The 2001 Belgian Grand Prix (officially the 2001 Foster's Belgian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held before 85,000 spectators at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium on 2 September 2001. It was the 14th round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the 48th Belgian Grand Prix counting as part of the World Championship. Ferrari driver and World Drivers' Champion Michael Schumacher won the 36-lap race starting from third. David Coulthard finished in second for McLaren with Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella third, scoring the final podium of the Benetton team.
Juan Pablo Montoya of the Williams team won the pole position by recording the fastest lap in the one-hour qualifying session; he stalled on the grid and forfeited pole. His teammate Ralf Schumacher lost the lead to Michael Schumacher into Les Combes turn. Michael Schumacher led the next four laps before the race was stopped for an accident involving Jaguar's Eddie Irvine and Luciano Burti of Prost on lap five. The race was declared null and void and recommenced with a revised distance of 36 laps. Michael Schumacher led every lap of the restarted race to take his eighth victory of the season. Schumacher overtook the four-time world champion Alain Prost's all-time career wins total with his 52nd, a record he held until Lewis Hamilton surpassed it at the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix.
Burti was kept in hospital with facial bruising and a concussion until 10 September; his accident helped enhance helmet safety. The race result allowed Coulthard to further his World Drivers' Championship advantage over the second Ferrari driver of Rubens Barrichello by four championship points in second position. Barrichello in turn moved another two championship points clear of fourth-placed Ralf Schumacher. In the World Constructors' Championship, McLaren in second moved further ahead of Williams in third by nine championship points as Jordan passed British American Racing (BAR) for fifth with three races left in the season.
Background
The 2001 Belgian Grand Prix was the 14th of the 17 races in the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the 48th time it was part of the Formula One World Championship. It took place at the 21-turn Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium on 2 September.
Before the race, both the World Drivers' Championship and World Constructors' Championship were already settled, with Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher having claimed both titles in the preceding Hungarian Grand Prix, with the closest team McLaren too many championship points behind to be able to catch them. Several positions in the standings were undecided. In the battle for second place, David Coulthard of McLaren was five championship points in front of the second Ferrari of Rubens Barrichello in third and a further two ahead of Williams' Ralf Schumacher in fourth. He stated that he would be unwilling to be concentrated in his driving, and did not say when he felt he would surpass four-time world champion Alain Prost's all-time record of 51 race victories, which he equalled in Hungary. Coulthard said he set himself the objective of winning the season 's final four races to consolidate second in the World Drivers' Championship. Barrichello stated he had also targeted second and his teammate Michael Schumacher promised to help him, saying, "For me the season has just started."
There were 11 teams (each representing a different constructor) of two drivers each entered for the Grand Prix. Several teams modified their cars to suit the mid-downforce setup of the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
Practice
There were four scheduled practice sessions prior to Sunday's race, two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. The Friday practice sessions were held in cool and overcast conditions that turned to a downpour in the afternoon, causing several drivers to aquaplane on the wet track. In the first practice session, Michael Schumacher was fastest with a lap of 1 minute, 48.655 seconds, followed by Jordan's Jarno Trulli, Barrichello, Mika Häkkinen of McLaren, Ralf Schumacher, Jean Alesi in the second Jordan, the Saubers of Kimi Räikkönen and Nick Heidfeld, Juan Pablo Montoya of Williams and Giancarlo Fisichella's Benetton. Coulthard lost control of his car by running wide onto sodden dirt, hitting a kerb at the exit of Les Fagnes corner, a right-hander taken at and collided with a left-hand side metal barrier head-on, tearing the right-front wheel from his car's tethers. Rain fell came 16 minutes in and eased five minutes later. Button hit an armco metal barrier along the pit lane exiting the Bus Stop chicane. As Michael Schumacher was about to overtake Pedro de la Rosa's Jaguar going downhill to Eau Rouge corner, he could not see him due to spray reducing visibility and he hit the rear of De la Rosa's car. His front wing was broken and De la Rosa's left-rear wheel was punctured. When the sky cleared at 10:00 local time, Williams led the session with Montoya fastest with a 1-minute, 47.974 seconds lap and Ralf Schumacher in second. Häkkinen, Coulthard. Barrichello, Fisichella, Irvine, BAR driver Jacques Villeneuve, Button and Alesi completed the top ten ahead of qualifying. Several drivers ran off the slippery track surface during the session. De la Rosa, Irvine and Häkkinen went wide into the grass at the Bus Stop chicane, while Heinz-Harald Frentzen of the Prost team and Button ran off at Les Combes turn. Williams were the first team to switch their cars onto the dry tyres. Montoya traded the fastest lap with his teammate Ralf Schumacher and took the second pole position of his career with a 1-minute, 52.072 seconds lap, with Ralf Schumacher second. Eighth-placed Fisichella reported that the feel of his car was adequate in changeable weather. De la Rosa, tenth, experienced a loss in oil pressure. Afterwards, the McLaren team principal Ron Dennis lodged an official protest to the world governing body of motorsport, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), to clarify if the regulation barring drivers on improving their lap times under yellow flag conditions was consistent after 17 competitors went faster with yellow flags to tend to Heidfeld's car. At a meeting of the race stewards eight hours later, data, information and oral arguments were reviewed and Dennis' protest was rejected. McLaren did not appeal the decision.
Qualifying classification
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Driver
! scope="col" | Constructor
! scope="col" | Lap
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
|-
! scope="row" | 1
| align="center" | 6
| data-sort-value="MON" | Juan Pablo Montoya
| Williams-BMW
| 1:52.072
| align="center"| —
| align="center" | 1
|-
! scope="row" | 2
| align="center" | 5
| data-sort-value="SCH2" | Ralf Schumacher
| Williams-BMW
| 1:52.959
| +0.887
| align="center" | 2
|-
! scope="row" | 3
| align="center" | 1
| data-sort-value="SCH1" | Michael Schumacher
| Ferrari
| 1:54.685
| +2.613
| align="center" | 3
|-
! scope="row" | 4
| align="center" | 22
| data-sort-value="FRE" | Heinz-Harald Frentzen
| Prost-Acer
| 1:55.233
| +3.161
| align="center" | 4
|-
! scope="row" | 5
| align="center" | 2
| data-sort-value="BAR" | Rubens Barrichello
| Ferrari
| 1:56.116
| +4.044
| align="center" | 5
|-
! scope="row" | 6
| align="center" | 10
| data-sort-value="VIL" | Jacques Villeneuve
| BAR-Honda
| 1:57.038
| +4.966
| align="center" | 6
|-
! scope="row" | 7
| align="center" | 3
| data-sort-value="HAK" | Mika Häkkinen
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 1:57.043
| +4.971
| align="center" | 7
|-
! scope="row" | 8
| align="center" | 7
| data-sort-value="FIS" | Giancarlo Fisichella
| Benetton-Renault
| 1:57.668
| +5.596
| align="center" | 8
|-
! scope="row" | 9
| align="center" | 4
| data-sort-value="COU" | David Coulthard
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 1:58.008
| +5.936
| align="center" | 9
|-
! scope="row" | 10
| align="center" | 19
| data-sort-value="DLR" | Pedro de la Rosa
| Jaguar-Cosworth
| 1:58.519
| +6.447
| align="center" | 10
|-
! scope="row" | 11
| align="center" | 9
| data-sort-value="PAN" | Olivier Panis
| BAR-Honda
| 1:58.838
| +6.766
| align="center" | 11
|-
! scope="row" | 12
| align="center" | 17
| data-sort-value="RAI" | Kimi Räikkönen
| Sauber-Petronas
| 1:59.050
| +6.978
| align="center" | 12
|-
! scope="row" | 13
| align="center" | 12
| data-sort-value="ALE" | Jean Alesi
| Jordan-Honda
| 1:59.128
| +7.056
| align="center" | 13
|-
! scope="row" | 14
| align="center" | 16
| data-sort-value="HEI" | Nick Heidfeld
| Sauber-Petronas
| 1:59.302
| +7.230
| align="center" | 14
|-
! scope="row" | 15
| align="center" | 8
| data-sort-value="BUT" | Jenson Button
| Benetton-Renault
| 1:59.587
| +7.515
| align="center" | 15
|-
! scope="row" | 16
| align="center" | 11
| data-sort-value="TRU" | Jarno Trulli
| Jordan-Honda
| 1:59.647
| +7.575
| align="center" | 16
|-
! scope="row" | 17
| align="center" | 18
| data-sort-value="IRV" | Eddie Irvine
| Jaguar-Cosworth
| 1:59.689
| +7.617
| align="center" | 17
|-
! scope="row" | 18
| align="center" | 23
| data-sort-value="BUR" | Luciano Burti
| Prost-Acer
| 1:59.900
| +7.828
| align="center" | 18
|-
!colspan="8"| 107% time: 1:59.917
|-
! scope="row" | 19
| align="center" | 14
| data-sort-value="VER" | Jos Verstappen
| Arrows-Asiatech
| 2:02.039
| +9.967
| align="center" | 19
|-
! scope="row" | 20
| align="center" | 21
| data-sort-value="ALO" | Fernando Alonso
| Minardi-European
| 2:02.594
| +10.522
| align="center" | 20
|-
! scope="row" | 21
| align="center" | 15
| data-sort-value="BER" | Enrique Bernoldi
| Arrows-Asiatech
| 2:03.048
| +10.976
| align="center" | 21
|-
! scope="row" | 22
| align="center" | 20
| data-sort-value="MAR" | Tarso Marques
| Minardi-European
| 2:04.204
| +12.132
| align="center" | 22
|-class="sortbottom"
! colspan="7" |Sources:
|-
|}
Notes:
- Jos Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, Enrique Bernoldi and Tarso Marques all set their lap times outside the 107% limit, but were allowed to race due to heavy rain during qualifying. All drivers fine-tuned their race setups against the weather conditions of the time, and set laps in their spare cars. Michael Schumacher was fastest with a 1:49.495 lap, followed by Häkkinen, Räikkönen, Ralf Schumacher, Irvine, Frentzen, Montoya, Trulli, Heidfeld and Barrichello. Trulli removed his car's front wing and bargeboards by running wide onto some bumps at Les Combes turn. He was unable to steer and stopped on a trackside wall. Alonso lost control of his car exiting Stavelot corner and destroyed its left-hand corner in a collision with an inside wall. as Marques stopped to check if his teammate was unhurt. The air temperature was between and the track temperature was ; weather forecasts on the day of the race predicted the possibility of heavy rain in its latter stages. Before the formation lap was about to commence, Frentzen and Marques stalled because of gearbox problems. Both drivers were ordered to start from the back of the grid, causing the start to be aborted, and the number of laps reduced from 44 to 43. At the start of the second formation lap, Montoya was stationary as he engaged first gear. He forfeited pole position and began from the rear of the grid. His teammate Ralf Schumacher led on the approach to Les Combes corner as he locked his brakes. Over the next three laps, Michael Schumacher pulled away from the rest of the field, extending his advantage to 6.3 seconds. In the meantime, Alesi overtook De la Rosa and Panis to advance to 16th as Montoya passed Verstappen for 16th. Trulli passed Irvine for 14th. On the fourth lap, Alesi passed Button for ninth, as Heidfeld and Trulli demoted Panis from 12th to 14th. Burti's right-front wheel and Irvine's Jaguar made contact. Further injury to Burti was prevented because a head and neck restraint absorbed the impact.
Irvine went off the track with the right-hand wheels removed from his Jaguar. He exited his car to assist the track marshals in removing the tyres pinned to Burti and released his car from the barrier. The race restarted at 14:45 local time. Fisichella made a fast start from sixth to pass the McLarens and Barrichello, while under pressure from Ralf Schumacher, but Schumacher took his fifth win at the Circuit de-Spa Francorchamps to equal the triple world champion Ayrton Senna's record number of wins at the track. It was his eighth victory of 2001 and the 52nd of his career, overtaking the four-time world champion Alain Prost's all-time record of 51 wins. He said that his 52nd win had no priority, saying, "Actually I'm very delighted about this but I will be much more delighted sitting one day on the sofa, retired, and I have a cigar and beer in hand and think about it." It was the second major accident Burti had sustained in more than a month as he barrel rolled twice after colliding with the rear of Michael Schumacher's car at the start of the German Grand Prix in July 2001. The Jaguar team principal Niki Lauda told the press he was unhappy with the inaction and conduct of the track marshals, "The marshals were not operating properly. Eddie had to take over and basically tell them what to do. He was really part of the rescue there, which normally drivers shouldn't do but he had to do it, since they didn't seem to have an idea what they need to do." Irvine said he had not seen Burti attempting to pass him on the outside but was relieved that Burti was conscious. Burti underwent further tests and was placed in an induced coma until he left intensive care on 4 September. He was discharged from hospital six days later and returned to Monaco to continue his recuperation. Burti was replaced by the Czech International Formula 3000 driver Tomáš Enge for the rest of the season. He stated in subsequent interviews that he cannot recall the crash. The effects of the accident caused Burti to suffer from seizures and amnesia for the next four months, both of which required medication. In an interview with Autosport in 2019, Burti attributed his survival to vehicle and circuit safety improvements made after Ayrton Senna's fatal accident at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix. The result left Coulthard nine championship points in front of Barrichello in the battle for second while the latter moved a further two championship points clear of Ralf Schumacher.
|}
;Notes
- – Kimi Räikkönen, Eddie Irvine, Luciano Burti and Fernando Alonso are listed as Did Not Start even though they took part in the original start.
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Driver
! scope="col" | Points
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 1
| Michael Schumacher*
| 104
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 2
| David Coulthard
| 57
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 3
| Rubens Barrichello
| 48
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 4
| Ralf Schumacher
| 44
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 5
| Mika Häkkinen
| 24
|-
!colspan=4|Sources:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Constructor
! scope="col" | Points
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 1
| Ferrari*
| 152
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 2
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 81
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 3
| Williams-BMW
| 59
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 4
| Sauber-Petronas
| 20
|-
| 10px
| align="center" | 5
| BAR-Honda
| 16
|-
!colspan=4|Sources: