2001 Brazilian Grand Prix

2001 Brazilian Grand Prix
Race 3 of 17 in the 2001 Formula One World Championship ← Previous race Next race →
Race details[1][2]
Date	April 1, 2001
Official name	XXX Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil
Location	Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo, Brazil
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.309 km (2.677 miles)
Distance	71 laps, 305.909 km (190.083 miles)
Weather	Dry first, rain and thunderstorms later
Attendance	70,000
Pole position
Driver	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Time	1:13.780
Fastest lap
Driver	Ralf Schumacher	Williams-BMW
Time	1:15.693 on lap 38
Podium
First	David Coulthard	McLaren-Mercedes
Second	Michael Schumacher	Ferrari
Third	Nick Heidfeld	Sauber-Petronas
Lap leaders

The 2001 Brazilian Grand Prix (formally the XXX Grande Prêmio Marlboro do Brasil) 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 When the safety car was withdrawn at the end of lap two, Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya overtook Schumacher for the lead.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 points along with him moving up to second place, 10 points ahead of Schumacher's teammate Rubens Barrichello in third. McLaren cut Ferrari's World Constructors' Championship lead to 15 points with 14 races remaining in the season.