2001 Belgian Grand Prix
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| Race details | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 14 of 17 in the 2001 Formula One season | |||
| File:Spa 1996.jpg | |||
| Date | September 2, 2001 | ||
| Official name | LIX Foster's Belgian Grand Prix | ||
| Location | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | ||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||
| Course length | 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 | Williams-BMW | ||
| Time | 1:52.072 | ||
| Fastest lap | |||
| Driver |  Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari | |
| Time | 1:49.758 on lap 3 | ||
| Podium | |||
| First | Ferrari | ||
| Second | McLaren-Mercedes | ||
| Third | Benetton-Renault | ||
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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. He also eclipsed Prost's record for the most total career points, scoring 10 more points to bring his career total to 769, beating Prost's 768 1/2.[1]
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.
Contents
Classification
Qualifying
- 1.^ Both the Arrows and Minardi drivers set a time outside 107%, but were allowed to race due to heavy rain during qualifying.
Race
Notes
- The first start was aborted when Heinz-Harald Frentzen stalled on the grid. At the start of the second formation lap, pole-sitter Juan Pablo Montoya also stalled. As a result, both 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.
- At the start of the third formation lap, Ralf Schumacher couldn't leave the grid, due to the pit jack being left on his car following a rear wing change.
- 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.
- Fisichella completed the entire race without changing his tyres throughout the race, thereby saving time during pit-stops.
Championship standings after the race
- Bold text indicates the World Champions.
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- Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References
| Previous race: 2001 Hungarian Grand Prix |
FIA Formula One World Championship 2001 season |
Next race: 2001 Italian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 2000 Belgian Grand Prix |
Belgian Grand Prix | Next race: 2002 Belgian Grand Prix |
