The Ferrari F2001 was a cornerstone of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari’s record-setting, multiple Formula 1 World Championship-winning pomp at the turn of the 21st Century. Chassis 211 holds the remarkable distinction of being the only Ferrari aboard which the German won both the Monaco Grand Prix and Drivers’ title in the same season, as the Scuderia clinched the 2001 Constructors’ crown. A two-time Grand Prix winner with a brace of World Championships to its name, chassis 211 is among the most significant of modern-day race cars.

A MASTERFUL DAY IN MONACO

Speaking from a Northampton General Hospital bed with a temporary metal plate in his broken right leg, Michael Schumacher reckoned he was “lucky to be alive” after a rear brake failure sent him careering into a tyre wall on the opening lap of the 1999 British Grand Prix. Fewer than two years later, Sunday afternoon strolls were commonplace for the German, including dominating the 2001 Monaco Grand Prix.

The reigning Formula 1 World Champion appeared utterly unflappable as he drove with metronomic precision around the principality streets to extract an 18-second lead over team-mate Rubens Barrichello, before slowing on the last of 78 laps to stage a showy Ferrari 1-2 finish. A fourth victory of the season in the bag, Schumacher tied Graham Hill’s tally of five Monaco wins to sit just adrift of Ayrton Senna’s record six. 

While the Monaco Grand Prix remains F1’s great race of tradition, having featured in the inaugural 1950 World Championship season, the 2001 edition also proved a race of great attrition. The first to hit strife was David Coulthard. The McLaren driver had snared pole position by 0.201s over Schumacher, who turned in an uncharacteristically messy qualifying. After tripping over the Arrows of Enrique Bernoldi on his first flying lap, he ended the session brushing the barriers at Portier. The resulting rear suspension damage prompted a car change for the race, the German swapping into chassis number 211 on Sunday morning. Aboard a machine that had previously only been shaken down at Fiorano by test driver Luca Badoer and used in the warm-up for the Spanish Grand Prix, Schumacher lined up 2nd. 

Lightning then struck McLaren for a third time in as many races. After the reintroduction of driver aids in Spain in late-April, the team had endured two launch control failures. With other cars having also faltered, the FIA advised those not 100 per cent confident in their systems to abandon them to avoid creating a pile-up on the notoriously narrow grid. 

McLaren persisted, however, to complete its unwelcome hat-trick. As Schumacher screeched away for the formation lap with his F2001 emitting puffs of smoke from the Bridgestone tyres, his front-row rival sat stationary. The onboard systems detected unusual conditions so killed the engine, leaving Coulthard to slam his fists in frustration. With the Scot only able to join up at the back, Schumacher was left on the outside line but with a clear view ahead.

He launched the F2001 strongly to move to the inside of the kinked main straight to cement 1st place into Sainte Devote ahead of two-time champion Mika Häkkinen, with Barrichello holding station behind. As Jos Verstappen then tagged Sauber driver Nick Heidfeld in the cut and thrust of the chasing pack, Schumacher darted to a 1.2s advantage come the end of the first lap. He gained another four tenths at the next time of asking as Häkkinen, contending with McLaren’s habit of carrying more fuel for race starts, seemed more preoccupied with defending from Barrichello’s lighter Ferrari.

It took until lap eight for the Finn to find his groove. He responded to Schumacher’s early speed by setting the fastest lap to bring the gap down to 2s, 1.7s, then 1.5s. Another fastest lap slashed the lead to 1s on lap 12. Then the McLaren driver dramatically dropped more than 7s through the middle sector and ceded position to Barrichello before the chicane. Next time around, he was similarly slow through the tunnel before diving for the pits. The eventual explanation: “I didn’t hit a barrier or anything. [The car] was just pulling very heavily on the right. When it was doing that, it was too risky to continue… an extremely unusual problem”.

To add insult to ignominy for McLaren, Schumacher’s command in the early part of the race was such that by lap 25 he was poised to lap Coulthard. Unable to make progress on the tight street track, Coulthard was stuck behind Bernoldi—much to the chagrin of team boss Ron Dennis—while bidding to recover to a top six spot to maintain a 100 per cent points-scoring record in the first half of the campaign. Exiting the Nouvelle Chicane, he swung off line and lifted to allow Schumacher to sweep by.

Thereafter, Schumacher might have settled into a cruise as he eked out a 14s cushion over Barrichello, who was persevering through cramp in his right foot caused by excessive pedal vibrations and trouble with his heel rest. Instead, Schumacher posted a string of lap records seemingly only to keep himself occupied. “It’s quite tiring to drive in this situation,” he said. “There is no pressure from anyone else, but you go for so long, just worrying about reliability… I had a little chat with Ross [Brawn, Ferrari Technical Director] asking questions about other people, how they were doing in the race and so on. He said, ‘Please keep concentration’.”

With no such mechanical trouble, the wail of the 820 brake horsepower Ferrari type 050 V-10 engine bounced off the high-rise apartment blocks that envelop the famous course as Schumacher danced the F2001 over the bumps and imperfections in the road surface to cement an 18s lead. With so much clear air, Schumacher headed for his splash-and-dash on lap 55. As the tyres were changed and refuelling completed in 7s flat, Barrichello assumed the lead for five tours before he pitted, restoring Schumacher to 1st. 

The F2001 excelled in its highest-downforce trim for Monaco. Lighter than the previous year’s car, Ferrari was comfortably under the 600-kilogram (including driver) minimum weight limit, allowing it to strategically place ballast to optimise set-up from track to track. 

Schumacher ticked off the laps in a smooth and risk-free display. Starting the final tour with a 4.4s lead, he burst out of the tunnel and checked his mirrors. Seeing Barrichello some way behind, he dropped his pace and coasted through the final sector. The two Ferrari’s ultimately split by just 0.431s at the chequered flag in a staged finish, this was a true Scuderia statement.

At the end of a week where Ferrari announced a new contract for Schumacher lasting to the end of 2004, making him the longest-serving driver in the team’s history, the driver emerged from chassis number 211 having barely broken a sweat. Presented the winner’s trophy by Prince Rainer III, he took to the podium and cooly winked at his Maranello colleagues. 

“I was asked why I didn’t jump on the podium,” Schumacher said. “Honestly, I don’t feel that emotional because it has been a very straightforward win.”

A commanding victory in the bag, Schumacher grew his World Championship lead from four to 12 points over Coulthard while Ferrari stretched its advantage ahead of McLaren to 32 points in a bid to retain the Constructors’ crown.

HUNGARY FOR CHAMPIONSHIP HONOURS

Chassis number 211 was due a spell on the sidelines after Monaco, serving only as a spare car. It travelled across the Atlantic a fortnight later to the Canadian Grand Prix, where it was on standby for Schumacher. It was called into action in qualifying, though, after Barrichello clonked the kerb exiting the final corner to bounce chassis 212 into the ‘Wall of Champions’. Needing to hastily adapt to a car optimised for his team-mate, the Brazilian ran a respectable 5th fastest. Schumacher would pilot the F2001 in the warm-up session the following day ahead of a race in which he finished 2nd to his brother Ralf, the pair in turn making history as the first siblings to stand atop the Formula 1 podium.

Schumacher again climbed into chassis 211 for the warm-up runouts ahead of the European and French Grands Prix before returning to F2001 210. But when a niggle in the seven-speed semi-automatic sequential gearbox struck on the parade lap at Hockenheim, 211 was called back into action only to fail to finish owing to a fuel pressure fault.

The car having proved so formidable around Monaco, chassis number 211 returned to front-line action in Hungary. At another venue requiring high downforce levels—by this point in the year, Ferrari had recovered the aerodynamic losses from the 2001 rule change that mandated raised front wing mountings to give the F2001 its distinctive drooped nose—the car was ideally suited. So much so, Schumacher topped the free practice session before crushing Coulthard in qualifying by a colossal 0.8s to snare a 41^st career pole position. 

Schumacher entered the race, round 13 of 17, with a 37-point margin over his McLaren adversary. As chassis 211 had done in Monaco, it sailed to the spoils. Schumacher gradually brought in his tyres during the opening phase before lighting the touch paper and romping to victory. Yet again, Schumacher only relinquished the lead upon visiting the pits as he led for 71 of the 77 laps. With Barrichello having jumped Coulthard at the start for 2nd place before conveniently delaying the McLaren, Schumacher wrapped up the title with almost a quarter of the campaign still to play.

He was crowned World Champion for a fourth time to draw level with Alain Prost’s title tally in addition to tying the French racer’s 51 Grand Prix wins, behind only Juan Manual Fangio. The achievements poured in. Schumacher became the Scuderia’s first back-to-back World Champion since Alberto Ascari in 1952 and 1953 as Ferrari, following on from its 2000 success, claimed consecutive Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles doubles for the first time. Chassis 211 would prove to be the only Ferrari aboard which Schumacher won the Monaco Grand Prix and Drivers’ Championship in the same season.

The car would participate in practice and take Schumacher to 3rd in qualifying for the following Belgian Grand Prix before sliding into a graceful and well-deserved retirement. Meanwhile, Schumacher claimed a further two triumphs after Hungary to bolster his remarkable 2001 record: from 17 starts he chalked 11 pole positions and nine wins. At the end of his 10th full-time F1 campaign, his most composed to date, he had won an astonishing 53 out of 162 races. 

Reflecting on an incredible creation at the year’s end, Brawn stated: “The F2001 is, I believe, the best car we’ve produced since I’ve been at Maranello.”

AN INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY AS CHASSIS 211 RETURNS TO MONACO 

The most sought-after of all F2001s, chassis 211 is offered in running condition and could be the focal point of any collection and the star of high-profile Ferrari shows or demonstration events around the world. Held in the only place befitting of its race- and championship-winning pedigree, the opportunity to acquire this Modena masterpiece is not to be missed.