2001 British Grand Prix
| 2001 British Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race 11 of 17 in the 2001 Formula One World Championship
| |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 15 July 2001 | ||||
| Official name | LIV Foster's British Grand Prix | ||||
| Location | Silverstone, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire, England | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 5.140 km (3.194 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 60 laps, 308.400 km (191.640 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Partially cloudy, mild, dry, Air Temp: 16 °C (61 °F), Track 27 °C (81 °F) | ||||
| Attendance | 267,000 (Three day) | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 1:20.447 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver | Mika Häkkinen | McLaren-Mercedes | |||
| Time | 1:23.405 on lap 34 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | McLaren-Mercedes | ||||
| Second | Ferrari | ||||
| Third | Ferrari | ||||
|
Lap leaders | |||||
The 2001 British Grand Prix (formally the LIV Foster's British Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 15 July 2001 at the Silverstone Circuit, England, United Kingdom. It was the 11th of 17 rounds in the 2001 Formula One World Championship and was the 52nd time that the British Grand Prix had been included in the championship since 1950. McLaren driver Mika Häkkinen won the 60-lap race after starting second. The Ferrari duo of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello finished in second and third, respectively.
Heading into the Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher led the World Drivers' Championship from McLaren's David Coulthard while Ferrari led McLaren in the World Constructors' Championship. Schumacher secured pole position after setting the fastest lap time in the one-hour qualifying session, with Häkkinen starting second. He led the first four laps before running wide at Copse corner, allowing Häkkinen to take the race lead. Häkkinen led throughout the majority of the race, except for the first round of pit stops, when he lost it to Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya for three laps, and won his first race since the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix as well as his 19th overall. Schumacher finished 33.6 seconds behind in second.
The Grand Prix result increased Schumacher's World Drivers' Championship lead to points over Coulthard, who retired on lap three due to a suspension failure caused by a first-lap collision with Jordan's Jarno Trulli. Ferrari maintained a 56-point lead over McLaren in the World Constructors' Championship, while Williams remained third with six races left in the season.