The 2001 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally the Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil 2001) was a Formula One motor race held before 70,000 spectators on 1 April 2001 at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the third race of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the only one held in South America. Starting from fifth place, McLaren driver David Coulthard won the 71-lap race. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher finished second with Sauber's Nick Heidfeld third.
Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship before the race, while Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship. He secured pole position by setting the quickest lap in the one-hour qualifying session. The race was interrupted after McLaren's Mika Häkkinen's engine stalled on the starting grid, prompting the safety car's deployment. When the safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap two, Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya overtook Schumacher for the lead. Montoya led the next 36 laps before he was hit by Arrows' Jos Verstappen on lap 39, forcing both drivers to retire from the race. As a result, Coulthard took the race lead and held it until the pit stops for wet-weather tyres, when the rain became heavier, and Schumacher took it for two laps until Coulthard passed him on lap 50. Coulthard led the rest of the race and won by 16.1 seconds over Schumacher, the only other driver on the lead lap.
Coulthard's tenth victory of his career reduced Michael Schumacher's lead in the World Drivers' Championship to six championship points along with him moving up to second place, 10 championship points ahead of Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello in third. McLaren cut Ferrari's World Constructors' Championship lead to 15 championship points with 14 races remaining in the season.
Background
The 2001 Brazilian Grand Prix, the third round of seventeen in the 2001 Formula One World Championship, took place on 1 April 2001, at the anti-clockwise Autódromo José Carlos Pace track in São Paulo, Brazil. It was the season's lone South American event, and the third in a row outside of Europe. The Grand Prix featured eleven teams of two drivers (each representing a different constructor), with no changes to the season entry list. Tyre suppliers Bridgestone and Michelin brought two dry compounds and three wet-weather tyres to Brazil.
Going into the race, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with 20 championship points, ahead of teammate Rubens Barrichello and McLaren's David Coulthard, who were tied for second with ten championship points. Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen was fourth with five championship points, followed by Sauber's Nick Heidfeld in fifth with three. Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship with 30 championship points, while McLaren were second with 11. Jordan and Sauber were third and fourth, with five and four championship points, respectively, and Williams were fifth with two.
Following the on March 18, nine of the eleven teams tested tyres, car and electrical components, and racing setups on their cars at Spain's Circuit de Catalunya from 20 to 23 March in preparation for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer set the quickest times on the first day, ahead of McLaren's test driver Alexander Wurz. Badoer remained fastest on the second day. Marc Gené, the Williams test driver, stopped on track with a mechanical failure which briefly stopped testing. Michael Schumacher was fastest on the third day of testing. Seven suspensions were required as several drivers had car problems or spun off the circuit. Michael Schumacher stayed fastest for the final day's running. Both the Minardi and Sauber teams did not do any testing. Sauber's technical department focused on preparing updated aerodynamic components that were optimised at the factory, whereas Minardi worked at their factory to improve car reliability.
Michael Schumacher won the season's first two races in Australia and Malaysia. Although he was the bookmakers' favourite to win the race, he noted that the warm weather could make it difficult for drivers and their cars, adding, "We have proven the car's reliability in two tough races right at the start of the season, which is encouraging going into the Brazilian race". Barrichello did not remember a time he was very excited for a race because of his Ferrari's competitiveness, and was certain of beating his teammate Michael Schumacher to win, saying, "I know what it would mean to the fans especially to see a home winner." McLaren co-ordinator Jo Ramírez admitted "We were and we are still lost" because their car was slower than Ferrari's in the first two rounds, "Frankly, I don't know what we will be able to do at this Grand Prix. We are lost. This car is not up to the McLaren tradition." McLaren's Mika Häkkinen stated that winning in Brazil was his team's primary goal, while teammate Coulthard expressed hope that they could maintain its history of success in Brazil.
Following last year's race, the track underwent safety upgrades. In response to marshal Graham Beveridge's death at the Australian race, 21 cabins were erected to safeguard marshals across the track. Animals that were roaming near the circuit boundaries were rounded up and relocated. A guard rail was constructed at the Bico do Pato turn as car speeds increased greatly since 2000. The gravel trap along the Reta Oposta straight was reinforced and the circuit's drainage system was fixed. On 17 March, a contractor's dissatisfaction with São Paulo city administration caused a disruption in the renovation work, prompting inquiries. Construction workers continued to work on the track prior to the first practice session. The issue, involving the delayed supply of tables and chairs, was confirmed by race organisers and would not disrupt the Grand Prix. Barrichello criticised the Grand Prix, citing the displeasure of some drivers in previous years and the quality of the local facilities. However, the event's director, Carlos Roberto Montagne, refuted Barrichello's assertions, saying that the road surface was approved by two British engineers. However, the drivers were dissatisfied with the work because the track remained bumpy. Häkkinen described the track as "very bumpy indeed. It seems to get worse and worse every year." Minardi's Fernando Alonso claimed that the bumping was so bad that one could have lost their vision of the circuit.
Several teams introduced no significant technical changes to their cars, instead waiting for the season's first European race, the , two weeks after the race in Brazil. McLaren introduced four front wing specifications in an attempt to reduce the MP4-16's understeer but eventually oriented on a new front wing profile. Williams debuted a new rear wing, while Benetton postponed the debut of its lower front side appendages to the San Marino Grand Prix due to creating drag and downforce, slowing their B201 car during practice. British American Racing (BAR) tested two rear wing configurations and a modified upswept exhaust to increase the 003's engine revolutions while avoiding gearbox overheating. Sauber added two new sidepod winglets in front of the air extractor chimneys to increase downforce as Jaguar lowered the size of the R2's bargeboards and extended the front wing endplates to improve efficiency and deflect air inside the front wheels. Prost added updated aerodynamic profiles to the AP04's front wishbones as well as minor rear suspension geometry modifications.
Practice The race was preceded by four practice sessions, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The first morning practice session was held in sunny weather on a dusty track that was cleaned by cars; no rain was expected. Michael Schumacher led the first practice session, setting a lap of 1:16.832 with 23 minutes left. Häkkinen was second and was fastest for the first quarter of the practice until spinning off midway through after likely driving onto dirt rather than a lack of car grip. Barrichello, Coulthard, BAR's Olivier Panis, the Jaguars of Eddie Irvine and Luciano Burti, Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya, Heidfeld and Jordan's Jarno Trulli rounded out the session's top ten fastest drivers.
It became warmer but overcast for the second practice session. Early in the session, Coulthard set the day's fastest lap of 1:15.520 on new tyres, one second quicker than Trulli. He tried to lap faster but missed the braking point for Curva do Sol corner and spun into the gravel trap. Michael Schumacher was third after suffering a puncture from driving over a nail. Montoya and Ralf Schumacher of Williams (who ran off the track at turn ten, damaging his car's front aerodynamic devices) were fourth and sixth, separated by Häkkinen. Barrichello, seventh, spun off after 22 minutes after his engine lost power due to a loss of oil pressure and stalled. Because the sporting regulations prohibited him from driving the backup car, Barrichello had insufficient on-track driving to set up his car for the race. Frentzen (who stopped on track at Subida do Lago corner when his engine suddenly cut out with more than 20 minutes remaining), Heidfeld and Irvine followed in the top ten.
It got hotter during Saturday's free practice sessions. Häkkinen led the third practice session, lapping at 1:14.503, with teammate Coulthard second. Michael Schumacher and Barrichello were third and fifth fastest, followed by Ralf Schumacher. Montoya, Trulli, Frentzen, Heidfeld, and Sauber's Kimi Räikkönen completed the top ten. Burti lost control of his Jaguar but recovered to continue driving. Giancarlo Fisichella's Benetton car stopped in the grass due to an engine oil leak.
In the final practice session, Montoya was quickest with a lap of 1:13.963, lapping faster than the 2000 pole time; Ralf Schumacher was fourth. The two McLarens split them, with Häkkinen in second and Coulthard in third. Michael Schumacher was fifth, ahead of Frentzen, Barrichello, Räikkönen, Panis and Heidfeld. Frentzen's engine failed before the pit lane on his final lap of the session and marshals moved his car into the pit lane, smoke billowing from the rear. BAR's Jacques Villeneuve and Irvine stopped their cars close to each other in the grass with gearbox hydraulic trouble.
Qualifying