Formula One 2001 was the 52nd racing season of the FIA. Marked by many line-up changes from the previous season, this season saw Ferrari emerge as the top constructor and Michael Schumacher the top driver beating his nearest rival by a huge margin of 58 points.
The season of Formula One 2001 started on March 14 in Melbourne, Australia with many changes in the driver line-up. The biggest surprise was that of Kimi Raikkonen taking his position next to Nick Heidfield as a full time driver with Sauber. However, his inexperience resulted in some problems regarding the granting of his super-licence. The Formula One 2001 season proper saw more line-up changes. The most striking being the termination of the contract of Heinz-Herald Frentzan with Jordan following the French GP. The situation was bad enough to land up in court, right in between the season. It was Ricarda Zonta who finally took over Frentzan's drive in the German GP after losing his BAR drive to Olivier Panis. It was not bad for Frentzan either who was signed by Prost and took over from Alesi.
The worst incident of the Formula One 2001 season took place at the Belgian GP when Luciano Burti suffered grave injuries, forcing him to sit out for the rest of the season. This incident along with the firing of Thomas Scheckter for kerb-crawling left Jaguar without a single test driver for the entire season.
Michael Schumacher was by far the star driver of the season. Winning nine races and standing second in another five, he lapped up a total of 123 points, far ahead Coulthard, the second best driver in the season. At the end of the Formula One 2001 season Ferrari emerged as the top constructor with 179 points by the time the season closed at Suzuka, Japan on October 14.
