2001 Belgian Grand Prix

  2001 Belgium Grand Prix

Race details
Race 14 of 17 in the 2001 Formula One season
Date	September 2, 2001
Official name	LIX Foster's Belgian Grand Prix
Location	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Course	Permanent racing facility 6.968 km (4.330 mi)
Distance	36 laps, 251.848 km (155.870 mi)
Scheduled Distance	44 laps, 306.592 km (190.507 mi)
Weather	Overcast, mild, dry, Air Temp: 16°C
Pole position
Driver	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW
Time	1:52.072
Fastest lap
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Time	1:49.758 on lap 3
Podium
First	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Second	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes
Third	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Renault

The 2001 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 2, 2001 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. The race was the 14th race of the 2001 Formula One season, and the penultimate European round of the season. The race is notable for the accident of Brazilian Luciano Burti who crashed into a tyre barrier at the Blanchimont corner following a collision with Eddie Irvine and for Michael Schumacher overtaking Alain Prost's previous record of 51 Grand Prix victories.

Juan Pablo Montoya took pole position for the race, the second of his Formula One career. But an engine failure on lap two left Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, who also took the fastest lap, to win the race by 10 seconds from the McLaren of David Coulthard. Giancarlo Fisichella completed the podium in third, the final podium finish of the Benetton Team prior to their renaming to Renault F1.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	1	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari	36	1:08:05.002	3	10
2	4	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes	36	+10.098	9	6
3	7	Giancarlo Fisichella	Benetton-Renault	36	+27.742	8	4
4	3	Mika Häkkinen	McLaren-Mercedes	36	+36.087	7	3
5	2	Rubens Barrichello	Ferrari	36	+54.521	5	2
6	12	Jean Alesi	Jordan-Honda	36	+59.684	13	1
7	5	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW	36	+59.986	2
8	10	Jacques Villeneuve	BAR-Honda	36	+1:04.970	6
9	22	Heinz-Harald Frentzen	Prost-Acer	35	+1 Lap	4
10	14	Jos Verstappen	Arrows-Asiatech	35	+1 Lap	19
11	9	Olivier Panis	BAR-Honda	35	+1 Lap	11
12	15	Enrique Bernoldi	Arrows-Asiatech	35	+1 Lap	21
13	20	Tarso Marques	Minardi-European	31	+5 Laps	22
Ret	11	Jarno Trulli	Jordan-Honda	31	Engine	16
Ret	8	Jenson Button	Benetton-Renault	17	Accident	15
Ret	6	Juan Pablo Montoya	Williams-BMW	1	Engine	1
Ret	19	Pedro de la Rosa	Jaguar-Cosworth	1	Collision	10
Ret	16	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas	0	Collision	14
Ret	17	Kimi Räikkönen	Sauber-Petronas	0	Transmission	12
Ret	18	Eddie Irvine	Jaguar-Cosworth	0	Collision	17
Ret	23	Luciano Burti	Prost-Acer	0	Collision	18
Ret	21	Fernando Alonso	Minardi-European	0	Gearbox	20

Notes

• Both drivers from the Arrows and Minardi teams qualified outside of the 107% time, but were allowed to race as the qualifying session was held in rainy conditions.
• The first start was aborted when both pole-sitter Juan Pablo Montoya and Heinz-Harald Frentzen stalled on the grid. As a result, they were relegated to the back of the grid for the second start.
• On lap four, Luciano Burti, while speeding through Blanchimont, made contact with Eddie Irvine's rear wheel, causing his front wing to break off. He lost grip and speared straight into the tyre barrier at over 180 mph. The resulting injuries caused him to miss the rest of the season. The race restarted over 36 laps, with the results of this part of the race counting as the overall results.
• Irvine did not take part in the restart, and nor did Kimi Räikkönen or Fernando Alonso, both of whom had retired before the race was stopped.
• What was the third start was also aborted when Ralf Schumacher couldn't leave the grid, due to the pit jack being left on his car following a rear wing change. He followed Williams team-mate Montoya and Frentzen to the back of the grid, and Michael Schumacher thus found himself at the front for the fourth start.
• Jean Alesi was able to hold off Ralf Schumacher to score his first point for Jordan, which was also the final World Championship point of his career.

Standings after the race

• Bold text indicates the World Champions.

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Michael Schumacher 104 2 David Coulthard 57 3 Rubens Barrichello 48 4 Ralf Schumacher 44 5 Mika Häkkinen 24

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Ferrari 152 2 McLaren-Mercedes 81 3 Williams-BMW 59 4 Sauber-Petronas 20 5 Jordan-Honda 16

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.