2001 Spanish Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher and Coulthard are level on 26 points going into the fifth round. Barrichello is third on 14, Ralf Schumacher fourth on 12, and Heidfeld fifth on 7.

Previous race

At Imola, Ralf Schumacher shot from fourth to the lead before the first corner and was never headed. Coulthard finished second. Schumacher suffered a gearbox glitch and then a puncture that damaged the wheel rim and brake duct, forcing him to retire. Barrichello jumped Häkkinen in the pit stops to take third.

Entrants

Two driver changes take effect for Spain. Luciano Burti was released by Jaguar after learning the team had no intention of keeping him for 2002; Pedro de la Rosa, the team’s reserve driver, takes his seat. Burti joins Prost, replacing Gastón Mazzacane, who was sacked after being judged to have breached a performance clause by falling too far off Jean Alesi’s pace. Prost attempted to sign Jordan test driver Ricardo Zonta as a replacement but he declined. Jenson Button has been nursing a shoulder injury sustained at Malaysia but enters the race after consulting specialists.

Regulation change

Traction control, launch control and fully automatic gearboxes are permitted from this race. The FIA and all teams agreed to legalise the systems to end long-standing suspicions of illegal use, acknowledging that policing methods could not distinguish traction control from legal torque mapping. Teams disputed the legality of the Williams FW23 diffuser ahead of the race; FIA technical delegate Jo Bauer declared it legal.

Practice

Coulthard led both Friday sessions, with Schumacher fastest in FP3 and again overall in FP4. Teams adjusted traction control settings throughout the opening sessions; drivers reported heavy tyre wear on the abrasive surface. Villeneuve’s engine failed at the end of the pit lane exit after attempting a standing start with ten minutes left in FP1, burning through the tarmac. Montoya stopped with an unexplained engine failure in FP2. In the final session, de la Rosa’s power steering failed at the pit lane exit, sending his Jaguar into the barrier and removing the right-front wheel; he was unhurt.