2001 Italian Grand Prix

The 2001 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held at Monza on 16 September 2001. It was the fifteenth round of the 2001 Formula One season. The race, contested over 53 laps, was the first Formula One victory for Williams driver Juan Pablo Montoya after a long battle with Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, who finished second. The other Williams driver Ralf Schumacher finished third.

Background
This was the first F1 race held after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the United States. As a mark of respect, several teams altered their cars' liveries. The Ferraris ran without any sponsorship livery and sported matte black nose-cones. The Jaguar team fitted black engine covers to their R2 cars while the Jordan-Hondas featured American flag decals. Mika Häkkinen announced that he was to take a sabbatical at the end of the season citing the reason to spend more time with his family.

Race
The pre-race build-up was notable for the fact that Michael Schumacher attempted to organise a pact that would see the drivers treat the first lap as if it were taking place behind the safety car. The plan failed, with Jacques Villeneuve and Benetton's Flavio Briatore refusing to accept the pact. Schumacher had been keen to avoid any accidents at the start, due to a combination of the effects of the 11 September 2001 attacks earlier that week; the death of a marshal in a pile-up at the beginning of the previous year's race; and the horrific accident in the previous day's ChampCar race in Germany, in which former F1 driver Alex Zanardi was critically injured, resulting in the amputation of both legs. In pre-race interviews, several drivers stated that it was important to ensure that the race pass by without a further major incident. However, a one minute silence was observed.

At the start, few people in the grandstands waved their flags and quietly applauded partly due to the suggestion of Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo. One such spectator waved a United States flag.

At the start, Montoya led Barrichello into the first corner with Michael Schumacher passing his brother Ralf for third. Jenson Button attempted to pass the Jordan of Jarno Trulli but both drivers ended up colliding. Barrichello was on a two-stop strategy in order to fight the faster Williams. After intense pressure, the Brazilian passed the Colombian on lap 8 and started opening up a gap in order to make his strategy work after the pit stops. But his first stop on lap 20 was disastrous because of a problem in the fuel hose. That ruined all the gap he had made on Montoya and also allowed Ralf Schumacher to take second. Barrichello soon passed Ralf and started going after Montoya again, but he didn't have enough laps to challenge him. After 53 laps, Montoya took his first Grand Prix win and the first for a Colombian driver in Formula One. Barrichello finished second, five seconds behind. Ralf finished third ahead of his brother Michael, who had a very quiet race. On the podium ceremony, Montoya wore a black band on his overalls.

Standings after the race

 * Bold text indicates the World Champions.


 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Constructors' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.