2001 German GP: Ralf Schumacher inherits win from Montoya

Ralf Schumacher won the 2001 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring driving for Williams. Rubens Barrichello finished second for Ferrari, with Jacques Villeneuve third for BAR. The race was decided in the pits. Team-mate and polesitter Juan Pablo Montoya was leading comfortably but lost the lead because of problems with the refuelling rig, then retired shortly afterwards with an engine failure. Of 22 cars, only ten saw the chequered flag.

The first start ended in chaos. Michael Schumacher had a gear selection problem in his Ferrari and slowed in the middle of the track. Behind him, Luciano Burti in the Prost couldn't see the Ferrari in time because other cars were blocking his view. Burti ran into the right rear wheel of the Ferrari, took off, flew over the Arrows of Enrique Bernoldi and landed back on his wheels. Burti and Michael Schumacher were unhurt. Their cars, however, were beyond repair, so both took the spare cars for the restarted race.

The track was littered with carbon debris. Race director Charlie Whiting first sent out the Safety Car and then stopped the race with the red flag. At Hockenheim's high speeds, there was otherwise a risk of punctures. According to Wikipedia, the start was originally scheduled for 14h, with the restart following at 14:24. The two Minardi cars of Fernando Alonso and Tarso Marques had to start from the pit lane because fuel had leaked from the refuelling valves.

The restart didn't go smoothly either. Pedro de la Rosa braked too late in his Jaguar at the first chicane and took out the Sauber of Nick Heidfeld. For both, the race was over before they had completed a lap. According to Atlas F1, de la Rosa accepted the blame. Barrichello, by contrast, was in an attacking mood: he went round the outside of McLaren's Mika Häkkinen, and Michael Schumacher let him through on team orders. Later he also got back past David Coulthard.

Montoya had taken his first pole position and controlled the race from the front. Ralf Schumacher followed in second and, by his own account, was nursing his engine as the Colombian pulled away. According to Wikipedia, Ralf was also struggling with brake problems early on. At half-distance, Montoya led by around ten seconds, according to grandprix.com.

On lap 22 he came in for his only planned stop, and everything went wrong. The signal lights at his pit box failed, so the crew switched to the refuelling rig that had actually been set up for Ralf Schumacher. As a result, Montoya was stationary for about 20 seconds longer than planned and took on far more fuel than intended. From lap 23 Ralf Schumacher led, while Montoya dropped to fourth. After 24 laps, smoke poured from the back of the Williams – the engine was finished. Montoya said he was “so disappointed” that he was lost for words. Technical director Patrick Head criticised the refuelling rigs supplied by the FIA. However, according to Wikipedia, the manufacturer found no fault when it examined the rig.

Ralf pitted on lap 24 and rejoined with a lead of around ten seconds. From roughly lap 37 he eased off to look after his engine. Even so, he won by more than 46 seconds.

Ferrari put Barrichello on a two-stop strategy with light fuel loads. At one of his stops a fuel hose closed by itself, which, according to Wikipedia, cost him around twelve seconds. Second place was never under threat, though. Michael Schumacher ran a one-stop strategy but retired after his pit stop with low fuel pressure. Coulthard pitted on lap 28, but his engine blew as he left the pits.

Conditions were tough: according to Wikipedia, the air temperature on the grid was 28 degrees, with 32 degrees on the track surface. Add to that the long full-throttle blasts through the forest. Twelve drivers failed to finish:

• Pedro de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld: 0 laps, collision at the first chicane after the restart
• Ricardo Zonta (Jordan): 7 laps, collision with Jos Verstappen
• Mika Häkkinen (McLaren): 13 laps, engine
• Kimi Räikkönen (Sauber): 16 laps, driveshaft
• Eddie Irvine (Jaguar): 16 laps, fuel pressure
• Michael Schumacher (Ferrari): 23 laps, fuel pressure
• Luciano Burti (Prost): 23 laps, spun off
• Juan Pablo Montoya (Williams): 24 laps, engine
• Tarso Marques (Minardi): 26 laps, gearbox
• David Coulthard (McLaren): 27 laps, engine
• Jarno Trulli (Jordan): 34 laps, hydraulics

It was a particularly bitter day for McLaren: both cars retired with engine failures, while their main rivals Ferrari still came away with points.

The two Benetton drivers made up the most places. Giancarlo Fisichella went from 17th on the grid to fourth, Jenson Button from 18th on the grid to fifth. Both therefore gained 13 places. According to grandprix.com, strategy and the reliability of the Renault engine helped, while other teams suffered technical failures one after another. According to Wikipedia, it was the first time that season that Benetton scored points with both cars.

Villeneuve was another winner. He started twelfth and finished third on the podium, even though, according to grandprix.com, he hadn't expected to be competitive himself. Jean Alesi took the final point for Prost from 14th on the grid. Olivier Panis finished seventh in the second BAR. Behind him came Bernoldi and Verstappen in the two Arrows, plus Alonso, who finished tenth despite the problems with his fuel valve.

The big loser was Montoya, who already had his first win in sight. Häkkinen fell back furthest: starting from third on the grid, he lost 16 places. Heidfeld, who had started seventh, didn't complete a single lap.

With both Michael Schumacher and Coulthard retiring, nothing changed at the top of the championship. Michael led with 84 points ahead of Coulthard on 47. Ralf Schumacher moved up to third with 41 points, one point ahead of Barrichello on 40. Behind them were Häkkinen on 19, Montoya on 15 and Villeneuve on 11 points. In the constructors' championship, Ferrari extended their lead to 124 points over McLaren, who had 66. Williams were third with 56 points. You can find the full 2001 standings in our archive.

For Ralf Schumacher it was the third Grand Prix win of his career, all three of them coming that season. It was also his first win at his home race. According to grandprix.com, he spoke of a “perfect scenario”. For Williams and BMW, Hockenheim was further proof that they could now take wins away from Ferrari and McLaren. With his first pole position and his commanding lead, Montoya showed just how fast he was, but once again came away empty-handed.

Looking back, the race was a farewell: it was the last race on the long high-speed layout through the Hockenheim forest, which was significantly shortened for 2002. It was a special day for Villeneuve too: it would remain his last podium in Formula 1.