2001 Belgian Grand Prix Race Report
Rounding out the top six, Rubens Barrichello claimed two points for Ferrari, yet the Brazilian was understandably more concerned with the health of fellow countryman Burti. "I am not exactly feeling great right now and it has nothing to do with the race, as I am referring to what happened to my friend Luciano. At the end I was able to pick up two important points for the championship but today, the balance of my car was not perfect." Veteran Jean Alesi took sixth in only his second race for Jordan having staved off the advances of Ralf Schumacher in the closing laps. "This is such a good result for me and the team, " announced the French-Scicilian. "When I came to Jordan, I knew that the team really wanted to increase its points and I put myself under a lot of pressure to achieve this for the team. To score points in Formula One at the moment is very hard, but the team has made a good step forward in terms of reliability and I hope that my first point here today for Jordan is only a starting point."
Rain greeted the drivers shortly before Saturday's qualifying session began, and with the track drying out slowly, an unusual grid was expected - and an hour later, so it proved. Though most were undecided which way to go concerning tyre choice, 'Intermediates' were the favoured option early on, yet it was not until the dying moments of the session - when the circuit was deemed good enough for dry tyres, that Sunday's grid was settled. With seconds remaining, Montoya wrestled his Williams around the 4.56 mile circuit in 1:52.072 seconds, and in doing so, secured his second pole of the year. "The team was brilliant," announced the Colombian. "I think everybody did a fantastic job and the car was working very well on the dry tyres. We did the first lap to get us on the grid - then went out to get our time on dry Michelin's and it really worked." Unable to match the pace of his team mate, Ralf Schumacher lined up second with 1:52.959s, and moved to praise his Williams team and describe the ever changing weather. "No doubt the team can be very satisfied with today's result," the German said. "It is always under these conditions that you need a bit of confidence that the car is going well, and
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