Atlas F1 News Editor
In one of the world's darkest weeks, Formula One gathered at Monza for what should have otherwise been a Tifosi celebration of Ferrari's double title. Instead, the weekend was marred by the tragedy in the USA, the horrific Zanardi crash in Germany, and the ever present controversy and friction within Formula One itself. But, despite all that the Italian GP also had some happy moments and added a fresh new name to the list of Grand Prix winners. Pablo Elizalde reviews the events of this emotional weekend
Should Formula One have followed the examples of many other sporting categories around the world and cancelled or postponed the race following the tragic events in New York and Washington? Everyone will have their own opinion about it, but Scot David Coulthard summed up the feeling of some - if not most - of the drivers and F1 team members perfectly when he said, "You have to ask if there are not times when there are bigger issues at stake than a single Grand Prix."
But Formula One, with all the commercial implications which have turned the sport into the multi-million business over the years, did go on, and many significant occurrences were overshadowed by events outside the Italian Grand Prix itself. Unfortunately not only by the United States tragedy, but also by the news that Alex Zanardi, perhaps one of the nicest men who have competed in Formula One, had both legs amputated in the European debut of the CART series.
To add insult to injury, a row about whether to overtake during the run through the two first chicanes arose before the start. In a proposal led by Schumacher, most of the drivers - except Jacques Villeneuve - agreed not to pass before the second chicane, where fire marshal Paolo Gislimberti was killed last year. However, in the words of Jean Alesi, "some of the team managers have threatened their drivers," warning them to race. Despite Schumacher walking up and down the grid in order to reach a verbal agreement with his colleagues, the start took place as usual, perhaps showing once more that the stars of the races - the drivers - have little say on the show.
The 26-year-old rookie did not need 15 races to show he is capable of winning in Formula One. That was probably clear at the Brazilian Grand Prix earlier this year, but it is becoming more and more clear that when all things are right, Montoya is a man who can dominate. With the progress of the Grove-based team, and despite their ever present low-key approach, few people can doubt the Colombian will fight for the title in 2002.
That is likely to create a less than gentle rivalry between him and teammate Ralf Schumacher, whose body language can't hide his unhappiness when he is beaten by the rookie. The younger Schumacher was no match for Montoya all weekend long, finishing more than half a second behind in qualifying, and more than 15 seconds adrift in the race. There's little doubt that Frank Williams will face a tough job to control his young duo next season.
Of course, Montoya's cause was aided by Ferrari who, with Michael Schumacher being absent from the race, were unable to do for Rubens Barrichello the flawless job they have done for his German teammate, and the Brazilian lost a race he probably deserved. Barrichello was Ferrari's main man at Monza, not only outqualifying Schumacher for the first time this season, but also outpacing him in the race. But Lady Luck was not on Barrichello's side, and a problem with the fuel rig during his first pitstop cost him the possibility to score his second Formula One win.
After Peter Sauber had admitted McLaren's interest in the impressive rookie earlier this month, and the continuous rumours about Hakkinen's future, perhaps the surprise was not that the two-time Champion said he will not race in 2002, but that he claimed he was just taking a break from racing to come back stronger in 2003. Only time will tell whether he will return or not. What's certain is that he will be missed.
Qualifying
Having swept the front row at the German and Belgian Grands Prix, the Williams team looked set to dominate another qualifying session at Monza, where the Formula One cars reach the highest average speeds of the season. And having emerged as the winner of the "Williams war" on both occasions, it was no surprise to see Juan Pablo Montoya clinching his third pole of his rookie season.
Montoya steadily improved in all his three first attempts and benefitted from teammate Ralf Schumacher's problems with the setup of his BMW-powered FW23 to finish more than half a second ahead of the German. However, the younger Schumacher was not Montoya's main rival in the hour-long session, with both sponsor-free Ferraris fighting hard until the final moments.
World Champion Michael Schumacher was not his usual self, probably already thinking of going home, away from all the drama, and so teammate Rubens Barrichello emerged as the top man for the Italian team, the Brazilian completing possibly his best qualifying session of the year so far to start ahead of the German for the third time in 32 Grands Prix.
Czech Tomas Enge, also making his Formula One debut with the Prost team, was next up before the heavy hitters came out of their pits. With 20 minutes gone, Ralf and Montoya completed their first attempts, the Colombian already outpacing his teammate with a time of 1:22.705. McLaren's David Coulthard was next up, the Scot already showing signs of the Mercedes-powered car's lack of speed at Monza, setting the ninth quickest time. Teammate Mika Hakkinen, who opted to complete two flying laps in a row, did much better, placing himself in third place.
The Ferrari duo jumped onto the track before the 30-minute mark, with Schumacher immediately moving to the top of the timesheets while his Brazilian teammate Barrichello was only capable of posting the fifth quickest time after making a mistake on the second lap of his first attempt.
Ralf returned to the track with little more than half the session gone, his car still alternating "between oversteer and understeer." The German was able to improve his previous best but unable to gain any positions, staying in third place. Coulthard did improve on his second attempt, moving up to fifth, while Montoya came out again. The Colombian completed a great lap and emerged on top with a 1:22.431. Coulthard also improved on his second run, taking fifth place right behind Jarno Trulli, again impressing in qualifying with the Jordan.
With 17 minutes remaining, Schumacher senior made his second attempt, and despite improving his time, the German stayed in second place behind Montoya. The Colombian came out of the pits two minutes later to edge further ahead of the opposition with a best lap of 1:22.216. To the surprise of the Tifosi, Barrichello's third attempt moved him up to second behind the Williams driver.
With Luciano Burti's accident still on the mind of all members of the Formula One fraternity, when Hakkinen crashed his McLaren at high speed against the barriers at the exit of the second Lesmo, with only four minutes left in the session, the paddock held its breath until the Finn got out of his car unscathed.
"I ran wide and the rear tyre went on to the gravel," he explained, after qualifying in a disappointing 7th place. "The car went sideways and I just couldn't recover. I thought that if I lifted it would be worse so I just kept my foot down, but the car snapped before I managed to get it back on the circuit and I went into the barrier."
Qualifying was red-flagged for some minutes, and the drivers queued up in the pitlane in order to completed their final attempt. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello went out for a last minute effort, but both, unable to set competitive splits, dived back into the pits before completing their laps, settling for third and second respectively.
So the day belonged to Montoya, who was pleased to be ahead of the Ferraris in front of the Italian crowd. "I think to beat the Ferraris here is quite special. The last pole (in Belgium) there was a bit of luck with the conditions and this one they were quicker this morning but we put it together and it just paid off."
The Race
The usually quiet hours between the warm-up and the start of the race were not so at Monza, with Michael Schumacher leading a proposal to refrain from overtaking through the first two chicanes in order to avoid any accidents. However, Canadian Jacques Villeneuve opposed the plan. At the end, there was no agreement, with some drivers being forced to race by their team bosses.
Despite that, Schumacher walked up and down the grid in order to reach a verbal agreement with most drivers in order to take things easy at the start. "We weren't going to take any risks," explained David Coulthard after the race. "We are all out there to win, but emotions are running high at the moment."
But when the lights went out, a too optimistic Jenson Button, whose Benetton boss Flavio Briatore had opposed the 'no passing' proposal, not only swerved quickly to the right, but also overshot the first corner and hit Jarno Trulli's Jordan, forcing him into a spin and out of the race. "I braked at the same time as everyone else, but I couldn't stop in time to avoid Trulli," said Button. "I ran into him, lost my front wing and put him out of the race, for which I was very sorry."
Up in front, there was no drama, with Juan Pablo Montoya holding on to first place ahead of Rubens Barrichello, Ralf Schumacher and his brother Michael, who lost his position to Ralf after having gone slightly off the track. Mika Hakkinen was also forced to cut through the chicane, losing several positions. Michael, in contrast, quickly regained his position, diving down the inside of Ralf at the first Lesmo, and quickly began to edge clear of the Williams as Montoya, Barrichello and himself set a pace that the younger Schumacher was unable to match.
A little further back, Coulthard began to lose ground very quickly while Pedro de la Rosa, who had moved up to sixth at the start, was dropping back quickly. But on lap 7 the Spanish driver would move up a place when Coulthard's car was covered by the cloud of smoke of his blown Mercedes engine, thus putting an end to a disappointing weekend. "It's been a difficult weekend for us with a few problems along the way, but we still hoped to get points," admitted a downbeat Coulthard after the race.
"I blistered a rear tire early on and that left the car sliding around under braking," explained Montoya after the race. "It took me a couple of laps to get into the groove and handle that problem."
Barrichello quickly increased his pace and began to open a gap of over five seconds by lap 14, and it was up to over eight seconds two laps later. Schumacher, unable to overtake a slow Montoya, dived into the pits on lap 18, opting for am unusual two-stop strategy. The German stood still for 10.4 seconds before rejoining the race in fourth position, behind Ralf and in front of Kimi Raikkonen, who was again impressing at the wheel of the Sauber C20.
Leader Barrichello would come into the pits for the first time on lap 19, when his gap over Montoya was around nine seconds, but when the Ferrari stopped in the pitlane, the Italian crew was forced to switch to a different refuelling rig, the Brazilian staying stationary for 16.3 seconds before moving again. A frustrated Barrichello rejoined the race ahead of teammate Schumacher, but very far from Montoya, who had opted to use the hard Michelin compound, which meant only one stop.
The flamboyant Colombian was able to regain his early pace and continued pulling away from Ralf, who occupied a distant second place as he continued to struggle with his car's handling. Meanwhile, Hakkinen, who had moved up to ninth after a disastrous first lap, retired with a mechanical failure on lap 20, completing a dismal weekend for the McLaren team.
Montoya come into the pits for the first and only time on lap 28, the Colombian opting to keep his front tyres unchanged, just like Giancarlo Fisichella had done two weeks earlier in Belgium. The Williams driver stood still for 11.9 seconds, rejoining behind Barrichello, the Ferrari losing ground to Ralf, who was the fastest man on track, setting the fastest lap of the race before diving into the pits on lap 35.
Ralf's pace wasn't enough to challenge Montoya or Barrichello, but the German rejoined the race not far behind his brother Michael, who was still to make his second stop and again running right behind Montoya. By lap 30, Barrichello was leading with over 15 seconds over Montoya, when Michael Schumacher came into the pits for his second stop, rejoining the race in no man's land in fourth place.
A lap later, Montoya retained the lead when Barrichello made his second scheduled stop, this time with no problems. The Ferrari driver came back out in third position, not far behind Ralf, but with Montoya out of reach. Barrichello quickly began to gain on Ralf, and with ten laps to go the gap between the two was only 1.2 seconds. Three laps later, the Brazilian's pressure paid off, and at the first chicane he dived down the inside of Ralf, who overshot the corner and cut through the chicane. However, the German wisely let the Ferrari through in order to avoid a penalty.
Barrichello, frustrated after finishing five seconds behind Montoya - the Ferrari driver lost around six seconds in his first stop - admitted he benefitted from an "equal treatment" to his teammate. "When we would go to a normal weekend before Michael won the Championship you would go thinking that he would get the first treatment because he had the chance to win the Championship," Barrichello said. "That's the only thing that differs. We have equal treatment and we are allowed to race each other basically."
The Schumacher brothers were third and fourth, with Pedro de la Rosa scoring his best career result in Formula One by finishing fifth for the Jaguar team. The Spanish driver again being the fastest and more consistent of the Jaguar drivers to finish ahead of Jacques Villeneuve's BAR.
There are two weeks before the United States Grand Prix, and though the powers that be have repeatedly claimed the race is still on, the logistic nightmare the teams will face to make it on time - as well as the possibility of retaliation from the United States - has cast a shadow of doubt over the Indianapolis race. No-one knows what will happen in two weeks. But there's one certain thing: Formula One, just like America, will overcome one of the world's darkest weeks, and will go on as usual.
Giancarlo Fisichella and Nick Heidfeld run into problems with their race cars on the pre-grid and so they both head for the pitlane and switch to their spare cars. Both men have to start from the pitlane.
Lap 1: At the start pole position man Juan Pablo Montoya takes the lead with Rubens Barrichello is second with Michael Schumacher third. At the first chicane Ralf Schumacher gets ahead of his brother Michael. Further back there is an incident as Jenson Button tips Jarno Trulli into a spin. Trulli retires. Button loses his front wing and goes into the pits at the end of the lap for repairs. Mika Hakkinen goes through the chicane to avoid making contact as the midfield is tightly bunched. Hakkinen drops a long way back through the field. At the exit of the second chicane Michael Schumacher challenges Ralf for third place and goes ahead as they go into the first Lesmo Corner. Behind the front four David Coulthard runs fifth with Pedro de la Rosa sixth. Eddie Irvine is seventh after avoiding all the excitement at the first corner while Jos Verstappen is up to eighth from 19th on the grid.
Lap 3: Irvine begins to fade, being overtaken by Verstappen and Kimi Raikkonen.
Lap 4: The gaps at the front begin to extend with Montoya eight-tenths ahead of Barrichello and Michael Schumacher 1.1 seconds behind his team mate. Further back Irvine falls behind Jean Alesi, Bernoldi and Villeneuve.
Lap 5: De la Rosa drops from sixth to ninth, falling behind Verstappen, Raikkonen and Alesi. Further back F1 debutant Tomas Enge drops from 16th to 19th. At the tail of the field Button retires with an engine problem.
Lap 6: Irvine slips further back down the field, falling behind Hakkinen, Olivier Panis and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.
Lap 7: Coulthard retires with an engine failure. This promotes Verstappen to fifth place with Raikkonen sixth. Behind them Villeneuve passes Bernoldi to move to ninth. At the tail of the field Fernando Alonso passes Irvine.
Lap 8: Irvine's downward progress continued as he falls behind Heidfeld, Fisichella and Enge.
Lap 9: Montoya is slow out of the second chicane and Barrichello was able to take the lead, while Montoya was left to fight off Schumacher. Rubens immediately begins to pull away, suggesting that he has a lighter fuel load than the Williams.
Lap 12: Barrichello's lead is up to more than three seconds while Montoya continues to battle with Michael Schumacher. Jean Alesi passes Raikkonen to take sixth place.
Lap 14: Irvine pits and retires with a mechanical problem.
Lap 16: As Barrichello's lead extends to nearly nine seconds, Montoya continues to hold back Michael Schumacher. There is then a gap to Ralf Schumacher. Alesi and Raikkonen overtake Verstappen to push the Arrows driver down to seventh place. At the tail of the field F1 debutant Alex Yoong spins his Minardi in the Lesmos but is able to rejoin at the tail of the field.
Lap 17: The first pit stops begin with Alonso stopping. The Minardi driver drops from 16th to 18th.
Lap 18: Michael Schumacher and Verstappen both pit. The Ferrari rejoins in fourth while Verstappen drops from seventh to 15th.
Lap 19: Barrichello stops and so Montoya moves into the lead. The Ferrari stop goes wrong with the team needing to switch refuelling hoses and the car is at rest for more than 16 seconds. Rubens rejoins in third, still ahead of his team mate Michael Schumacher.
Lap 22: Alesi and Raikkonen both pit. Alesi rejoins in seventh place but Raikkonen has a long stop and falls back to 13th.
Lap 26: Verstappen retires his Arrows.
Lap 27: The first of the one-stop racers comes into the pitlane. Bernoldi dropping from 12th place to 14th. Yoong also stops.
Lap 28: The leader Montoya stops. This allows Ralf Schumacher to go into the lead. Barrichello is second with Montoya rejoining in third. In the midfield Heidfeld pits but manages to hold on to 12th place.
Lap 29: Frentzen retires from ninth place with a mechanical problem.
Lap 30: Ninth-placed Fisichella stops and drops behind Raikkonen and Enge.
Lap 32: Alesi, Panis and Enge all pit for their mid-race stops.
Lap 33: Sixth-placed Villeneuve stops but manages to stay ahead of Raikkonen and Alesi. At the back of the field Alonso has his stop and drops from 13th to 14th.
Lap 35: Ralf Schumacher finally pits. This puts Barrichello back into the lead but Montoya is only 15 seconds behind him and waiting for Barrichello to stop again.
Lap 36: De la Rosa is the last man to make his first pit stop. He is able to hold on to fifth place.
Lap 41: Montoya takes the lead when Barrichello pits. Ralf Schumacher moves up to second but Barrichello is right on his tail.
Lap 43: As the field has now settled down there is little action but at the back Enge overtakes Bernoldi for 12th place.
Lap 47: Barrichello overtakes Ralf Schumacher at the first corner to move to second place. At the tail of the field Yoong and Bernoldi both go off an retire.
Lap 53: Montoya wins his first Grand Prix victory. Barrichello is second with Ralf Schumacher third. Michael Schumacher is fourth ahead of de la Rosa's Jaguar and Villeneuve's BAR. The last man unlapped is Raikkonen with Alesi not far behind.
"I am glad this weekend is over. The most important thing is that nothing bad happened this afternoon," said a saddened Michael Schumacher after finishing fourth at Sunday's Italian Grand Prix. When the World Champion, the most successful driver in the history of the sport, the man who before last week had all the reasons to celebrate a triumphant season in front of thousands of worshipping fans, admits that he is glad a Grand Prix weekend is over, that can't mean good news for the sport.
Ironically, exactly one year ago Schumacher, a man who was tagged as cold and robot-like, showed the world that he too was human, sharing his tears on live television after clinching a win at Monza which allowed him to equal Ayrton Senna's record. In this year's race we probably saw the most human Michael Schumacher we have ever seen and, after last week's events, it was little wonder. It was clear that the German, like many other of his colleagues, did not want to be at Monza last weekend.
But controversy and drama aside, a race did take place and but for all the surrounding events, it was a brilliant race which saw Juan Pablo Montoya finally scoring a much deserved maiden victory in Formula One, exactly one year after winning for the last time in the CART championship. The Colombian scored his third pole position in only four races, demonstrating he, and the BMW-powered Williams, are the combination to beat when it comes to fast circuits.
Barrichello's place, though, was good enough to move him only three points behind David Coulthard in the standings following another disappointing weekend for the Scot and his McLaren team. Neither him nor his teammate Mika Hakkinen were able to show a competitive pace in qualifying or the race, and reliability problems saw the Woking-based team leaving Monza point-less. But of course McLaren did not make the headlines for not scoring any points last weekend, but for their announcement that Hakkinen would be replaced by Kimi Raikkonen in 2002.
Despite a damp first practice on Saturday, the weather for qualifying was perfect and, as usual, it was a Minardi who started the proceedings. Malaysian debutant Alex Yoong and then Fernando Alonso tried to be the first drivers to complete a lap, but to the embarrassment of the Italian outfit, neither were able to go through the first chicane. Both PS01s were hit by a gearbox problem, so Yoong and Alonso were forced to share the remaining Minardi to qualify for the race.
Schumacher's third run took place with less than ten minutes remaining in the session, and despite his efforts, the Ferrari star could not improve his position. "I just didn't put the sector times together today," admitted Schumacher. "You can't always do very well. I was trying for pole of course and that meant I was pushing very hard, but I overdid it." Ralf was unable to improve either, staying in fourth place.
The Brazilian, however, played down the importance of outqualifying Schuey: "I don't think it means a lot because there's a long race ahead," said Barrichello. "I had a really good car today and had all the support I needed. It's special here at Monza with all the Tifosi and we look strong and hopefully we can give them a good race tomorrow."
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1:22.216 253.659 km/h
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 1:22.528 + 0.312
3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1:22.624 + 0.408
4. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) 1:22.841 + 0.625
5. Trulli Jordan Honda (B) 1:23.126 + 0.910
6. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (B) 1:23.148 + 0.932
7. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes (B) 1:23.394 + 1.178
8. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) 1:23.417 + 1.201
9. Raikkonen Sauber Petronas (B) 1:23.595 + 1.379
10. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:23.693 + 1.477
11. Button Benetton Renault (M) 1:23.892 + 1.676
12. Frentzen Prost Acer (M) 1:23.943 + 1.727
13. Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 1:24.031 + 1.815
14. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) 1:24.090 + 1.874
15. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) 1:24.164 + 1.948
16. Alesi Jordan Honda (B) 1:24.198 + 1.982
17. Panis BAR Honda (B) 1:24.677 + 2.461
18. Bernoldi Arrows Asiatech (B) 1:25.444 + 3.228
19. Verstappen Arrows Asiatech (B) 1:25.511 + 3.295
20. Enge Prost Acer (M) 1:26.039 + 3.823
21. Alonso Minardi European (M) 1:26.218 + 4.002
22. Yoong Minardi European (M) 1:27.463 + 5.247
"We are race car drivers," said Villeneuve. "We all signed contracts before the start of the season to race and earn lots of millions of dollars to do it. People have saved up for six months to come and watch us race. I'm not here just to make money. I would rather quit than not be a racer, that is me."
On lap 9, and with Barrichello right behind him, Montoya made a mistake at the exit of the Variante della Roggia chicane, with the Brazilian taking full advantage to pass the Colombian and take the lead for the first time. Initially it looked as if the Ferrari would quickly open a gap, but by lap ten Montoya was able to stay some three seconds behind, with Schumacher following closely in third. Montoya started to feel Schumacher's pressure, having to cut through the second chicane after overshooting his breaking point. However, he was able to keep second place.
The laps went by quietly at the front of the field, with Montoya some 20 seconds ahead of Ralf, and Barrichello around five seconds behind the German. Michael Schumacher was already thinking about the end of the race, and began to drop further and further behind the leading trio.
Barrichello tried, in vain, to give his best to catch Montoya, but the Colombian had everything under control and cruised in the final laps to score his first Formula One win - an unexpected one, he said. "Considering it's my first year I wasn't really expecting to win when I came in. I had a couple of opportunities where I could have won it and I just said 'when the time is meant to come it will come.'"
CLASSIFIED
Pos Driver Team Time
1. Montoya Williams BMW (M) 1h 16:58.493
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 5.175
3. R.Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 17.335
4. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) + 24.991
5. de la Rosa Jaguar Cosworth (M) + 1:14.984
6. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) + 1:22.469
7. Raikkonen Sauber Petronas (B) + 1:23.107
8. Alesi Jordan Honda (B) + 1 Lap
9. Panis BAR Honda (B) + 1 Lap
10. Fisichella Benetton Renault (M) + 1 Lap
11. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 Lap
12. Enge Prost Acer (M) + 1 Lap
13. Alonso Minardi European (M) + 2 Laps
Fastest Lap: R.Schumacher 1:25.073, lap 39
NOT CLASSIFIED / RETIREMENTS
Trulli Jordan-Honda (B) 31
Bernoldi Arrows Asiatech (B) 46
Yoong Minardi European (M) 44
Frentzen Prost Acer (M) 28
Verstappen Arrows Asiatech (B) 26
Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes (B) 19
Irvine Jaguar Cosworth (M) 14
Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (B) 6
Button Benetton Renault (M) 4
Trulli Jordan Honda (B) 1
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING, ROUND 15:
Drivers: Constructors:
1. M.Schumacher 107 WC 1. Ferrari 161 CC
2. Coulthard 57 2. McLaren 81
3. Barrichello 54 3. Williams 73
4. R.Schumacher 48 4. Sauber 20
5. Montoya 25 5. BAR 17
6. Hakkinen 24 6. Jordan 16
7. Villeneuve 12 7. Benetton 10
8. Heidfeld 11 8. Jaguar 7
9. Trulli 9 9. Prost 4
=. Raikkonen 9 10. Arrows 1
11. Fisichella 8
12. Frentzen 6
13. Panis 5
=. Alesi 5
15. Irvine 4
16. De la Rosa 3
17. Button 2
18. Verstappen 1
Pos Driver Team Lap Time
1. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 39 1:25.073
2. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 39 1:25.221 + 0.148
3. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 52 1:25.525 + 0.452
4. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 52 1:25.657 + 0.584
5. Alesi Jordan-Honda (B) 28 1:26.365 + 1.292
6. de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 34 1:26.381 + 1.308
7. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 31 1:26.386 + 1.313
8. Raikkonen Sauber-Petronas (B) 51 1:26.656 + 1.583
9. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 31 1:26.657 + 1.584
10. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 52 1:26.825 + 1.752
11. Fisichella Benetton-Renault (M) 29 1:27.283 + 2.210
12. Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes (B) 4 1:27.323 + 2.250
13. Frentzen Prost-Acer (M) 28 1:27.394 + 2.321
14. Hakkinen McLaren-Mercedes (B) 15 1:27.627 + 2.554
15. Enge Prost-Acer (M) 52 1:27.643 + 2.570
16. Alonso Minardi-European (M) 50 1:27.709 + 2.636
17. Verstappen Arrows-Asiatech (B) 22 1:27.945 + 2.872
18. Button Benetton-Renault (M) 4 1:28.268 + 3.195
19. Bernoldi Arrows-Asiatech (B) 24 1:28.578 + 3.505
20. Irvine Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 2 1:29.262 + 4.189
21. Yoong Minardi-European (M) 21 1:30.605 + 5.532
Pos Driver Team Time Lap
1. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 20.7 41
2. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 21.1 40
3. R.Schumacher Williams-BMW (M) 22.6 35
4. Alesi Jordan-Honda (B) 22.8 22
5. Verstappen Arrows-Asiatech (B) 23.5 18
6. Heidfeld Sauber-Petronas (B) 23.5 28
7. de la Rosa Jaguar-Cosworth (M) 23.6 36
8. Alonso Minardi-European (M) 24.2 17
9. Alesi Jordan-Honda (B) 24.4 32
10. Panis BAR-Honda (B) 24.4 32
11. Villeneuve BAR-Honda (B) 24.4 33
12. Fisichella Benetton-Renault (M) 24.6 30
13. M.Schumacher Ferrari (B) 24.8 18
14. Button Benetton-Renault (M) 25.2 1
15. Bernoldi Arrows-Asiatech (B) 26.3 27
16. Enge Prost-Acer (M) 26.4 32
17. Montoya Williams-BMW (M) 26.5 28
18. Yoong Minardi-European (M) 26.9 27
19. Raikkonen Sauber-Petronas (B) 27.7 22
20. Barrichello Ferrari (B) 30.7 19
21. Alonso Minardi-European (M) 70.9 33
The Italian Grand Prix, Lap by Lap
Lap 2: Montoya tries to build up a lead but he cannot get away from Barrichello and Schumacher M. Ralf Schumacher is unable to keep up but is still well ahead of Coulthard and the rest. In the course of the second lap 10th placed Jacques Villeneuve drops behind Enrique Bernoldi.
Lap 13: Barrichello's lead goes over five seconds while in the midfield Hakkinen overtakes Bernoldi to move to 10th.
Lap 20: Ninth-placed Hakkinen retires at the first chicane with a mechanical problem.
Lap 40: Michael Schumacher pits for the second time and drops from third to fourth, falling behind his brother Ralf.
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Volume 7, Issue 38 September 19th 2001 Atlas F1 Exclusive
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