The 2001 United States Grand Prix (formally the 2001 SAP United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on September 30, 2001, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was the 16th and penultimate round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship, and the second United States Grand Prix hosted at Indianapolis. It was the first international sporting event to take place in the United States since the September 11 attacks, which occurred 19 days before the Grand Prix. McLaren's Mika Häkkinen won the 73-lap race after starting fourth. Ferrari's Michael Schumacher finished second, while Häkkinen's teammate David Coulthard was third.
Michael Schumacher took pole position after setting the fastest qualifying lap, with Häkkinen second. Häkkinen's best time, however, was deleted by the stewards after he was penalized for a pit lane infraction during the warm-up session and dropped to fourth on the basis of his second-best qualifying lap. Michael Schumacher led the opening four laps before relinquishing the lead to teammate Rubens Barrichello. Before his first of two pit stops on lap 27, Barrichello had built up a significant lead over his teammate. Häkkinen used his engine's low fuel usage to take the lead and keep it until his lone pit stop on the 46th lap, when he dropped to second. Barrichello retook the lead for four laps, and Häkkinen led the rest of the race to claim his second victory of the season and the 20th (and final) of his career after Barrichello was forced to retire two laps from the finish due to an engine failure.
The final result meant that Michael Schumacher broke the all-time record for most points scored in a season, which he shared with Nigel Mansell. Coulthard increased his lead over Barrichello in the World Drivers' Championship by four championship points in the battle for second. McLaren's performance in Indianapolis clinched the team second in the World Constructors' Championship from Williams with one round remaining in the season.
Background
The 2001 United States Grand Prix was the penultimate round of the 2001 Formula One World Championship, held on September 30, 2001, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) road course in Speedway, Indiana. It was the second United States Grand Prix to take place at Indianapolis, which had previously hosted the Indianapolis 500 as part of the Formula One World Championship from to . The Porsche Supercup and the Ferrari Challenge held support races during the weekend. Bridgestone brought the soft and hard compound tires to the Grand Prix while Michelin supplied the "Prime" and "Option" compounds.
Before the race, both the World Drivers' Championship and World Constructors' Championship were already won, with Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher having secured the World Drivers' Championship three rounds earlier in the and Ferrari took the World Constructors' Championship at the same race, with McLaren too many championship points behind to be able to catch them.
Following the on 16 September, the Arrows, Benetton, British American Racing (BAR), Jordan, Jaguar and McLaren teams tested over three days at the Silverstone Circuit in England to prepare for the United States Grand Prix. Wet weather affected all three days, and teams only got the final day to run on a dry track. Jordan's Jean Alesi led the first day of testing, while McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz led the remaining two days. The Williams team tested its Michelin tyres, chassis, and engine at the Circuito do Estoril with regular driver Ralf Schumacher, test driver Marc Gené, and Formula 3000 drivers Antônio Pizzonia and Ricardo Sperafico. Sauber developed the C20 car for the American race for four days at the Mugello Circuit in Italy, first with Italian Formula 3000 driver Felipe Massa and then with regular driver Nick Heidfeld. Ferrari test driver Luca Badoer spent five days at the Fiorano Circuit in Italy evaluating the F2001's electronics systems, engine mapping, tire evaluations, and components for the F2002 car.
The September 11 attacks occurred 19 days before the race, forcing several teams to be hesitant to send workers to Indianapolis amid security concerns at the circuit. Some drivers and team principals publicly questioned the race's viability due to concerns about behavior and personal safety but others believed it had to be held to show support for the United States. The race went on as planned, with additional security measures implemented by local, state, and federal law enforcement to protect spectators and participating teams. It was the United States's first major international sporting event since the attacks, and no security incidents occurred. According to IMS president Tony George, he never considered cancelling the race after talking to Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA; Formula One's governing body) president Max Mosley and Formula One commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone. Several participants paid respect to the victims of the September 11 attacks by putting American flags on their racing helmets and cars. The Grand Prix Drivers' Association donated personal racing items to raise funds for the victims.
Eleven constructors entered two drivers each for the event; six of the entered drivers had not driven on the Indianapolis road course before and two were past Indianapolis 500 winners. Michael Schumacher and Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya were the British bookmakers' joint favourites to win the race. FIA doctor Gary Hartstein ordered Luciano Burti to rest until at least the end of December 2001, and he was replaced for the season's final two races by Czech driver Tomáš Enge. Minardi ran into problems with preparation because half of their personnel did not have visas. The issue was later resolved and the team travelled to Indianapolis. Because of the terrorist attacks, Michael Schumacher was given the option to withdraw from the Grand Prix by Ferrari, who had Badoer on standby to replace him if necessary. He ultimately went to the race. Ralf Schumacher, his brother, also competed despite calling Formula One's plans to hold the race a "bad joke."
Some teams modified their cars for the race, with most concentrating on adapting them to the Indianapolis road course. Ferrari and Williams brought technical innovations that they intended to use in the 2002 season. Ferrari introduced a revised steering wheel with four additional buttons, two of which were for adjusting the traction control system. The team also installed a new extractor profile and a rear wing similar to the one used at the . Williams fitted new engine exhausts, similar to those built by Ferrari. It also made two chassis available to their drivers but without new bodywork because some bulky radiators were difficult to mount. Jordan installed new Ferrari-style brake ducts on their EJ11 car for qualifying and Minardi supplied titanium gearboxes to their drivers.
Practice There were two one-hour sessions on Friday and two 45-minute sessions on Saturday morning before the race on Sunday. Friday's two practice sessions were held in cool, overcast weather, with fewer spectators in the grandstands because of the September 11 attacks. The circuit was relatively dirty, so most of the first practice session was spent cleaning it and laying tire rubber on it. The lack of grip on the dusty surface meant several drivers lost control of their cars but no one crashed. Michael Schumacher set the fastest lap of 1:14.085 late in the session. He was followed by McLaren's David Coulthard, Rubens Barrichello (Ferrari), Benetton's Giancarlo Fisichella, Sauber's Kimi Räikkönen and his teammate Heidfeld, as well as Jordan's Jarno Trulli, Benetton's Jenson Button and Arrows's Jos Verstappen. Mika Häkkinen's McLaren was on the jacks due to a pneumatic valve gear failure, requiring the mechanics to change the engine in 45 minutes to resolve the issue; this restricted him to four laps and was 14th-fastest.
Drivers continued to tweak their setups around the circuit during the second practice session. Häkkinen set the day's fastest time, a 1:13:387, with twelve minutes remaining. Michael Schumacher, Barrichello, Coulthard, Jaguar's Eddie Irvine, Heidfeld, Prost's Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Irvine's teammate Pedro de la Rosa and the Williams duo of Ralf Schumacher and Montoya were in positions two through ten. Fisichella's session was cut short after five minutes after his Benetton car went into the gravel at turn four. Enge spun through 180 degrees at the exit of turn eight due to oversteer. Just as Enge was able to turn his car in the right way, two Jaguars narrowly missed hitting the rear of his car, causing him to stall and necessitating the assistance of marshals. An electrical fault caused Verstappen to stop his car at the pit lane entry with two minutes left.
During Saturday's practice sessions, which were held in dry and sunny conditions, Ferrari were the only team to test rear brake lights, although no concrete conclusions were drawn from their use. Michael Schumacher set the quickest lap at 1:12.078 a third of the way through the third practice session. His brother Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Häkkinen, Coulthard, Button, Heidfeld, Fisichella and Trulli followed in positions two to ten. Montoya lost control of his car's rear while braking due to oversteer and spun through 180 degrees at turn six, although he continued driving without damage. Trulli spun between turns nine and ten before Bernoldi spun backwards onto the turn eight escape road and stalled the engine.
Due to an oil pump failure caused by a loss in oil pressure, Michael Schumacher abandoned his Ferrari on the grass beside the pit lane exit in the final practice session. This necessitated an engine change for qualifying but he remained fastest overall. Häkkinen was faster and moved to second place. Heidfeld, Ralf Schumacher, Barrichello, Montoya, Fisichella, Coulthard, Button, and Räikkönen completed the top ten. Häkkinen skidded into the gravel trap between turns three and four before rejoining the track, and Alex Yoong spun twice in his Minardi midway through the race but continued without stalling.
Qualifying