2001 Malaysian Grand Prix

2°45′39″N 101°44′18″E / 2.76083°N 101.73833°E / 2.76083; 101.73833

2001 Malaysian Grand Prix
Race 2 of 17 in the 2001 Formula One World Championship
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Race details[1][2]
Date 18 March 2001
Official name 2001 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix
Location Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 5.543 km (3.444 miles)
Distance 55 laps, 304.865 km (189.435 miles)
Scheduled distance 56 laps, 310.408 km (192.879[3] miles)
Weather Rain and Thunderstorms at start, dry later; Air Temp at start: 32 °C (90 °F)
Attendance 75,000
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:35.220
Fastest lap
Driver Finland Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes
Time 1:40.962 on lap 48
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third McLaren-Mercedes
Lap leaders

The 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the 2001 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix)[5] was a Formula One motor race held at the Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia in front of a crowd of 75,000 spectators on 18 March 2001. It was the second round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the third Malaysian Grand Prix to be part of the series. The race was won from pole position by Michael Schumacher, driving for Ferrari. His teammate Rubens Barrichello finished second and McLaren's David Coulthard was third.

After winning the preceding Australian Grand Prix, the first race of the season, Michael Schumacher was first in the World Drivers' Championship and his team Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship. The Grand Prix was delayed and shortened from 56 to 55 laps because Giancarlo Fisichella of the Benetton team was out of position on the starting grid. When it did start, Michael Schumacher led the first two laps until he and Barrichello skidded on oil left by Olivier Panis' British American Racing (BAR) car, as a tropical monsoon begin to fall. They ran into a gravel trap and Jordan driver Jarno Trulli took the lead for one lap until he and several drivers aquaplaned in the deteriorating weather. Coulthard led for 11 laps after a phase of pit stops for wet-weather tyres before Michael Schumacher passed him on lap 16. Schumacher led the remainder of the race to achieve his second victory of the season and the 46th of his career.

Michael Schumacher's victory was his sixth in succession from pole position, bettering a record jointly held by former world champions Nigel Mansell and Alberto Ascari. The result left him ten points clear of Barrichello and Coulthard, who were tied in second, in the World Drivers' Championship. Heinz-Harald Frentzen of Jordan moved past Sauber's Nick Heidfeld for fourth. In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari further extended its advantage over second-place McLaren while Sauber fell to fourth behind Jordan with fifteen races left in the season.

  1. ^ "2001 Malaysian GP: III Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix". Chicane F1. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
    "2001 Malaysian Grand Prix". Motor Sport. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AtlasF1Review was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Malaysian Grand Prix: Round 2, March 18, 2001, Sepang". Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile. Archived from the original on 2 July 2001. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference regulations was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Malaysian". Formula1.com. Retrieved 31 October 2024.