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The 2001 French Grand Prix, officially advertised as the LXXXVII Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France, was the tenth round of the 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship, staged at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in Magny-Cours, France, on 1 July 2001.[1] The race would see Michael Schumacher secure his 50th Grand Prix victory, in a race that would otherwise have gone down as a footnote in F1 history.[1]

Qualifying had suggested that there would be another tight battle for victory, as Ralf Schumacher out-paced his brother to claim pole position from Michael.[1] David Coulthard was next ahead of his McLaren-Mercedes teammate Mika Häkkinen, with less than a second covering the entire top eight.[1]

Unfortunately hopes of a battle-royale for victory were weakened before the start, with Häkkinen stalling on the formation lap and duly retiring with a gearbox failure.[1] Ralf Schumacher then aced his start to grab an early lead, while even a small glitch in Michael Schumacher's launch was not enough to let Coulthard challenge for second.[1]

Indeed, it was an out-of-place Rubens Barrichello who was the man to watch on the opening lap, charging from eighth to fifth after a poor run in qualifying.[1] Kimi Räikkönen was another man on the march, barging into the top ten, while Juan Pablo Montoya passed Jarno Trulli to claim fourth moments before Barrichello's flying Ferrari caught him.[1]

Montoya and Barrichello engaged in a low-key duel for fourth, allowing the top three of Schumacher, Schumacher and Coulthard to establish a small gap.[1] Yet, there would be no attempts to overtake from either the scarlet Ferrari nor the silver-black McLaren, meaning it was a stalemate at the head of the field throughout the early stages.[1]

The pitstop window would finally shake-up the order out front, with a poor stop for Ralf Schumacher, caused by him engaging first gear too soon, dropped him back behind his brother.[1] That, however, was the only change, until Coulthard was handed a ten second stop-go penalty for speeding in the pitlane, dumping him down to fifth behind Montoya and Barrichello.[1]

As the race wore on Ralf Schumacher began to complain about balance issues with his car, resulting in him dropping back from Michael and instead into the grips of teammate Montoya.[1] The Williams-BMW squad duly decided to swap the pair around, although a radio issue meant that the German racer had to be called in for his stop earlier than planned to get the swap made.[1]

That, however, proved academic, for just three laps after making his second stop, Montoya's race came to an end with smoke pouring out of his exhausts.[1] Ralf Schumacher was hence put back into second, while behind Coulthard had begun to close onto the back of Barrichello, only to waste his best chance at passing the Ferrari late-on when he dived the wrong side of a lapped Jean Alesi.[1]

With that the race was over, with Michael Schumacher cruising across the line to claim his landmark win ahead of his brother.[1] Barrichello duly fended off Coulthard to complete the podium, while Trulli and Nick Heidfeld claimed the remaining points.[1]

Background[]

Victory moved Michael Schumacher a huge 24 points clear of his closest challenger in the Drivers Championship, passing the halfway point with 68 points to his name. David Coulthard therefore had some serious work to do in the second half of the campaign, although he had solidified his grip on second, moving eighteen clear of Rubens Barrichello. Behind, Ralf Schumacher had inched closer to the Brazilian in fourth, while Juan Pablo Montoya broke into the top five for the first time.

In the Constructors Championship it had been another strong day for Ferrari, leaving Germany just six points shy of the 100 point mark. That also resulted in a 41 point lead over second placed McLaren-Mercedes, while Williams-BMW had inched closer to their compatriots in third once again, ending the weekend sixteen behind. Otherwise, there had been little change after the European Grand Prix, with the top three having been the only scorers.

Entry List[]

The full entry list for the 2001 French Grand Prix is outlined below:

No. Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Model Tyre
1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2001 Ferrari 050 3.0 V10 B
2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro Ferrari F2001 Ferrari 050 3.0 V10 B
3 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-16 Mercedes FO 110K 3.0 V10 B
4 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom West McLaren Mercedes McLaren MP4-16 Mercedes FO 110K 3.0 V10 B
5 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom BMW Williams F1 Team Williams FW23 BMW P80 3.0 V10 M
6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom BMW Williams F1 Team Williams FW23 BMW P80 3.0 V10 M
7 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B201 Renault RS21 3.0 V10 M
8 United Kingdom Jenson Button Italy Mild Seven Benetton Renault Benetton B201 Renault RS21 3.0 V10 M
9 France Olivier Panis United Kingdom Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR 003 Honda RA001E 3.0 V10 B
10 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom Lucky Strike BAR Honda BAR 003 Honda RA001E 3.0 V10 B
11 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Ireland B&H Jordan Honda Jordan EJ11 Honda RA001E 3.0 V10 B
12 Italy Jarno Trulli Ireland B&H Jordan Honda Jordan EJ11 Honda RA001E 3.0 V10 B
14 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Orange Arrows Asiatech Arrows A22 Asiatech 001 3.0 V10 B
15 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi United Kingdom Orange Arrows Asiatech Arrows A22 Asiatech 001 3.0 V10 B
16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C20 Petronas 01A 3.0 V10 B
17 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Switzerland Red Bull Sauber Petronas Sauber C20 Petronas 01A 3.0 V10 B
18 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine United Kingdom Jaguar Racing Jaguar R2 Ford Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10 M
19 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Jaguar Racing Jaguar R2 Ford Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10 M
20 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy European Minardi F1 Minardi PS01 European European 3.0 V10 M
21 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy European Minardi F1 Minardi PS01 European European 3.0 V10 M
22 France Jean Alesi France Prost Grand Prix Prost AP04 Acer 01A 3.0 V10 M
23 Brazil Luciano Burti France Prost Grand Prix Prost AP04 Acer 01A 3.0 V10 M
Source:[2]

Practice Overview[]

Qualifying[]

Qualifying Report[]

Qualifying Results[]

The full qualifying results for the 2001 French Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Time Gap Ave. Speed
1 5 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:12.989 209.621 km/h
2 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 1:12.999 +0.010s 209.592 km/h
3 4 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.186 +0.197s 209.056 km/h
4 3 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 1:13.268 +0.279s 208.822 km/h
5 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Ireland Jordan-Honda 1:13.310 +0.321s 208.703 km/h
6 6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Williams-BMW 1:13.625 +0.636s 207.810 km/h
7 11 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Ireland Jordan-Honda 1:13.815 +0.826s 207.275 km/h
8 2 United Kingdom Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari 1:13.867 +0.878s 207.129 km/h
9 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:14.095 +1.106s 206.492 km/h
10 10 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:14.096 +1.107s 206.489 km/h
11 9 France Olivier Panis United Kingdom BAR-Honda 1:14.181 +1.192s 206.252 km/h
12 18 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:14.441 +1.452s 205.532 km/h
13 17 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 1:14.536 +1.547s 205.270 km/h
14 19 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 1:15.020 +2.031s 203.946 km/h
15 23 Brazil Luciano Burti France Prost-Acer 1:15.072 +2.083s 203.804 km/h
16 7 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Benetton-Renault 1:15.220 +2.231s 203.403 km/h
17 8 United Kingdom Jenson Button Italy Benetton-Renault 1:15.420 +2.431s 202.864 km/h
18 14 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Arrows-Asiatech 1:15.707 +2.718s 202.095 km/h
19 22 France Jean Alesi France Prost-Acer 1:15.774 +2.785s 201.916 km/h
20 15 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi United Kingdom Arrows-Asiatech 1:15.828 +2.839s 201.772 km/h
21 21 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Minardi-European 1:16.039 +3.050s 201.213 km/h
22 20 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi-European 1:16.500 +3.511s 200.000 km/h
107% Time: 1:18.098[3]
Source:[3][4]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session.
  • Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.

Grid[]

Pos. Pos.
Driver Driver
______________
Row 1 ______________ 1
2 Ralf Schumacher
Michael Schumacher ______________
Row 2 ______________ 3
4 David Coulthard
Mika Häkkinen* ______________
Row 3 ______________ 5
6 Jarno Trulli
Juan Pablo Montoya ______________
Row 4 ______________ 7
8 Heinz-Harald Frentzen
Rubens Barrichello ______________
Row 5 ______________ 9
10 Nick Heidfeld
Jacques Villeneuve ______________
Row 6 ______________ 11
12 Olivier Panis
Eddie Irvine ______________
Row 7 ______________ 13
14 Kimi Räikkönen
Pedro de la Rosa ______________
Row 8 ______________ 15
16 Luciano Burti
Giancarlo Fisichella ______________
Row 9 ______________ 17
18 Jenson Button
Jos Verstappen ______________
Row 10 ______________ 19
20 Jean Alesi
Enrique Bernoldi ______________
Row 11 ______________ 21
22 Fernando Alonso
Tarso Marques ______________
  • * Häkkinen was unable to start the race due to a gearbox failure.[1]
  • de la Rosa started from the pitlane.[3]

Race[]

Report[]

Carlo Cantoni Ferrari team joined on the podium to receive the winning manufacturer’s award.

Results[]

The full results for the 2001 French Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 1 Germany Michael Schumacher Italy Ferrari 72 1:33:35.636 2 10
2 5 Germany Ralf Schumacher United Kingdom Williams-BMW 72 +10.399s 1 6
3 2 Brazil Rubens Barrichello Italy Ferrari 72 +16.381s 8 4
4 4 United Kingdom David Coulthard United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 72 +17.106s 3 3
5 12 Italy Jarno Trulli Ireland Jordan-Honda 72 +1:08.285 5 2
6 16 Germany Nick Heidfeld Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 71 +1 Lap 9 1
7 17 Finland Kimi Räikkönen Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 71 +1 Lap 13
8 11 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen Ireland Jordan-Honda 71 +1 Lap 7
9 9 France Olivier Panis United Kingdom BAR-Honda 71 +1 Lap 11
10 23 Brazil Luciano Burti France Prost-Acer 71 +1 Lap 15
11 7 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella Italy Benetton-Renault 71 +1 Lap 16
12 22 France Jean Alesi France Prost-Acer 70 +2 Laps 19
13 14 Netherlands Jos Verstappen United Kingdom Arrows-Asiatech 70 +2 Laps 18
14 19 Spain Pedro de la Rosa United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 70 +2 Laps 14
15 20 Brazil Tarso Marques Italy Minardi-European 69 +3 Laps 22
16* 8 United Kingdom Jenson Button Italy Benetton-Renault 68 Fuel pressure 17
17* 21 Spain Fernando Alonso Italy Minardi-European 65 Engine 21
Ret 18 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 54 Engine 12
Ret 6 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya United Kingdom Williams-BMW 52 Engine 6
Ret 15 Brazil Enrique Bernoldi United Kingdom Arrows-Asiatech 17 Engine 20
Ret 10 Canada Jacques Villeneuve United Kingdom BAR-Honda 5 Engine 10
DNS 3 Finland Mika Häkkinen United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes
Source:[5]
  • T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car.
  • * Button and Alonso were still classified despite retiring as they had completed 90% of the race distance.[5]
  • Häkkinen was unable to start the race due to a gearbox failure.[5]

Milestones[]

Standings[]

Michael Schumacher moved ever closer to his fourth World Championship crown with victory in France, leaving Magny-Cours with a daunting 29 point lead. David Coulthard was still the closest thing to a threat to the German ace, although the Scot would likely need a drastic reversal of form in the final seven rounds to hope of challenging for the crown. Behind, Ralf Schumacher had overtaken Rubens Barrichello to claim third, while Juan Pablo Montoya retained his spot in the top five.

It was a similar story in the Constructors Championship, with Ferrari once again increasing their lead, ending the afternoon on 108 points. That meant they had almost double the number of McLaren-Mercedes in second, with the Anglo-German alliance slowly being caught by third placed Williams-BMW, the latter moving just thirteen behind after the battle of France. Behind, Sauber-Petronas had retained fourth ahead of Jordan-Honda, while Minardi-European had once again failed to register a points finish.

World Championship for Drivers
Pos. Driver Pts. +/-
1 Germany Michael Schumacher 78
2 United Kingdom David Coulthard 47
3 Germany Ralf Schumacher 31 ▲1
4 Brazil Rubens Barrichello 30 ▼1
5 Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya 12
6 Germany Nick Heidfeld 9 ▲1
7 Finland Mika Häkkinen 9 ▼1
8 Italy Jarno Trulli 9 ▲1
9 Canada Jacques Villeneuve 7 ▼1
10 Finland Kimi Räikkönen 7
11 Germany Heinz-Harald Frentzen 6
12 France Olivier Panis 5
13 United Kingdom Eddie Irvine 4
14 France Jean Alesi 3
15 Netherlands Jos Verstappen 1
16 Italy Giancarlo Fisichella 1
17 Spain Pedro de la Rosa 1
World Championship for Constructors
Pos. Team Pts. +/-
1 Italy Ferrari 108
2 United Kingdom McLaren-Mercedes 56
3 United Kingdom Williams-BMW 43
4 Switzerland Sauber-Petronas 16
5 Ireland Jordan-Honda 15
6 United Kingdom BAR-Honda 12
7 United Kingdom Jaguar-Ford Cosworth 5
8 France Prost-Acer 3
9 United Kingdom Arrows-Asiatech 1
10 Italy Benetton-Renault 1

Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown.

References[]

Images and Videos:

References:

  1. 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 'French GP, 2001', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2014), https://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr673.html, (Accessed 07/11/2019)
  2. 'France 2001: Entrants', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2015), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/france/engages.aspx, (Accessed 07/11/2019)
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 'France 2001: Qualifications', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/france/qualification.aspx, (Accessed 07/11/2019)
  4. 'Mobil 1 Grand Prix de France 2001 - QUALIFYING', formula1.com, (Formula One World Championship Ltd., 2019), https://www.formula1.com/en/results.html/2001/races/712/france/qualifying-0.html, (Accessed 07/11/2019)
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 'France 2001: Result', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2016), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/france/classement.aspx, (Accessed 07/11/2019)
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 '10. France 2001', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/2001/france.aspx, (Accessed 07/11/2019)
  7. '2001 French GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2014), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=2001&gp=French%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 07/11/2019)
V T E France French Grand Prix
Circuits Le Mans (1906, 1921, 1929)
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Reims-Gueux (1932, 1938-1939, 1948–1951, 1953–1954, 1956, 1958–1961, 1963, 1966)
Lyon-Parilly (1947)
Rouen-Les-Essarts (1952, 1957, 1962, 1964, 1968)
Charade Circuit (1965, 1969–1970, 1972)
Bugatti Circuit (1967)
Circuit Paul Ricard (1971, 1973, 1975–1976, 1978, 1980, 1982–1983, 1985–1990, 2018–2019, 2021-2022)
Dijon-Prenois (1974, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1984)
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours (1991–2008)
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Races 195019511952195319541955195619571958195919601961196219631964196519661967196819691970197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009–201720182019202020212022
European Championship Races 193119321933–193719381939
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V T E 2001 Formula One Season
Teams Ferrari • McLaren • Williams • Benetton • BAR • Jordan • Arrows • Sauber • Jaguar • Minardi • Prost
Engines Acer • Asiatech • BMW • Cosworth • European • Ferrari • Honda • Mercedes • Petronas • Renault
Drivers M. Schumacher • 2 Barrichello • 3 Häkkinen • 4 Coulthard • 5 R. Schumacher • 6 Montoya • 7 Fisichella • 8 Button • 9 Panis • 10 Villeneuve • 11 Frentzen • 11/12 Trulli • 12 Alesi • 14 Verstappen • 15 Bernoldi • 16 Heidfeld • 17 Räikkönen • 18 Irvine • 19 Burti • 19 De la Rosa • 20 Marques • 20 Yoong • 21 Alonso • 22 Alesi • 22 Frentzen • 23 Mazzacane • 23 Burti • 23 Enge
Other Drivers Badoer • Davidson • Gené • Herbert • Massa • McNish • Salo • Sato • Webber • Wurz
Cars Ferrari F2001 • McLaren MP4-16 • Williams FW23 • Benetton B201 • BAR 003 • Jordan EJ11 • Arrows A22 • Sauber C20 • Jaguar R2 • Minardi PS01 • Minardi PS01B • Prost AP04
Tyres Bridgestone • Michelin
Races Australia • Malaysia • Brazil • San Marino • Spain • Austria • Monaco • Canada • Europe • France • Britain • Germany • Hungary • Belgium • Italy • United States • Japan
See also 2000 Formula One Season • 2002 Formula One Season • Category
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