Michael Schumacher won from pole after Mika Häkkinen's clutch failed on the final lap, also marking the return of electronic driver aids to Formula One.
Key Facts
- Winner
- Michael Schumacher (Ferrari)
- Race laps
- 65
- Spectators
- 91,000
- Schumacher's season wins
- 3rd of 2001 season; 47th career win
- Championship round
- 5th of 2001 Formula One World Championship
- Victory margin
- 40 seconds over Montoya
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Ferrari's Michael Schumacher and McLaren's David Coulthard were tied at the top of the Drivers' Championship entering the race. Schumacher took pole position, but McLaren's Mika Häkkinen employed longer pit stop stints to take the lead twice during pit cycles, putting him on course for victory as Schumacher's rear tyres began to vibrate.
The 2001 Spanish Grand Prix was held on 29 April at Circuit de Catalunya before 91,000 spectators. Häkkinen led and appeared set to win until his clutch failed due to a hydraulic leak on the final lap, handing Schumacher the lead. Schumacher crossed the finish line 40 seconds ahead of Juan Pablo Montoya, who claimed his first Formula One podium, with Jacques Villeneuve third.
Schumacher's victory gave him an eight-point lead over Coulthard in the Drivers' Championship and extended Ferrari's advantage over McLaren to 18 points in the Constructors' Championship. The race also marked the first legal use of electronic driver aids—traction control, launch control, and fully automatic gearboxes—since the 1993 season.