off the track during the session. Luciano Burti's Prost stopped on track with an engine failure after ten minutes. After 15 minutes, a throttle problem caused Barrichello to slow down and do a slow lap to the pit lane.
Despite the patchy clouds overhead, the third practice session was held in sunny weather. Michael Schumacher set the session's fastest time with a lap of 1:16.308, almost three-tenths of a second faster than Ralf Schumacher. The McLaren drivers ran slower—Häkkinen ahead of Coulthard. Barrichello, Montoya, Villeneuve, Frentzen, Panis and Heidfeld occupied positions five to ten.
It continued to be sunny for the final practice session, and although more cars left the track, there were no collisions. Ralf Schumacher was fastest at 1:15.355 in the final minute, almost four tenths of a second faster than teammate Montoya. Barrichello was third, with Häkkinen and Coulthard fourth and fifth respectively. Michael Schumacher in sixth had a minor hydraulic malfunction, thus limiting his running to only the final 15 minutes. Trulli, Frentzen, Panis and Räikkönen completed the top ten.
Qualifying
Each driver was limited to twelve laps during Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, with the starting order determined by their fastest laps. The 107% rule was in force during this session, which required each driver to set a time within 107% of the fastest lap to qualify for the race. Qualifying took place in overcast conditions. Because the track was cold, no driver qualified until after 15 minutes. Michael Schumacher completed eight of his 12 laps, and took his seventh pole position in nine races in 2001. His time of 1:14.960 was the overall track lap record, set on his second timed attempt, after adjusting his car's aerodynamics to extract more downforce. Ralf Schumacher qualified second, two tenths of a second slower, and held pole until Michael Schumacher lap. Montoya, third, made a car setup error between two runs and reported excessive oversteer. Barrichello was fourth with 11 minutes remaining after a power steering malfunction forced him to abort his second run, prompting his team to prepare a spare Ferrari for him if needed. Coulthard and Häkkinen were fifth and sixth, their best times six thousands of a second apart. Häkkinen could not accelerate out of the slow-speed corners without losing control of his car's rear, and made an error mounting the kerbs at the Veedol chicane. Coulthard attempted to lap faster after modifying his McLaren's front to try to strike the kerbs. On a lap with used front and new rear tires that caused oversteer, he spun into the edge of the gravel trap at the final Coca-Cola hairpin, while attempting to qualify on the second row. Yellow flags were waved and every driver had to slow. Trulli qualified seventh and felt he could have improved if not for slower cars and the yellow flag following Coulthard's spin. His teammate Frentzen was eighth after his final quick lap moved him from 11th.Räikkönen was ninth, but Coulthard's spin cut his final run short. His teammate Heidfeld pushed too hard and ran wide into the first chicane, finishing tenth. Villeneuve qualified 11th as another driver ahead of him ran right into the chicane, losing time by going wide. Irvine, 12th, had severe understeer on his final run after setting a fast lap on a third set of tyres. Panis reported a lack of grip and could not match his lap times from practice, finishing 13th. Alesi, 14th, said that his car oversteered more than in practice due to increased track temperature, and encountered slower cars and yellow flags. Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella, 15th, reported an improvement in his car on each run and had a decent chassis balance. Jaguar's Pedro de la Rosa took 16th with major understeer through turns three and four. Burti moved to teammate Alesi's spare vehicle, which had to be reset due to a fuel pressure issue with his racing car. The car's behaviour prevented him from lapping faster and he took 17th. The Arrows pair of Enrique Bernoldi and Jos Verstappen were 18th and 19th. Bernoldi noted a significant loss of grip as track temperature rose, while Verstappen noticed that his car lacked straightline speed compared to the morning sessions owing to a lack of grip. Fisichella's teammate Jenson Button in 20th reported excessive understeer and no grip. Minardi drivers Fernando Alonso and Marques qualified at the back of the grid in 21st and 22nd. Marques briefly stopped on track at the Veedol chicane with a loss of drive, and Alonso aborted his third run when he ran wide and lost a set of tyres.