2001 Japanese Grand Prix

Infobox Grand Prix race report
Type = F1
Country = Japan
Grand Prix = Japan
Official name = XXVII Fuji Television Japanese Grand Prix
date = October 14


Year = 2001
Race_No = 17
Season_No = 17
Location = Suzuka Circuit, Suzuka, Mie, Japan
Course = Permanent racing facility
Course_mi = 3.608
Course_km = 5.807
Distance_laps = 53
Distance_mi = 191.224
Distance_km = 307.771
Weather = Cloudy, Mild, Dry
Pole_Driver = flagicon|Germany Michael Schumacher
Pole_Team = Ferrari
Pole_Time = 1:32.484
Fast_Driver = flagicon|Germany Ralf Schumacher
Fast_Team = Williams-BMW
Fast_Time = 1:36.944
Fast_L

First_Driver = flagicon|Germany Michael Schumacher
First_Team = Ferrari
Second_Driver = flagicon|Colombia Juan Pablo Montoya
Second_Team = Williams-BMW
Third_Driver = flagicon|UK David Coulthard
Third_Team = McLaren-Mercedes

The 2001 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on on October 14, 2001 at the Suzuka Circuit. The race was won by Michael Schumacher who started from pole position.

Häkkinen was running in third place shortly before the end of the race. However, he let his team-mate Coulthard past and took fourth place instead. The reason for this is unknown. It could be speculated that it was his way of repaying Coulthard for what he did in the 1998 Australian Grand Prix and avoiding the press and the inevitable questions about his sabbatical.

Enrique Bernoldi and Alex Yoong started the race from the pit lane. In his last Formula One race, Jean Alesi collided with Kimi Räikkönen. It was Alesi's only retirement of the season.

Following the race, the Prost team went bankrupt and closed down.

Classification

Notes

*Last race: Mika Häkkinen, Jean Alesi, Tomáš Enge
*This race saw Kimi Räikkönen racing for Sauber team for the last time, he would move to McLaren the following year until 2006.
*This was the last race for the Prost and Benetton teams; Prost went bankrupt and closed down after this race; Benetton was renamed as Renault for 2002.
*This was also the last time that the McLaren team raced with Bridgestone tyres until all teams used Bridgestone in 2007; they switched to Michelin tyres from 2002 to 2006.

F1 race report
Name_of_race = Japanese Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 2001
Previous_race_in_season = 2001 United States Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 2002 Australian Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = 2000 Japanese Grand Prix
Next_year's_race = 2002 Japanese Grand Prix