Ferrari’s competitors must have been wondering how they could be stopped as they arrived in Malaysia for the second record of the 2001 World Championship. The Scuderia had started the season in fine fettle, with Michael Schumacher winning the opening round in Australia, with team-mate Rubens Barrichello finishing third. Early on, it looked as if their main, if not only competitor would be McLaren. Mika Hakkinen had retired whilst chasing Schumacher in Australia, with David Coulthard finishing between both Ferraris in second.
2001 Malaysian Grand Prix
In qualifying, Schumacher and Barrichello locked-out the front row, with the closest challenge coming from the Williams of Michael’s brother Ralf, with Hakkinen fourth and Coulthard a disappointing eighth.
On the parade lap, Heinz-Harald Frentzen’s Jordan and Juan Pablo Montoya’s Williams suffered problems, which was followed by a bizarre incident in which Giancarlo Fisichella parked his Benetton on the wrong grid slot, further delaying the start of the race, causing an aborted start and a second parade lap, buying Montoya and Frentzen valuable time. When the race eventually started, Schumacher made a quick getaway, with Barrichello slipping back. As the cars began to negotiate turn one, Barrichello tapped the back of Ralf’s Williams, sending it into a spin, leaving him at the back of the pack. Coulthard gained four places in two turns, and Jos Verstappen’s Arrows went from eighteenth to sixth before the end of lap one. What seemed to be the beginning of a conformed Ferrari-dominated race changed when the rain began to fall heavily, and with two laps barely completed, Schumacher and Barrichello slid off in unison at turn six leaving the Jordan of Jarno Trulli in front. The Safety Car was deployed a lap later with the rain falling so heavily, forcing drivers to change tyres. Barrichello’s tyre stop lasted over a minute, with Schumacher queuing behind him. The rain eased soon after and the Safety Car pulled in on lap 10, with Coulthard leading, and the Ferraris out of the points.
Verstappen, in the uncompetitive Arrows, was having the drive of the day and possibly of his life, carved his way up to third and was the quickest driver on the track for a brief time. It didn’t take long for both Ferraris to elevate themselves through the pack, and by lap 15, Schumacher was back in the lead, with Barrichello soon back in second position. The choice of compound by Ferrari proved to be a correct decision, with both cars lapping approximately three seconds faster than anyone for a short period of the race. Further back, a three way battle ensued between Verstappen, Hakkinen and Frentzen. The Finn initially got past the Dutchman, but Verstappen soon retook Hakkinen at the final turn, with Frentzen capitalising by taking Hakkinen on the exit into the start-finish straight.
At the finish, Schumacher won with Barrichello second, some 26 seconds behind. Coulthard completed the podium with a steady and assured drive. Frentzen finished fourth, with Ralf Schumacher fifth after a late surge, with Hakkinen eventually getting past Verstappen, leaving the Dutchman with no points to show for what was an impressive drive.
At the end of the race, Schumacher led the title by 10 points, with Ferrari already 29 points ahead of McLaren in the Constructor’s championship as the Grand Prix circus headed to Brazil.
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