2001 Spanish GP: Häkkinen's clutch hands Schumacher the win

The 2001 Spanish Grand Prix was only decided on the final lap. Mika Häkkinen held a big lead in the McLaren when a clutch failure stopped him in the closing kilometres. That handed Michael Schumacher the win for Ferrari from pole position. Behind him, Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams and Jacques Villeneuve in the BAR completed the podium.

It was the first weekend on which electronic driver aids such as traction control and launch control were allowed again. And it was launch control, of all things, that caused trouble at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. David Coulthard had qualified third, but his McLaren stalled on the formation lap. According to Wikipedia, this was down to a fault in the launch control software. Because the whole field went past him, he had to start from the back of the grid. He was involved in contact on the first lap, then pitted early for a new front wing. Heinz-Harald Frentzen also stalled at the start in the Jordan and dropped a long way back from grid position 8.

At the front, Schumacher led cleanly into the first corner. Rubens Barrichello briefly lost third place to Ralf Schumacher but took it back. Montoya made huge progress on the opening lap: according to Crash.net he was already sixth after one lap, having started twelfth.

Schumacher led until the first pit stop. According to Crash.net he stopped on lap 23, while Häkkinen had more fuel on board and stayed out until lap 27, leading the race in the meantime. On fresh tyres, however, Schumacher was so quick that he was back in front after Häkkinen's stop. From lap 28 he led once again.

On lap 43 Schumacher pitted for the second time and Häkkinen took the lead. From then on the race turned. Schumacher ran into problems on his third set of tyres. According to Crash.net, Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn spoke of disturbed handling, while Wikipedia says Schumacher complained of vibrations at the rear axle. Ferrari feared the tread was coming away. To avoid a third stop, Schumacher eased off. Even after Häkkinen's second stop the McLaren stayed ahead and kept extending its lead. According to formula1.com, the gap was 42 seconds at the start of the final lap. How close the duel would have been without the tyre problem remains an open question.

Häkkinen had scored only four points so far this season. Victory in Barcelona looked certain, but on the final lap his McLaren suddenly slowed. There was smoke, and then the car came to a stop at the side of the track. The cause was a hydraulic leak that made the clutch fail. His race was over after 64 laps, although he was still classified ninth. Schumacher drove past him to take the win. According to formula1.com, Coulthard gave his teammate a lift back on the sidepod of his car. The winner barely celebrated, saying in essence: “I feel very sorry for Mika.” (formula1.com). According to Crash.net, Montoya finished 40.738 seconds behind Schumacher.

• Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Pedro de la Rosa (Jaguar) were out after 5 laps. According to Crash.net their rear wheels touched; according to Wikipedia, Frentzen lost the rear on a kerb.
• Enrique Bernoldi (Arrows) parked his car after 8 laps after losing fuel pressure.
• Ralf Schumacher was running fourth when his brakes locked after 20 laps. He spun into the gravel.
• Eddie Irvine (Jaguar) retired after 48 laps with an engine failure.
• Rubens Barrichello was on course for the podium until his suspension stopped him after 49 laps. According to Crash.net he had gone off the track beforehand.
• Mika Häkkinen retired after 64 laps with a clutch failure.

The big winner was Montoya. He gained ten places from grid position 12 and, in his fifth Formula 1 race, scored his first points and his first podium. According to Crash.net, quick pit work from Williams brought him up to third, and Häkkinen's retirement made him second. Villeneuve went from grid position 7 to third place, giving BAR the first podium in its history. Jarno Trulli finished fourth for Jordan and dedicated the result to Michele Alboreto. The former Ferrari driver had been killed a few days earlier in a testing accident in a sports car. Coulthard fought his way from the back of the field to fifth and, according to Crash.net, crossed the line just behind Trulli. The final point went to Nick Heidfeld in sixth for Sauber, ahead of Olivier Panis and Kimi Räikkönen. At his home race, Fernando Alonso finished 13th in the Minardi.

The losers: Ralf Schumacher and Frentzen each lost 14 places relative to their grid positions, Barrichello 13. The bitterest day belonged to Häkkinen, who saw a certain win slip away on the final lap.

According to Wikipedia, Schumacher and Coulthard had been level on points before the race. Afterwards Schumacher led with 36 points ahead of Coulthard on 28. Behind them were Barrichello with 14, Ralf Schumacher with 12 and Heidfeld with 8 points. Trulli climbed to sixth with 7 points. Montoya entered the standings in seventh with 6 points, while Häkkinen dropped to tenth with 4 points. In the constructors' standings Ferrari led with 50 points ahead of McLaren on 32 and Williams on 18. You can find the full 2001 standings in our archive.

According to Wikipedia, it was Schumacher's third win of the season and the 47th victory of his career. For Häkkinen, the gap in the title fight was already huge after five of 17 races. McLaren could take heart from its fast car in Barcelona, but lost a certain win to a technical failure.