Ralf Schumacher won the 2001 German Grand Prix after a first-corner crash at Hockenheim

Ralf Schumacher won the 2001 German Grand Prix from second on the grid, the 63rd race of its kind in the country. Juan Pablo Montoya had taken pole alongside him, but a first-corner accident scattered carbon fibre across the track, and a refuelling problem for Montoya on lap 24 handed Ralf the lead.

Who won the 2001 German Grand Prix?

Ralf Schumacher won the 45-lap race for Williams from second on the grid. Rubens Barrichello finished second for Ferrari, and Jacques Villeneuve took third for BAR, the last Formula One podium of his career. The win was Ralf's third of the 2001 season.

Over the course of the race Montoya had built a considerable lead over his teammate. A problem with a refuelling rig then left him stationary for more than 20 seconds on lap 24, which cost him the race and let Ralf take over the lead and hold it to the flag.

Montoya's pole turned into a lead that was lost to a refuelling problem, and Ralf Schumacher inherited a win on lap 24.

What did the teams test at Monza before the race?

After the British Grand Prix on 15 July, eight teams carried out mid-season testing at Monza between 17 and 20 July. Zonta was quickest on the opening day, with McLaren's test driver Alexander Wurz close behind. Michael Schumacher's car slid into the barriers at the Seconda Variante chicane, and the session paused for an hour while the barriers were fixed.

Ferrari later found that a broken diffuser had cost downforce after the car had ridden the kerbs. A medical check cleared Michael Schumacher to race. Ralf was fastest on the second day, when the afternoon session was run in the wet, and Irvine led the final two days.

Sauber and BAR spent three days at Circuit Ricardo Tormo on aerodynamic and set-up work. Coulthard was scheduled to join Wurz but withdrew with food poisoning. Arrows did not test at all and concentrated on aerodynamic work at its Leafield headquarters.

Who changed for the German race?

Eleven teams entered with two drivers each, and there was one change heading into the race. Heinz-Harald Frentzen had driven for Jordan since the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but he was dismissed and replaced by the team's third driver, Zonta. Frentzen announced he would take legal action, and the Schumacher brothers were sympathetic to him.

Team principal Eddie Jordan said Frentzen's management was unhappy with the team's performance, and he denied rumours of a heated row. Irvine defended Jordan, saying the decision was influenced by problems with Damon Hill, the 1996 world champion, who had also struggled. In a 2005 interview Jordan later claimed that Honda had wanted Takuma Sato to race for Jordan in 2002.

What did the teams change on their cars?

Updated front wings came from Williams, Jaguar, Ferrari, Sauber and Prost. Ferrari added a new underfloor and stronger V10 engines for qualifying and the race, and Williams fitted extra cooling for the expected heat in qualifying.

Minardi planned a revision to its aerodynamic package, with a new engine cover, a titanium gearbox and changed rear suspension geometry. The team decided to test only the gearbox during the first free practice session.

How did practice go in the heat?

The weekend offered four practice sessions: two of an hour on Friday and two of 45 minutes on Saturday. Friday's two sessions took place in hot, dry conditions. Barrichello set the first session's best time of 1 minute 41.953 seconds, three-tenths clear of the early leader de la Rosa, while Coulthard ended third despite an excursion at the Clark chicane.

Michael Schumacher was fourth in that session after going wide at the Senna chicane, and Ralf Schumacher, Hakkinen, Montoya, Irvine, Fisichella and Trulli were fifth to tenth. In the second session Irvine reset the circuit lap record at 1:41.424, ahead of Montoya in second, and Montoya's qualifying pole lap of 1:38.117 later beat that record. Montoya had extra wing and a stiffer rear end to deal with an understeer, and Hakkinen, running a heavy fuel load, was the highest-placed Bridgestone runner in third. Ralf Schumacher collided with the Sudkurve tyre barrier after going wide in the stadium section.

On Saturday Michael Schumacher was quickest in the third session at 1:39.937, with Barrichello almost half a second behind. The Williams drivers were third and fourth, and Coulthard fifth ahead of Hakkinen in sixth. Button set no time that session. In the final session Ralf Schumacher lapped fastest at 1:39.188, 22 minutes in, almost three-tenths quicker than Montoya. Michael Schumacher was third, Hakkinen fourth, Heidfeld fifth, Barrichello sixth, Irvine seventh and Panis eighth.

What went wrong in qualifying?

Saturday's one-hour qualifying session had each driver limited to twelve laps, with the 107 per cent rule in force. The session was held in dry and hot conditions, and the track was expected to be warmer than in practice. Montoya took his first pole position with a track record of 1:38.117, and Ralf was 0.019 seconds slower in second on the front row. Michael Schumacher had held pole until Montoya displaced him just after halfway through the session. Before the race, Michael had led the drivers' table with 84 points, ahead of Coulthard on 47.

This was the first race since the 1997 British Grand Prix with both Williams cars on the first two places. Hakkinen used three sets of tyres and praised the handling of his car for his third place. Michael Schumacher took fourth but was unhappy not to be ahead of both McLarens, and Coulthard fifth had tyre blistering from a loose rear end and stopped his final run to save tyres.

Barrichello was sixth after a spin, and the two Sauber cars were seventh and eighth, Heidfeld ahead of Raikkonen. Both had changed their set-ups, Heidfeld making small adjustments and Raikkonen raising his ride height for his third run. De la Rosa was ninth and Irvine eleventh for Jaguar, with Trulli between them in tenth after an engine failure that stopped him from using the spare car.

Villeneuve in the faster BAR qualified ahead of Panis, and both drivers struggled to find grip. Burti's Prost spun on his first run in the stadium section and hit the barrier backwards, which brought out a yellow flag and ended his lap. Fisichella was 17th and Button 18th, and Button's car had its gearbox changed in the morning before a failed engine stopped him on his final timed lap. Alesi was 14th, and Zonta's slower Jordan sat between Burti and Fisichella after he had mounted a kerb at the Senna chicane on his third run.

How did Montoya and Ralf fare in the warm-up?

The 30-minute warm-up started at 09:30 Central European Summer Time in clear weather. Ralf Schumacher set the fastest time at 1:42.621 on his final lap, after leading for much of the session, and Montoya finished second. Coulthard was third and Michael Schumacher fourth, one-tenth of a second behind Ralf.

Alonso spun at the Sudkurve corner and skated across the gravel towards the tyre barriers, and Trulli's engine failed as he left the Ostkurve corner. He parked on the grass and returned to the pit lane ten minutes later to drive the spare car. Zonta then made contact with the tyre barrier at the Sudkurve after spinning in the gravel, and Alonso struck the barrier sideways close to him.

How did the race start?

The race began at 14:00 local time under dry conditions. The air was at 28 C (82 F) and the track at 32 C (90 F), and about 100,000 spectators attended. The race ran 45 laps over 307.125 km (190.839 mi), and the first corner brought the chaos that defined the race. Michael Schumacher had started fourth behind Hakkinen.

As all 22 drivers prepared for the formation lap, Alonso and Marques began from the pit lane after fuel leaked from the refuelling valves. Alonso drove the spare Minardi, while Marques used his teammate's repaired car. Michael Schumacher was affected by a gearbox selection problem on the parade lap, and he slowed in the middle of the circuit, forcing the drivers behind to swerve. The Ferrari team had hoped the fault was linked to slow speeds.

What happened at the first corner?

Both Williams drivers held first and second into the first turn, but Panis was blocking the view, and Zonta was moving to the left, so Burti did not see the Ferrari in front of him and struck it. Burti hit Michael Schumacher's right-rear wheel and went five feet into the air. He rolled over the top of Bernoldi's car before landing upright between the two Arrows cars, with his left-front wheel breaking Bernoldi's engine cover and rear wing.

Burti's car bounced across the gravel and came to rest against the tyre barriers at the Nordkurve corner. By the end of the first lap both Williams cars had kept their places, and Michael Schumacher had passed Hakkinen for third. Michael Schumacher's car was left in the middle of the circuit, and the safety car was deployed. Race director Charlie Whiting then red-flagged the race, because the carbon fibre strands scattered on the track made tyre punctures at high speed a serious danger.

Why were Burti and Michael Schumacher out of their race cars?

Neither driver was hurt, but both cars were written off. Both drivers raced their teams' spare vehicles after the restart. The debris had to be removed by marshals before the field could go again.

The restart brought the full field back under a clean track surface, and Ralf Schumacher used his pole-position knowledge to stay in front during the opening laps of the new run. The early laps were a test of the spare cars as much as of the race drivers.

How did Ralf Schumacher take the lead?

Montoya had a considerable lead over his teammate for much of the race, but he lost it on lap 24 when a problem with a refuelling rig left him stationary for more than 20 seconds. Ralf inherited the lead and held it to achieve his third win of the season.

The result also moved Ralf ahead of Barrichello for third in the standings, while Villeneuve took the final podium of his career for BAR. Williams had a one-two on the grid and a one-two finish between its drivers at the head of the race, as Montoya and Ralf swapped the lead around the pit stops.

What did the German result do to the championship?

Michael Schumacher retained his championship points advantage over Coulthard after both drivers retired from the Grand Prix. Ralf moved ahead of Barrichello to take third in the drivers' table, and Ferrari kept its constructors' lead with 124 points.

Williams reduced its deficit to McLaren by ten points, with five races of the season remaining. The race was the last Grand Prix held on the 6.825 km (4.241 mi) layout, because the circuit was shortened and reconfigured for the 2002 season.