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GRAND
PRIX: Japan : Michael's Crowning Glory
Suzuka, 14.10.01
The 2001 Formula One World Championship ended in Japan the same way it began nine months ago, with a Michael Schumacher victory.
The statistics arising from his season are awesome: he has become the highest point scorer ever - with 123 points he has scored nearly double the 65 of his closest rival Coulthard, he started from pole eleven times and scored nine wins, which lifted his all-time record to 53 Grand Prix victories.
In an intriguing race with constantly changing strategies and leaders the only fly in Ferrari's ointment was that Rubens Barrichello never looked remotely as if he could capture second place in the Championship. A high-risk three-stop strategy seemed the only way forward but it backfired miserably when he could not take advantage of his light fuel load and break away from the others. Pablo Montoya in particular gave Rubens a hard time and the two McLarens also got ahead as a result of Barrichello's extra pit stop.
Still, had it not been for the two technical hitches which prevented him from winning at Monza and Indianapolis then Barrichello would not have been forced into the almost impossible situation of having to win the Japanese Grand Prix with Coulthard lower than fourth.
Clearly the other teams have a lot of work to do over the winter. When the Williams' find more reliability and a car that performs consistently on all circuits then the challenge from Montoya will be a strong one. In many ways there is a parallel here with the emergence of a young Schumacher and his first serious battles against the might of Ayrton Senna. We were never to see the outcome of that situation but next season, if we are lucky, should see some excellent battles between Schumacher and the young Columbian.
Let us also say farewell to Jean Alesi who drove his last GP in Japan. His early career looked good enough to be World Championship material but then he let his heart overrule his head and he joined Ferrari and stayed with the team for far too many of their lean years. It ruined his hopes of great success - but what a lot of pleasure he brought to the tifosi who loved his fire and emotion. For some great Ferrari drives, we thank you Jean!
Jean Todt: “This was a marvellous way to bring a great season to a close. This was Michael’s ninth win of the season, giving him the record for the most number of points and allowing Ferrari to beat its own record for the most number of points in one season. I wish to thank Rubens for the great contribution he has made to the team. He has finished third in the Drivers’ Championship at the end of a faultless year. Now we head to Monza to meet our fans next weekend, where we will be able to celebrate with them and Ferrari owners. To celebrate winning both titles this year, we came up with a rather special cap, with two peaks, to thank our drivers for the exceptional work they have done this year. I would also like to say a special thank you to Luca Badoer, who has played such an important role this year. Finally, I would also like to express our gratitude to Bridgestone and Shell, along with all our sponsors and technical partners, without whose support none of this would have been possible.”
Michael Schumacher: “This was the perfect end to the season, because winning the final race is just what you need before the long winter break. Monza and Indianapolis were difficult, but this was a great end to a great season and it is wonderful for the team. As for the race, we had an advantage in the first few laps, which came from our tyres, which then remained very consistent after that. I was surprised at the gap I built up in the early laps, but at that point we were not sure if Williams were on a one or a two stop strategy. For the last two stints, I was unable to use the advantage of having new tyres, because every time I came out of the pits I was stuck behind Mika. At one point, I went straight on at the chicane and so I backed off for the rest of that lap. Today we had a good package and perfect tyres. As for the season as a whole, we were dominant for the first two races, but after that, it was very tight and we had to fight hard. We were helped in winning the championships early by the fact that David had some reliability problems. I feel sorry for Rubens, who was unlucky today. We did have a plan for me to help him. He would try and pass the Williams and then I would let him pass to win. But when he was unable to get by, there was no point in me sacrificing my race. Have a good time, until we all meet again next year.”
Rubens Barrichello: “In order to win, we had to try something special, like going for a three stop strategy. Unfortunately, this did not pay off. The Williams were very quick down the straight and I could not stay ahead of Montoya when I was running my best set of tyres. Then I lost more time during one of my stops, when the engine cut out. That meant I was no longer in with a chance of even getting on the podium. All the same, I enjoyed my battle with Montoya, although I think Ralf went a bit over the top in our fight together.”
RACE RESULTS Japanese GP Suzuka, Japan 53 laps. Weather: Warm, Dry. Classified: Pos Driver Team Time 1. M. Schumacher Ferrari (B) 1h27:33.298 2. Montoya Williams BMW (M) + 0:03.154 3. Coulthard McLaren Mercedes (M) + 0:23.262 4. Hakkinen McLaren Mercedes (M) + 0:33.539 5. Barrichello Ferrari (B) + 0:36.544 6. R. Schumacher Williams BMW (M) + 0:37.122 7. Button Benetton (B) + 1:37.102 8. Trulli Jordan Honda (B) + 1 Lap 9. Heidfeld Sauber Petronas (B) + 1 Lap 10. Villeneuve BAR Honda (B) + 1 Lap 11. Alonso Minardi European (M) + 1 Lap 12. Frentzen Prost (M) + 1 Lap 13. Panis BAR Honda (B) + 2 Laps 14. Bernoldi Arrows (B) + 2 Laps 15. Verstappen Arrows (B) + 2 Laps 16. Yoong Minardi European (M) + 3 Laps 17. Fisichella Benetton (B) + 6 Laps World Championship Standing, Round 17: Drivers: Constructors: 1. M.Schumacher 123 1. Ferrari 179 2. Coulthard 65 2. McLaren 102 3 Barrichello 56 3. Williams 80 4. R.Schumacher 49 4. Sauber 22 5. Hakkinen 37 5. BAR 17 6. Montoya 31 =. Jordan 17 7. Heidfeld 13 7. Jaguar 10 8. Villeneuve 12 =. Benetton 10 9. Trulli 9 9. Prost 4 =. Raikkonen 9 10. Arrows 1 11. Fisichella 8 =. Minardi 1 12. Irvine 7 13. Frentzen 6 =. Alesi 6 15. Panis 5 16. de la Rosa 3 17. Button 2 18. Verstappen 1
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