2001 Malaysian Grand Prix: Schumacher's Sixth Straight Pole-to-Win at Sepang

The 2001 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang was a race of two halves. A monsoon shower changed the conditions and sent several drivers into the gravel, but Michael Schumacher, who started from pole, pulled clear of his Ferrari team-mate and held on to win. It was his sixth successive win from pole, a streak that beat a record shared by Nigel Mansell and Alberto Ascari.

Where did the Malaysian race sit in the 2001 season?

Schumacher had won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix and led the drivers' championship with 10 points, ahead of Coulthard on six and Barrichello on four. Ferrari led the constructors' table on 14 points, with McLaren second on six. Sepang was the third Malaysian race in Formula One.

Ferrari had won every Malaysian race so far, with Eddie Irvine taking the first in 1999 and Schumacher the second in 2000. The press and bookmakers therefore made Schumacher the favourite. A sixth straight win from pole would be a first since Alberto Ascari, a two-time champion, managed the same run in 1952.

Schumacher said Ferrari would not become complacent after Melbourne. He pointed out that the car was excellent, but that the team knew how quickly the picture could change in Formula One.

A sixth straight pole-to-win record for Schumacher, set against a monsoon and a restart on the wet and dry tyres.

Why did the Melbourne fatality change safety at Sepang?

After the Australian Grand Prix, where track marshal Graham Beveridge was struck in the chest by a wheel from Jacques Villeneuve's BAR, the Malaysian organisers moved the kerbs at turns five and six and shifted the barriers at turns two and 15 out by 2 m (6.6 ft). Charlie Whiting, the FIA race director and safety delegate, approved both changes.

The organisers also presented a six-point advisory plan from Philippe Gurdjian, executive director of the Malaysian Grand Prix and a former driver, to all 700 circuit personnel, including track marshals, firefighters and paramedics. The clerk of the course urged marshals to stay extra alert to passing cars.

Revised downforce rules had a knock-on effect on the set-up. Aerodynamicists reclassified Sepang as a high-downforce track, so every car ran the same rear wing as in Melbourne. Minardi, which had raced in Australia without a spare car, sent half of its personnel back to Italy and the United Kingdom to build, test and transport one for Fernando Alonso and Tarso Marques.

How did the practice sessions go?

Barrichello led the first morning session at 1:39.502, while Jarno Trulli set the fastest time of the afternoon at 1:38.846. Coulthard was quickest in the third session with 1:36.814, and Barrichello finished the final session fastest at 1:36.188.

Friday was clear, hot and humid, and several cars struggled for grip. Battery problems sidelined Montoya, and Jos Verstappen's Arrows stopped at turn three with an engine sensor fault. Alonso had two fuel pump failures in the afternoon, and a Benetton ran into the gravel beside the circuit. Early in the afternoon session Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Peter Sauber argued about the way Sauber's cars accelerated out of corners in Australia, until Eddie Jordan pulled Frentzen away.

How did qualifying produce Schumacher's pole?

Michael Schumacher took pole with 1:35.220, his sixth consecutive pole and the 34th of his career. It was a feat that no driver had managed since Mika Hakkinen in 1999. Barrichello lined up alongside him on the front row after losing time in the first two turns to a strengthening wind.

Ralf Schumacher initially led the session and traded positions with both Ferraris before falling to third. Hakkinen had a balance problem that left him fourth, and Trulli fifth after an electrical fault had limited his acclimatisation. Montoya spun and qualified sixth, Villeneuve took seventh and Coulthard eighth after over-driving the middle sector. Frentzen ran wide with excess understeer to take ninth, and Panis finished tenth after losing four-tenths on his final lap.

Heidfeld was the fastest driver outside the top ten, placing 11th, with Irvine 12th. Kimi Raikkonen was called to the weighbridge before he could complete his final run and finished 14th. Later in the session, the stewards deleted all of Enrique Bernoldi's lap times after checks found the front wing and parts of the Arrows' bodywork were below the minimum heights. His fastest time of 1:38.708 was cancelled, and he dropped to 22nd, with Mazzacane, Marques and Alonso each moving up a place.

What happened at the start?

Giancarlo Fisichella was out of position on the grid, stranded across the track when he failed to find his slot. Because drivers were barred from reversing, the start was aborted and the field was sent around for a second formation lap. The race was shortened from 56 to 55 laps, giving a distance of 304.865 km (189.434 mi). Montoya had gone back to his garage for the spare car and began from the pit lane.

When the lights changed, Michael Schumacher got away cleanly, while Barrichello made a slow start and dropped from second to fourth. Ralf Schumacher defended his position into the first corner, and his Williams made contact with Barrichello's Ferrari. Ralf spun through 180 degrees and dropped to the back of the field. Verstappen sent Irvine into a half spin, Raikkonen's transmission failed by the pit wall, and Hakkinen slowed to avoid the chaos, falling from fourth to eighth.

Coulthard, meanwhile, moved from eighth to fourth by going onto the grass to avoid the incidents. Panis's engine failed on lap two, leaving oil on the track and dripping onto a hot exhaust that set the car alight. The flames sent him backwards into the gravel trap.

How did the monsoon shower change the race?

A tropical shower began to fall on lap three, and the leaders had not yet pitted for wet tyres. The two Ferraris slid into the gravel, unaware of Panis's oil because the marshals had not warned them in time. Several drivers ran off circuit and the safety car was deployed after aquaplaning at turn 15. Six drivers left the track, and four retired because of the conditions.

Montoya, Bernoldi, Heidfeld and Villeneuve retired after aquaplaning into the gravel. Coulthard, Trulli and Barrichello also went wide at the same hairpin. Half the track was dry while the final hairpin was still flooded, so the teams had to decide quickly how to handle a surface that changed from corner to corner.

Which tyre decisions decided the race?

Ferrari fitted intermediate tyres for the mixed conditions, while McLaren chose full wet tyres. Coulthard led after the early pit stops for wet tyres, but Michael Schumacher caught and passed him on lap 16 to take the lead, and Barrichello moved into second by passing Verstappen and Coulthard on the same lap.

Ferrari's first stop went wrong when Ross Brawn wrongly told the mechanics that Michael Schumacher was ahead. Michael Schumacher sat behind Barrichello for 1 minute and 12 seconds while the team was short of Barrichello's front-right wheel, and both drivers emerged 10th and 11th. Hakkinen and Ralf Schumacher were the first to switch from full wets to dry tyres on lap 17.

Michael Schumacher made a second stop on lap 30 for a front wing adjustment and fuel. He had led by 67 seconds before the stop and rejoined 28 seconds ahead of Barrichello. Frentzen ran a two-stop strategy and was ordered by Jordan to stop at the end of the pit lane, to make sure he had enough fuel for a post-race FIA analysis.

Race result and classification

Behind the leaders, Schumacher held the top spot with Barrichello 23.660 seconds back and Coulthard third. Frentzen finished fourth despite locking his rear wheels, Ralf Schumacher held off Hakkinen for fifth, and Hakkinen took sixth. Verstappen, Trulli, Alesi, Burti, Button and Mazzacane finished seventh to twelfth. The two Minardis finished last, with Alonso ahead of Marques, who was delayed by a right-rear puncture.

Why did Schumacher's sixth straight pole win matter?

The win was Schumacher's sixth in succession from pole position, one more than the joint record of five held by Nigel Mansell and Alberto Ascari. It was also his second victory of the season and the 46th of his Formula One career. The result left him ten points clear of Barrichello and Coulthard, who were tied for second.

The constructors' table also moved. Ferrari increased their lead over McLaren to 19 points, and Jordan passed Sauber for third. Frentzen moved past Heidfeld for fourth, and Ralf Schumacher's fifth place gave Williams their first championship points of the season.

What did the drivers and team bosses say afterwards?

Schumacher called the race exciting and compared it with his 1996 Spanish Grand Prix victory. He said the circumstances had been special and that Ferrari had used them well, but he did not expect such dominance in every race. Barrichello said he had driven the best car of his career, but he had lost time to debris from his bargeboards and brake duct, which forced an extra stop.

Ralf Schumacher blamed Barrichello for the first-lap contact and said he should learn the rules. Barrichello argued that there had been no room for him on the inside. Ron Dennis of McLaren defended his decision to run wet tyres, while Ross Brawn said Ferrari's Fiorano testing had shown that intermediates worked well in deep standing water. Irvine described the early rain as worse than at Spa or Suzuka, and Villeneuve said the car was undriveable in the downpour.

Fisichella apologised over the radio for missing his grid slot, and Benetton's Flavio Briatore praised him for moving up to seventh before he retired. Verstappen said the race had shown the teams he could drive, and that he could do more with the right equipment.