2001 Italian Grand Prix Race Report
tenths up on Barrichello, the Ferrari began to make in-roads into the Colombian's lead. Happy to play the waiting game, Schumacher M continued 1.1s behind in 3rd. Behind the German, De la Rosa fell back to ninth, Jos Verstappen, Raikkonen and Alesi all getting by the Jaguar with ease while at the tail of the field - having pitted for a new nose as a result of his collision with Trulli, Button was out with a blown engine. Two laps later, Coulthard was out - his Mercedes engine expiring and retiring the Scot from 5th position. "It's been a difficult weekend for McLaren," he said. "We had a few problems along the way, but still we hoped to get points."
Lap 9 and coming under increasing pressure from Barrichello, Montoya made a mistake at the second chicane. Having to correct his line on the exit, the Colombian was slow on the power, and as they approached the first Lesmo, Barrichello took the lead to euphoric delight from the tifosi. Seemingly on a lighter fuel load, the Brazilian was soon pulling away and by lap 13, his lead was up to 5 seconds; with Montoya now trying to stave off the advances of Schumacher's Ferrari.
Traditionally, Monza has always been a one-stop race, so it was somewhat of a surprise to see Schumacher entering the pits on lap 18. Unable to find a way past Montoya's Williams, the German came in and having taken on fuel and a new set of Bridgestone's, emerged in 4th place. Team mate Barrichello was in a lap later and while Michael's stop was routine, the Brazilian's was anything but. Needing to switch fuel hoses, the frantic Ferrari mechanics set about the car and after 16 seconds, Barrichello re-joined in 3rd place - still ahead of Schumacher M.
Running ninth, Hakkinen was out a tour later with gearbox problems. Having announced on Friday, that he will be taking a sabbatical next year, the Finn was disappointed with the outcome of his race. "The pile up at the first corner after the start caused me to go straight on at the chicane, which cost me several positions and I came out 13th." Mika declared. "This was extremely disappointing as us drivers had discussed that we should be particularly careful at the start, as the first chicane is so tight. Then on lap 19 I got stuck in fifth gear and as I
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