The 2001 United States Grand Prix (formally the 2001 SAP United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on September 30, 2001, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the 16th and penultimate round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship, and the second United States Grand Prix hosted at Indianapolis. It was the first international sporting event to take place in the United States since the September 11 attacks, which occurred 19 days before the Grand Prix. McLaren's Mika Häkkinen won the 73-lap race after starting fourth. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher finished second, while Häkkinen's teammate David Coulthard was third.
Michael Schumacher took pole position after setting the fastest qualifying lap, with Häkkinen second. Häkkinen's best time, however, was deleted by the stewards after he was penalized for a pit lane infraction during the warm-up session and dropped to fourth on the basis of his second-best qualifying lap. Michael Schumacher led the opening four laps before relinquishing the lead to teammate Rubens Barrichello. Before his first of two pit stops on lap 27, Barrichello had built up a significant lead over his teammate. Häkkinen used his engine's low fuel usage to take the lead and keep it until his lone pit stop on the 46th lap, when he dropped to second. Barrichello retook the lead for four laps, and Häkkinen led the rest of the race to claim his second victory of the season and the 20th (and final) of his career after Barrichello was forced to retire two laps from the finish due to an engine failure.
The final result meant that Michael Schumacher broke the all-time record for most points scored in a season, which he shared with Nigel Mansell. Coulthard increased his lead over Barrichello in the World Drivers' Championship by four championship points in the battle for second. McLaren's performance in Indianapolis clinched the team second in the World Constructors' Championship from Williams with one round remaining in the season.
Background
left|thumb|The [[Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the race was held]]
The 2001 United States Grand Prix was the penultimate round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship, held on September 30, 2001, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) road course in Speedway, Indiana. The Porsche Supercup and the Ferrari Challenge held support races during the weekend. Bridgestone brought the soft and hard compound tires to the Grand Prix while Michelin supplied the "Prime" and "Option" compounds.
Before the race, both the World Drivers' Championship and World Constructors' Championship were already won, with Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher having secured the World Drivers' Championship three rounds earlier in the and Ferrari took the World Constructors' Championship at the same race, with McLaren too many championship points behind to be able to catch them.
Following the on 16 September, the Arrows, Benetton, British American Racing (BAR), Jordan, Jaguar and McLaren teams tested over three days at the Silverstone Circuit in England to prepare for the United States Grand Prix. Wet weather affected all three days, and teams only got the final day to run on a dry track. Jordan's Jean Alesi led the first day of testing, while McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz led the remaining two days. The Williams team tested its Michelin tyres, chassis, and engine at the Circuito do Estoril with regular driver Ralf Schumacher, test driver Marc Gené, and Formula 3000 drivers Antônio Pizzonia and Ricardo Sperafico. Sauber developed the C20 car for the American race for four days at the Mugello Circuit in Italy, first with Italian Formula 3000 driver Felipe Massa and then with regular driver Nick Heidfeld. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer spent five days at the Fiorano Circuit in Italy evaluating the F2001's electronics systems, engine mapping, tire evaluations, and components for the F2002 car.
thumb|A tribute to the victims of the [[September 11 attacks on the engine cover of the Jordan EJ11 car]]
The September 11 attacks occurred 19 days before the race, forcing several teams to be hesitant to send workers to Indianapolis amid security concerns at the circuit. Some drivers and team principals publicly questioned the race's viability due to concerns about behavior and personal safety but others believed it had to be held to show support for the United States. The race went on as planned, with additional security measures implemented by local, state, and federal law enforcement to protect spectators and participating teams. It was the United States's first major international sporting event since the attacks, and no security incidents occurred. According to IMS president Tony George, he never considered cancelling the race after talking to Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's governing body) president Max Mosley and Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone. Several participants paid respect to the victims of the September 11 attacks by putting American flags on their racing helmets and cars. The Grand Prix Drivers' Association donated personal racing items to raise funds for the victims.
Eleven constructors entered two drivers each for the event; six of the entered drivers had not driven on the Indianapolis road course before and two were past Indianapolis 500 winners. Michael Schumacher and Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya were the British bookmakers' joint favourites to win the race. FIA doctor Gary Hartstein ordered Luciano Burti to rest until at least the end of December 2001, and he was replaced for the season's final two races by Czech driver Tomáš Enge. Minardi ran into problems with preparation because half of their personnel did not have visas. The issue was later resolved and the team travelled to Indianapolis. Ralf Schumacher, his brother, also competed despite calling Formula One's plans to hold the race a "bad joke."
Some teams modified their cars for the race, with most concentrating on adapting them to the Indianapolis road course. Ferrari and Williams brought technical innovations that they intended to use in the 2002 season. Ferrari introduced a revised steering wheel with four additional buttons, two of which were for adjusting the traction control system. The team also installed a new extractor profile and a rear wing similar to the one used at the . Williams fitted new engine exhausts, similar to those built by Ferrari. It also made two chassis available to their drivers but without new bodywork because some bulky radiators were difficult to mount. Friday's two practice sessions were held in cool, overcast weather, with fewer spectators in the grandstands because of the September 11 attacks. The circuit was relatively dirty, so most of the first practice session was spent cleaning it and laying tire rubber on it. The lack of grip on the dusty surface meant several drivers lost control of their cars but no one crashed. Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of 1:14.085 late in the session. He was followed by McLaren's David Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella, Sauber's Kimi Räikkönen and his teammate Heidfeld, as well as Jordan's Jarno Trulli, Benetton's Jenson Button and Arrows's Jos Verstappen. Häkkinen set the day's fastest time, a 1:13:387, with twelve minutes remaining. Michael Schumacher, Barrichello, Coulthard, Jaguar's Eddie Irvine, Heidfeld, Prost's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Irvine's teammate Pedro de la Rosa and the Williams duo of Ralf Schumacher and Montoya were in positions two through ten. Fisichella's session was cut short after five minutes after his Benetton car went into the gravel at turn four. An electrical fault caused Verstappen to stop his car at the pit lane entry with two minutes left. Ferrari were the only team to test rear brake lights, although no concrete conclusions were drawn from their use. Michael Schumacher set the quickest lap at 1:12.078 a third of the way through the third practice session. His brother Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Häkkinen, Coulthard, Button, Heidfeld, Fisichella and Trulli followed in positions two to ten. Montoya lost control of his car's rear while braking due to oversteer and spun through 180 degrees at turn six, although he continued driving without damage. Trulli spun between turns nine and ten before Bernoldi spun backwards onto the turn eight escape road and stalled the engine.
Due to an oil pump failure caused by a loss in oil pressure, Michael Schumacher abandoned his Ferrari on the grass beside the pit lane exit in the final practice session. This necessitated an engine change for qualifying but he remained fastest overall. Häkkinen skidded into the gravel trap between turns three and four before rejoining the track, and Alex Yoong spun twice in his Minardi midway through the race but continued without stalling.
Qualifying
left|thumb|upright|[[Michael Schumacher (pictured in 2005) qualified on pole position for the tenth time in the 2001 season.]]
During Saturday's one-hour qualifying session, each driver was limited to twelve laps, with the starting positions determined by the drivers' fastest laps. The 107% rule was in force during this session, forcing each driver to stay within 107% of the quickest lap time in order to qualify for the race. Michael Schumacher was unaffected by slower cars, securing his tenth pole position of the season in 16 races and 42nd of his career with a time of 1:11.708 set on his third quick lap with nine minutes remaining. He was provisionally joined on the grid's front row by Häkkinen, who challenged Schumacher for pole until the latter set the pole-deciding lap. Häkkinen made no attempt to lap quicker after setting his fastest time since he knew he could not go faster. Ralf Schumacher took third after a braking error into turn four stopped him from lapping faster. His teammate Montoya, fourth, had handling issues, slower cars on his third run, and made a driver error on his final run. Barrichello was fifth after failing to slipstream teammate Michael Schumacher on his second run when he encountered Trulli. Coulthard in seventh had a car setup that failed to eliminate oversteer on a light fuel load.
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Notes
- – Mika Häkkinen's fastest qualifying lap time of 1:11.945 was deleted for ignoring a red light during the warm-up session. This demoted him from second to fourth on the grid. It took place in sunny and bright weather, with temperatures steadily dropping. Drivers were slower than in qualifying due to the reduced track temperature. Ralf Schumacher set the fastest overall time of 1:13.912, followed by McLaren's Coulthard and Häkkinen, Michael Schumacher and Verstappen. Some drivers lost control of their cars during warm-up, with Coulthard damaging his undertray mounting the turn five high kerb. Häkkinen damaged the spare McLaren's right-hand side against the turn eight metal barrier shortly before warm-up ended. He was unhurt. the stewards deleted Häkkinen's fastest qualifying lap for not noticing the red light situated on the left-hand side at the pit lane exit and overtaking cars stopped in a line waiting for the session to restart following Montoya's engine failure. His final grid position of fourth was determined by his second-fastest qualifying lap of 1:12.309. This promoted Williams teammates Ralf Schumacher and Montoya to second and third, respectively. the penalty angered Häkkinen,
Race
The 73-lap. race, The pre-race ceremony, named United We Stand to commemorate "the international community as well as the United States and its heroes" was hosted by women's soccer player Brandi Chastain. Recording artist Patti LaBelle opened the ceremony by singing "God Bless America". Singer and Indiana native John Mellencamp performed his single "Peaceful World" from his album "Cuttin' Heads" and then the American Cabaret Theatre sung a patriotic melody. IMS pastor Mike Welch from the St. Christopher's Catholic Church delivered a sermon before the Indianapolis Children's Choir performed the American National Anthem.
Approximately between 175,000 and 200,000 spectators attended the race, with 1,000 free tickets given to off-duty police officers. When the race began, Montoya overtook teammate Ralf Schumacher off the line on the side of the track that offered him more grip and slipstreamed Michael Schumacher, who prevented him from trying a pass on the outside by driving across him to lead into the first corner. Behind them, Barrichello moved from fifth to third. Enge was stationary on the grid due to a clutch issue and had to start manually to get away from his starting spot, Entering turn eight, Bernoldi avoided colliding with De la Rosa's Jaguar.
The Sauber duo of Heidfeld and Räikkönen, as well as Trulli, went three-wide on the drive into turn one at the start of the second lap. Räikkönen was blocked off by Trulli's pincer manoeuvre (when attempting to pass him on the outside) and damaged his front wing against his teammate's rear-left wheel. When the lap ended, Räikkönen made an unscheduled pit stop to replace the front wing, but he retired on lap three after his left-rear driveshaft broking from colliding with Trulli. Heidfeld and Trulli's cars were undamaged. and slipstreamed past him on the outside at the first turn for second to begin lap three. Both Ferraris began to distance themselves from Montoya, who showed signs of tire trouble, delaying his teammate Ralf Schumacher on a lesser fuel load and allowing Häkkinen and Coulthard to stay in contention. This came just as Barrichello began gaining on his teammate Michael Schumacher. Barrichello's string of fastest laps allowed him to draw away from the rest of the field and lead by 5.2 seconds on the tenth lap. Despite failing to complete the manoevure, Montoya fell behind Michael Schumacher on lap 32 after losing control of his car in the infield section. and score some championship points to keep him in contention for second in the World Drivers' Championship but his engine seized on the back straight due to the loss of oil, locking his tires. Michael Schumacher called his race "pretty straightforward" and added that he was struggling to cope with slower traffic prior to his first pit stop. He admitted that he was fortunate to finish second following Montoya's retirement. Trulii expressed satisfaction with finishing fourth and said that he set up his car to accommodate for the laying of tire rubber onto the track surface during the race. Irvine set his objective to pass Benetton for seventh in the World Constructors' Championship at the following after coming fifth. Villeneuve and De la Rosa blamed each other for their collision on lap 46.
thumb|upright|[[Jarno Trulli (pictured in 2010) was disqualified from fourth because of excess skid block wear but was reinstated on appeal due to a procedural error.]]
Several hours after the race, the thickness surrounding the rear hole of the wooden skid block (plank) fastened to the underside of Trulli's car was found to be greater than the minimum allowed by the regulations, possibly caused by the loosening of two fasteners designed to prevent such wear. As a result, the race stewards disqualified Trulli and promoted Irvine to fourth, Heidfeld to fifth, and Alesi to sixth. Team principal Eddie Jordan wrote in his 2007 autobiography An Independent Man that he received an anonymous telephone call suggesting the team should forensically review the three signatures on the FIA bulletin because a steward whose signature was on that bulletin was absent from the meeting with team manager Trevor Foster since he had left Indianapolis. Jordan appealed the decision through the Royal Irish Automobile Club, claiming that the rear fasteners broke loose during the race and caused the excessive wear. Three judges from the FIA International Court of Appeal met in Paris to hear the appeal on October 26. The FIA general secretary ruled that Trulli's disqualification should be reversed due to "a breach of the right of defence" since a steward was absent at the initial post-race hearing, a violation of the International Sporting Code. As a result, the stewards' decision was overturned, and Trulli returned to fourth.
Michael Schumacher's second-place final increased his championship points tally to 113, breaking the record he shared with Nigel Mansell for the most championship points scored in a single season by five points. Coulthard was now seven championship points ahead of Barrichello in the battle for second while Ralf Schumacher in fourth was another six points behind.
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Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Driver
! scope="col" | Points
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 1
| Michael Schumacher*
| 113
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 2
| David Coulthard
| 61
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 3
| Rubens Barrichello
| 54
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 4
| Ralf Schumacher
| 48
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
| align="center" | 5
| Mika Häkkinen
| 34
|-
!colspan=4|Sources:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%;"
|-
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" |
! scope="col" | Constructor
! scope="col" | Points
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 1
| Ferrari*
| 167
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 2
| McLaren-Mercedes
| 95
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 3
| Williams-BMW
| 73
|-
|align="left"| 10px
| align="center" | 4
| Sauber-Petronas
| 21
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
| align="center" | 5
| Jordan-Honda
| 19
|-
!colspan=4|Sources: