F1 Legend Sim/Seasons/2001

2001 F1 Season

17 races · Ferrari F2001

In 2001, no longer burdened by the pressure of ending a historic drought, Ferrari and Michael Schumacher unfurled a calm, crushing dominance. The F2001 combined speed, reliability and a perfect match with Bridgestone tyres, leaving the opposition almost no openings.

Schumacher won nine races and secured his fourth world championship in Hungary with four rounds to spare, an early clinch that was then a record. The emergence of young Juan Pablo Montoya with Williams brought sparks and bold overtakes, but nothing could stop the red machine.

It was also the anticipated farewell of an era: Mika Häkkinen chose to take a break that proved permanent, closing the chapter of the great Finnish rival and leaving Schumacher without his benchmark adversary.

Drivers’ Champion

Michael Schumacher

Ferrari F2001

Constructors’ Champion

Ferrari

17 races

See the 2001 simulation Ver en español

Key moment

«Schumacher wins the title in Hungary four races early, an F1 record.»

The 2001 grid, car by car

The 11 teams that raced in 2001, ordered by how good we rate the car. It is our own judgement, not an official figure: what it is worth is that the same yardstick is applied to every season since 1988, so you can compare eras.

#TeamOur ratingDrivers
1Ferrari
98
Michael Schumacher · Rubens Barrichello
2Williams
93
Juan Pablo Montoya · Ralf Schumacher
3McLaren
92
Mika Häkkinen · David Coulthard
4Sauber
86
Kimi Räikkönen · Nick Heidfeld
5Jordan
83
Heinz-Harald Frentzen · Jarno Trulli
6Benetton
83
Jenson Button · Giancarlo Fisichella
7BAR
82
Jacques Villeneuve · Ricardo Zonta
8Jaguar
81
Eddie Irvine · Pedro de la Rosa
9Arrows
76
Jos Verstappen · Enrique Bernoldi
10Prost
75
Jean Alesi · Luciano Burti
11Minardi
69
Fernando Alonso · Tarso Marques

How 2001 actually ended

The official final standings, from the Australian Grand Prix to the Japanese Grand Prix. This is the real result; the simulation is further down.

DriverPointsWinsPodiumsPoles
1Michael SchumacherFerrari12391411
2David CoulthardMcLaren652102
3Rubens BarrichelloFerrari560100
4Ralf SchumacherWilliams49351
5Mika HäkkinenMcLaren37230
6Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliams31143
7Jacques VilleneuveBAR12020
8Nick HeidfeldSauber12010

Schumacher took it by 58 points with 9 wins and 11 poles across 17 races. 5 different drivers won that season, and the last Grand Prix went to Michael Schumacher.

Official FIA standings via Jolpica (formerly Ergast).

2001, race by race

All 17 races: who started first, who won and from where, and how many cars reached the flag.

5different drivers won: Schumacher 9 · Schumacher 3 · Coulthard 2 · Häkkinen 2 · Montoya 1.

3different teams won: Ferrari 9 · McLaren 4 · Williams 4.

4different drivers took pole: Schumacher 11 · Montoya 3 · Coulthard 2 · Schumacher 1.

10different drivers stood on the podium.

3one-twos for a single team: Ferrari 3.

7 of 17races were won from pole position.

2first-ever wins: Ralf Schumacher (San Marino Grand Prix), Juan Pablo Montoya (Italian Grand Prix).

From 7ththe win from furthest back: David Coulthard, Austrian Grand Prix.

25 years, 289 daysthe youngest winner of the year: Ralf Schumacher, San Marino Grand Prix.

58%of starts reached the flag (217 of 372).

9 of 22cars finished the Canadian Grand Prix, the race with fewest survivors.

#Grand PrixWinnerStarted
1Australian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
2Malaysian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
3Brazilian Grand PrixDavid CoulthardMcLaren5th
4San Marino Grand PrixRalf SchumacherWilliams3rd
5Spanish Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
6Austrian Grand PrixDavid CoulthardMcLaren7th
7Monaco Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari2nd
8Canadian Grand PrixRalf SchumacherWilliams2nd
9European Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
10French Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari2nd
11British Grand PrixMika HäkkinenMcLaren2nd
12German Grand PrixRalf SchumacherWilliams2nd
13Hungarian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st
14Belgian Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari3rd
15Italian Grand PrixJuan Pablo MontoyaWilliams1st
16United States Grand PrixMika HäkkinenMcLaren4th
17Japanese Grand PrixMichael SchumacherFerrari1st

Pole goes to whoever started first, after penalties. «Finished» counts classified cars that took the flag. Our source has no fastest laps before 2004.

What if 2001 had been raced 100 times?

We took the real 2001 grid (every car with its performance and reliability, every driver with his rating) and re-ran the full 17-race championship 100 times.

DriverAvg. finishTitles
Michael Schumacherreal championFerrariP1100%
Rubens BarrichelloFerrariP2.40%
Mika HäkkinenMcLarenP2.70%
Juan Pablo MontoyaWilliamsP4.60%
Ralf SchumacherWilliamsP4.90%
David CoulthardMcLarenP5.50%

Michael Schumacher wins 100% of the simulated championships. Runner-up Rubens Barrichello manages 0%: with that machinery, the real result was very nearly the only one available.

What if Senna, Hamilton or Alonso had driven the 2001 championship-winning car?

Build your own hypothesis

Drivers of 2001

Michael Schumacher★ 7
All seasons 1980-2025

Keep reading

What we have measured about 2001 and about what decided it, with our own numbers.

All articles