The 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix (officially the 2001 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix) 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 Formula One Malaysian Grand Prix. 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 , the first race of the season, Michael Schumacher was first in the World Drivers' Championship and his team Ferrari led the World Constructors' Championship. Michael Schumacher qualified on pole position by setting the fastest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session. 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 championship 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.
Background
The 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix was the 2nd of the 17 races in the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the event's third running since its first Formula One race in 1999. It was held at the 15-turn Sepang International Circuit in Sepang, Selangor on 18 March, five months after the 2000 Grand Prix. A race sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), motorsport's governing body, had been held in Malaysia since the 1960s, with the first editions being run in Singapore, then part of the Malaysian Federation, before moving to the Shah Alam Circuit. With the arrival of the Formula One Grand Prix in 1999, the race was moved to the purpose-built Sepang International Circuit, where all editions were held until 2017.
After winning the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, Ferrari's Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship with ten championship points, ahead of McLaren's David Coulthard with six and Rubens Barrichello in the second Ferrari with four. Sauber's Nick Heidfeld was fourth with three championship points and Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen was fifth on two championship points. In the World Constructors' Championship, Ferrari led with 14 championship points; McLaren were in second on six championship points. Sauber was in third place with four championship points and Jordan in fourth had two championship points.
The press and bookmakers considered Michael Schumacher the favourite to win the Malaysian Grand Prix, his team Ferrari had won every single running of the race up to that point: Eddie Irvine in 1999 and Schumacher in . Some of the media attention focussed on the possibility of Michael Schumacher taking his sixth consecutive victory, which would have made him the first driver since the two-time world champion Alberto Ascari in 1952 to achieve the feat. He said he would not over relax after his victory in Melbourne: "Every year we say here at Ferrari that it is our best car ever and this time, like Rubens, I feel it is true. But we have experience and we know things can go up and down very quickly so we are not going to be complacent or over-confident. That is not our style."
Following the death of track marshal Graham Beveridge, who was struck in the chest by a wheel from the car of British American Racing (BAR) driver Jacques Villeneuve at the Australian Grand Prix, the organisers of the Malaysian race worked to better protect trackside personnel and drivers; they did not request assistance from Formula One officials. Circuit officials moved back the kerbs at turns five and six, and moved guard rails at turns two and 15 back by . FIA race director and safety delegate Charlie Whiting approved both modifications. Safety marshals were urged by clerk of the course to be extra attentive while observing vehicles and to maintain care for fellow marshals. This came as executive director of the Malaysian Grand Prix and former driver Philippe Gurdjian presented a six-point advisory plan to all 700 circuit personnel including track marshals, firefighters and paramedics to improve safety.
There were 11 teams (each represented by a different constructor) fielded two race drivers for the event with no changes from the season entry list. All cars ran with the same rear wings as in Melbourne since the revised downforce regulations caused aerodynamicists to reclassify the Sepang International Circuit as a "high-downforce track". After competing the season's first round without a spare vehicle, half of the personnel working for the Minardi team returned to its bases in Italy and the United Kingdom to assemble, test and transport a spare car to Malaysia so that its drivers Fernando Alonso and Tarso Marques had a back-up plan if either one had a problem. Ferrari, McLaren and Benetton ran some aerodynamic modifications on their vehicles while Williams, Sauber, Prost, Arrows and Minardi all ran to the same specification as in Australia. McLaren installed larger brake cooling ducts to their MP4/16s and Jaguar on their R2s.
Practice
There were four practice sessions preceding Sunday's race—two one-hour sessions on Friday, and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday. Conditions for the two Friday practice sessions were clear, hot and humid with several cars struggling for grip. Barrichello led the morning session with a 1:39.502 lap, 0.621 seconds faster than his teammate Michael Schumacher in second. Jordan driver Jarno Trulli, Coulthard, Irvine, Heinz Frentzen, McLaren's Mika Häkkinen, Olivier Panis for BAR, Jaguar's Luciano Burti and Heidfeld in positions three to ten. Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya set no lap times due to a fuel pump failure and the Arrows car of Jos Verstappen stopped at turn three with an engine sensor fault. His teammate Enrique Bernoldi stopped at turn four with a clutch hydraulics problem about half a minute later.
In the afternoon session, Trulli recorded the day's fastest lap at 1:38.846. He was 0.083 seconds ahead of Michael Schumacher in second. Barrichello, Coulthard, Irvine, Häkkinen, Frentzen, Burti, Panis and Ralf Schumacher of the Williams team rounded out the session's top ten drivers. Early in the session, Frentzen confronted the Sauber team principal Peter Sauber, who was angered at comments made by the former regarding the fast acceleration of his team's vehicles exiting the corners in the Australian Grand Prix. Both engaged in a verbal argument, which was ended when Jordan team owner Eddie Jordan pulled Frentzen away from Peter Sauber. Battery problems sidelined Montoya and two fuel pump failures limited Alonso's running to the final 20 minutes. His teammate Marques had an engine problem and Benetton's Jenson Button set his first lap times after missing the first session due to an overheating gearbox.
It continued to be clear, hot and humid for the two Saturday morning practice sessions. With a time of 1:36.814, Coulthard was fastest in the third session, followed by Barrichello in second and his Ferrari teammate Michael Schumacher in third. Häkkinen, Ralf Schumacher, Heidfeld,. Frentzen, Montoya, Panis and Irvine were in positions four through ten. In the final session, Barrichello led with a lap of 1:36.188. Second was Ralf Schumacher and Häkkinen third. Fourth was Michael Schumacher, Coulthard fifth and Frentzen improved to sixth. Trulli, Irvine, Panis and Sauber's Kimi Räikkönen occupied seventh to tenth places. Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella ran into a gravel trap beside the circuit and Alonso stopped with smoke billowing from the rear of his car because of debris accumulation overheating his engine.
Qualifying
Saturday afternoon's one-hour qualifying session saw each driver limited to twelve laps, with the grid order decided by each's fastest lap. During this session, the 107% rule was in effect, which necessitated each driver to set a time within 107 per cent of the quickest lap to qualify for the race. Weather conditions were hot and sunny. Michael Schumacher completed two timed laps with new tyres and another two on used front wheels; he lost two-tenths of a second on his first attempt. He took his sixth consecutive pole position—becoming the first driver since Häkkinen in to achieve the feat—and the 34th of his career with a time of 1:35.220. He was joined on the grid's front row by his teammate Barrichello who had lost time in the first two turns due to a strengthening wind. Ralf Schumacher initially led and traded pole position with both Ferrari drivers before falling to third. Häkkinen had a car balance problem that left him in fourth. Trulli in fifth had a lack of acclimatisation due to an electrical fault and could not fine-tune his car's setup. Montoya, sixth, spun during the session, as Villeneuve, who said later he thought he drove too aggressively, took seventh. Coulthard, eighth, admitted to over-driving in the middle sector during his final attempt, losing him time. Excess understeer put Frentzen, who took ninth, off the track. Panis in tenth lost four-tenths of a second on his last timed lap.
Heidfeld was the fastest driver not to qualify in the top ten after driving on worn tyres on his first two timed laps and new front tyres on his third. He was followed by Irvine in 12th, who had understeer going into the second corner and Villeneuve slowed him into the final corner. Jean Alesi was the faster of the two Prost cars in 13th and spoke of his belief that the team had made progress from its pre-season testing form. After a change of left-rear suspension wishbone, Räikkönen took 14th; he ran wide due to an understeer and was prevented from doing a fourth lap because he was called to the weighbridge. A light fuel road and a changed car balance put Burti 15th. Fisichella switched to the spare B201 car setup for his teammate Button due to a minor chassis technical issue on his race car and he took 16th. An oversteer in the fast-speed corners before a setup alteration to improve his car's balance put Button 17th. A lack of engine power and understeer left Verstappen in 18th. His teammate Bernoldi was blocked by Räikkönen on his final timed lap and was 19th. Gastón Mazzacane in the slower Prost car had his setup changed and improved his best time to go 20th-fastest. Understeer on Marques' first two attempts and setup improvements to correct it put him 21st. His teammate Alonso could not drive his race car because its gearbox and engine was replaced. He took the spare Minardi and was 22nd.
Penalties 31 minutes into qualifying, the stewards deleted all of Bernoldi's lap times because the FIA technical delegate discovered the dimension of the Arrows A22's front wing and parts of its bodywork lying on the step plane were less than a respective and above the plane of reference. The penalty promoted Mazzacane to 19th, Marques to 20th, Alonso to 21st and dropped Bernoldi to 22nd.