Team changes

A total of 30 entries spread across 13 teams were initially entered into the championship with the publication of a drivers' list on 2 December 2000.^[4][5] MySap.com withdrew from the championship after its team principal David Brown left its parent company McLaren and moved to the Jordan team in Formula One.^[6] Car owner and former sports car driver Gabriele Rafanelli withdrew the World Racing Team (WRT) from the series to focus on the American Le Mans Series operation, tired of F3000 due to a lack of financing and driver stability.^[7] European Formula Racing ended its partnership with the Arrows Formula One team, causing team owner Paul Stoddart to re-brand the team European Minardi F3000.^[1][8] Fortec Motorsport were included on the initial entry list before the team withdrew from the championship because they could not locate any suitable drivers to sign and they wanted to focus on other junior series.^[9] Prost Grand Prix changed the name of its team from Gauloises Formula to F3000 Prost Junior Team after they lost sponsorship backing from the tobacco company Gauloises.^[1][10]

Driver changes

The 2001 season saw several driver changes. Defending series champion Bruno Junqueira left the Petrobras Junior Team and moved to Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) to drive for Chip Ganassi Racing (CGR).^[11] His teammate Jaime Melo left the team to join Durango on a one-year contract with the option to extend by another season afterwards,^[12] partnering series debutant Gabriele Lancieri, who progressed from the Italian Formula 3000 Championship.^[13] Italian series champion Ricardo Sperafico drove the second Petrobras car;^[14] his twin brother Rodrigo Sperafico moved from the same championship to join Coloni and partnered Fabrizio Gollin.^[15] Fabrice Walfisch, who drove for Coloni and later Astromega, joined the European Touring Car Championship in 2001,^[1] and André Couto left the series to drive in a Japan-based series.^[16] Nordic Racing employed Tomáš Enge from MySap.com to replace the outgoing Kevin McGarrity.^[1][17]

Team Astromega changed their entire line-up. They signed the German Formula Three (GF3) champion Giorgio Pantano to drive his first season in the championship and the WRT driver Ananda Mikola joined him.^[18] Driver Fernando Alonso went to Formula One to join Minardi,^[19] and Marc Goossens left the team.^[20] DAMS also had a new line-up in its team. Franck Montagny switched to the World Series by Nissan and Kristian Kolby competed in the American Indy Lights.^[21][22] The 1997 Barber Dodge Pro Series champion Derek Hill and the Gauloises Formula racer Sébastien Bourdais replaced them.^[22][23] Antonio García graduated from the World Series by Nissan to join the Red Bull Junior Team to pair with GF3 driver Patrick Friesacher.^[24][25] He replaced Enrique Bernoldi, who moved to the Arrows Formula One team.^[26] Super Nova Racing signed Mark Webber from European Arrows and Mário Haberfeld from Fortec.^[27] European Minardi employed David Saelens from Super Nova,^[28] to partner Andrea Piccini, who left Kid Jensen Racing (KJR) after two seasons.^[29]

Nicolas Minassian left Super Nova and the series to join CART as teammate to Junqueira at CGR.^[30] KJR released Bas Leinders and he moved to KTR to partner Joël Camathias, who transferred from the World Series by Nissan.^[31] Financial concerns meant Jeffrey van Hooydonk was unable to secure a seat in the championship and he went to drive in Belcar; his compatriot Yves Olivier and Christijan Albers of European Arrows entered the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters.^[32][33] Italian F3000 competitors Gabriele Varano and Nicolás Filiberti joined the championship by signing for the Prost Junior Team.^[1][10] KJR employed the Formula Palmer Audi driver Justin Keen and Yann Goudy from Italian F3000 to fill the seats vacated by Piccini and Leinders.^[1][34]

Technical changes

Cars were required to have their wheels attached to their primary structures by means of a single tether for each wheel to prevent them from becoming detached in case of an accident.^[47][51] They also had 2 mm (0.079 in) thick anti-intrusion panels installed onto the monocoque sides.^[51]

Sporting changes

Teams who finished 12th or higher in the 2000 International Formula 3000 Teams' Championship were granted automatic entry into the 2001 series. The final three slots were allocated to new entries or those who had won national Formula 3000 series. Had there been not enough entries via that process, the final three teams in the 2000 season received invitations to compete in the order they finished in the championship.^[47][51] The time for a practice session was lengthened,^[47] two 45-minute qualifying sessions held in late afternoon took place the day before the event and the overall race distance was decreased to 150 km (93 mi).^[51]

Pre-season

The first official pre-season test took place at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari from 14 to 15 February 2001.^[52] The two days saw Wilson lap fastest at 1 minute, 37.850 seconds and he later damaged the rear of his car in a collision with a tyre wall.^[53] Fernando Alonso helped Minardi's Formula 3000 team with chassis setup and provided its two drivers with a performance benchmark.^[54] A second official pre-season test was held at the Silverstone Circuit between 12 and 13 March 2001.^[55] Bourdais led overall for DAMS with a 1 minute, 36.326 seconds lap in variable weather.^[56]

Opening rounds

The season began in Brazil.^[47][46] Brazilian drivers took the first four positions in qualifying with Melo claiming pole position for the first time in his career from Ricardo Sperafico, Rodrigo Sperafico and Pizzonia.^[57] The stewards neutralised the race on lap one with the safety car to clear the track when Pizzonia swerved to avoid Ricardo Sperafico's vehicle; the latter swerved to avoid other competitors, causing him to spin and crash into the barrier at the bottom of the Senna S chicane. Melo slowed sharply and allowed Pizzonia, Rodrigo Sperafico and Enge to pass him under safety car conditions.^[48][58] At the lap four restart, Wilson overtook Melo into the first corner,^[48] and moved into first when Pizzonia, Rodrigo Sperafico and Enge each incurred ten-second stop-and-go penalties for their earlier transgressions.^[59] Wilson led the rest of the race to win in motor racing for the first time since the 1998 Formula Palmer Audi,^[60] and was the first British driver to win in International Formula 3000 since Jamie Davies won at the Autodromo di Pergusa in the 1997 season.^[59] He lost control of his car afterwards and avoided hitting the pit lane wall.^[48][60] Webber, the pre-season favourite,^[61] took second from Melo in third, who had engine problems.^[58] The stewards later imposed a 25-second time penalty on Webber for passing David Saelens before the start/finish line after the safety car entered the pit lane for the restart. He moved from second to seventh.^[62]

Webber took his first Formula 3000 pole position in qualifying for the Imola round by leading both sessions with Patrick Friesacher second and Darren Manning third.^[63] He led every lap of the race to take his first win of the season after he took painkillers to ease the effects of a broken rib.^[64] The victory drew him to within one point of Wilson.^[65] A crash for Varano after losing control on the kerbs on the exit of the Tamburello chicane caused him to become dizzy and prompted the safety car's deployment. In an accordion effect behind the safety car, Hill made contact with the rear of Calcagni's car, who had turned to the right to avoid hitting slower cars ahead of him.^[65][66] Both drivers avoided hitting marshals tending to Varano.^[65] Nordic locked out the front row for the first time at the following race in Spain with Wilson on pole position and his teammate Enge second.^[67] Enge passed Wilson at the start of the race at the first turn and maintained the lead throughout a processional round for his second Formula 3000 victory. Enge passed Webber for second in the drivers' championship and was one point behind his teammate Wilson. An error from Wilson allowed Bas Leinders to pass him for second.^[68]

The A1 Ring in Austria hosted the fourth round of the 2001 championship.^[46][47] Wet weather affected the second qualifying session and a lap from Sébastien Bourdais in the first session was fast enough to earn him the second pole position of his career.^[69] A first-lap collision between Bourdais and Friesacher at Castrol Kurve corner caused eight cars to retire and allowed Leinders to move into the lead, just as Wilson progressed to second. After a safety car period to clear the area, Wilson passed Leinders on the outside on the fifth lap and he held off the latter to win for the second time in International Formula 3000. The victory further extended Wilson's championship lead to seven points over his Nordic teammate Enge.^[70][71] During qualifying at Monaco Webber took a second pole position of 2001 despite crashing at the outside of La Rascasse turn late in the second session in a desire to better his lap.^[72][73] Webber held off Wilson at the start of the race and led every lap for his second victory of the year by eight-tenths of a second. Webber thus overtook Enge for second position in the drivers' championship. Two safety car periods for a first lap five-car accident at a hairpin and for separate crashes involving Darren Manning and Antônio Pizzonia slowed the race.^[74]

Mid-season

Heading into round six, Wilson led Webber in second by eleven points and was another two points in front of the third-placed Enge.^[74] Pole position for the Nürburgring event was taken by Enge after a duel with Webber and Ricardo Sperafico. Wilson was down in seventh place after he ran wide at a chicane.^[75] Enge was unchallenged throughout a noncompetitive race and achieved his second win of the season. The result moved Enge past Webber and into second position in the championship. He stood three points behind his teammate Wilson, who spun into a gravel trap and subsequently retired with a sheared peg on the front-left wheel.^[76] One week later at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours in France,^[46] Enge carried his form over from the Nürburgring round to qualify on pole position for the second race in succession on his second lap of the session with no slower traffic to impede him. Webber, Patrick Friesacher and Wilson were in positions two to four.^[77][78] Webber overtook Enge at the first corner to take the lead and Wilson passed Freisacher for third position. Webber pulled away from the rest of the field to claim victory and drew to within one championship point of Wilson, who finished second after Enge ran wide at a hairpin on the final lap.^[79]

Enge took another pole position when he set the fastest lap, ahead of his teammate Wilson and Bourdais at the Silverstone round in the United Kingdom. A major airborne accident at Becketts corner involving Saelens in qualifying caused a long stoppage to allow for him to be extricated from his car with FIA doctor Sid Watkins supervising.^[80] Saelens was transported to Northampton General Hospital and was withdrawn from the race with ninth vertebrae and wrist ligament damage.^[81] In the race, the Nordic cars of Enge and Wilson collided at Stowe turn on the fourth lap. Wilson ran wide onto the gravel and this elevated Bourdais to second position. A brief rain shower on lap nineteen caused Enge to go onto the gravel at Copse corner and Bourdais took the lead. He held off Wilson to take his first Formula 3000 victory as Enge's engine cut out on the final lap and gave his compatriot Antônio Pizzonia third.^[82][83]

Final rounds

Ricardo Sperafico beat Wilson by 0.071 seconds to achieve the first pole position of his career in the next round at the Hockenheimring.^[84] Sperafico had excess wheelspin off the line; he kept the lead by blocking Wilson, who lost second place to his teammate Enge. Wilson and Pizzonia subsequently took first and second before the latter passed the former on lap three. Pizzonia lead the rest of the race to win for the first time in the series. A second-place result for Wilson and a non-finish for Webber after hitting the rear of Darren Manning's car increased his lead to ten points in the championship.^[85] The season resumed three weeks later at the Hungaroring in Hungary.^[46][47] Wilson emerged ahead of Webber in qualifying with pole position,^[86] and broke away from the start as Webber had less grip and fell behind Enge and Mauricio. Enge delayed Webber until he made an error at the final turn and the latter passed him. This resulted in contact between Enge and Webber and the latter was imposed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty dropping him to eleventh. With four laps remaining, Webber beached his car upon a kerb and promoted Bourdais to third.^[87] Wilson took his third career victory with a margin of 51⁄2 seconds over Mauricio.^[88] He extended his championship lead over Webber to 20 points and Nordic won the Teams' Championship with two races to go.^[87]

Going into the Spa-Francorchamps round, Webber needed to win the final two races and for Wilson not to score any points to win the drivers' championship on countback with more race victories. Wilson required a sixth-place result in either race to secure the title regardless of where Webber finished.^[89] Petrobras took the first two positions in qualifying with Ricardo Sperafico on pole position and his teammate Antônio Pizzonia second. Wilson and Webber could only manage third and fifth respectively.^[90] The race began in inclement weather and the safety car was used for two laps to allow competitors to familiarise themselves with the wet track.^[91] An accident for Webber at Eau Rouge corner early on saw his car destroyed and him taken to a hospital in Verviers for a precautionary x-ray scan that discovered knee ligament damage and no fractured bones.^[92] Wilson finished second to clinch the drivers' title with one race remaining as Sperafico led every lap of the event to achieve his first career win.^[91] Wilson was the first British driver in history to win the International Formula 3000 Championship.^[93]

At the season-ending Autodromo Nationale di Monza race, a deluge caused localised flooding and strong winds blowing natural debris onto the circuit forced the postponement of qualifying.^[94][95] Qualifying was reformatted as a solitary 20-minute session on Saturday afternoon and the race began half an hour later than scheduled.^[96] Pizzonia qualified on pole position for the first time in his career and he was joined on the grid's front row by Wilson in second.^[97] The start was aborted twice and delayed for 23 minutes because several drivers stalled their cars on the grid. Pantano emerged a Formula 3000 race winner for the first time in his career after he overcame being put onto the grass by Pizzonia at the start, a manoeuvre which entailed a ten-second stop-and-go penalty for the latter. Wilson went on to finish second and Ricardo Sperafico placed third.^[98]

Wilson finished on 71 points with Webber and Enge tied for second position with 39 points each.^[3] He eclipsed the record of Juan Pablo Montoya from the 1998 season with the most points accumulated in an International Formula 3000 season, which he kept until Björn Wirdheim improved on it en route to winning the 2003 championship.^[99][100]

Points system

Points were awarded to the top six classified finishers in every race, using the following structure:^[101]

Drivers' Championship

More information Pos, Driver ...

Pos Driver INT IMO CAT A1R MON NÜR MAG SIL HOC HUN SPA MNZ Points 1 Justin Wilson 1 6 3 1 2 Ret 2 2 2 1 2 2 71 2 Mark Webber 7 1 7 Ret 1 2 1 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret 39 3 Tomáš Enge 12 3 1 3 7 1 3 5 5 11 4 39 4 Sébastien Bourdais 3 Ret 11 Ret 4 8 6 1 4 3 6 9 26 5 Ricardo Sperafico Ret 14 19 Ret 5 3 13 11 3 7 1 3 24 6 Antônio Pizzonia 9 4 6 4 Ret 6 10 3 1 Ret 8 Ret 22 7 Bas Leinders 10 9 2 2 Ret 11 Ret 8 6 6 7 4 17 8 Ricardo Mauricio 6 5 Ret 7 17 2 3 6 14 9 Giorgio Pantano Ret 11 9 15 Ret 21 8 Ret 7 5 11 1 12 10 David Saelens 4 Ret 5 9 Ret 4 9 DNS Ret 5 10 11 Darren Manning 8 2 20 Ret Ret 7 5 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 12 Jaime Melo Jr. 2 Ret 21 5 11 13 14 12 12 8 13 Patrick Friesacher Ret 5 8 Ret 13† 10 4 19 11 4 10 Ret 8 14 Stéphane Sarrazin 3 4 15 Mario Haberfeld Ret Ret 4 Ret 12† Ret 7 15 Ret Ret 19 13 3 16 Marc Goossens Ret 5 7 2 17 Joël Camathias 5 15 18 Ret Ret 18 17 17 9 13 15 15 2 18 Andrea Piccini 11 Ret 13 6 Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 8 1 19 Fabrizio Gollin 6 8 17 Ret 8 20 12 10 Ret Ret 12 10 1 20 Rodrigo Sperafico 13 7 22 8 9 12 15 14 8 0 21 Dino Morelli 7 Ret Ret 20 Ret 0 22 Gabriele Lancieri Ret 13 Ret 12 Ret 14 13 10 9 9 14 Ret 0 23 Jonathan Cochet 16 11 9 15 0 24 Derek Hill 14 Ret 16 13 Ret 15 16 Ret Ret 12 9 12 0 25 Viktor Maslov Ret 10 12 11 10 17 18 16 14 Ret 18 14 0 26 Antonio García Ret 16 10 Ret 10 16 11 0 27 Nicolás Filiberti 20 17 14 10 0 28 Justin Keen 16 12 0 29 Zsolt Baumgartner 19 Ret 18 16 Ret 13 17 0 30 Enrico Toccacelo 13 Ret 17 Ret 0 31 Gabriele Varano 15 Ret 15 14 Ret 0 32 Norberto Fontana 14 Ret Ret 0 33 Jaroslav Janiš 16 0 34 Ananda Mikola 17 Ret 23 0 35 Yann Goudy 18 0 – Gianluca Calcagni Ret 0 – Tomas Scheckter Ret 0 Pos Driver INT IMO CAT A1R MON NÜR MAG SIL HOC HUN SPA MNZ Points Source:[2][3]

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold — Pole Italics — Fastest lap

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^† Driver did not finish the Race but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Teams' Championship

More information Pos, Team ...

Pos Team Nº INT IMO CAT A1R MON NÜR MAG SIL HOC HUN SPA MNZ Points 1 Coca-Cola Nordic Racing 9 1 6 3 1 2 Ret 2 2 2 1 2 2 110 10 12 3 1 3 7 1 3 5 5 11 4 16 2 Petrobras Junior Team 3 9 4 6 4 Ret 6 10 3 1 Ret 8 Ret 46 4 Ret 14 19 Ret 5 3 13 11 3 7 1 3 3 Super Nova Racing 1 7 1 7 Ret 1 2 1 4 Ret Ret Ret Ret 42 2 Ret Ret 4 Ret 12 Ret 7 15 Ret Ret 19 13 4 DAMS 21 3 Ret 11 Ret 4 8 6 1 4 3 6 9 26 22 14 Ret 16 13 Ret 15 16 Ret Ret 12 9 12 5 Red Bull Junior Team F3000 17 Ret 5 8 Ret 13 10 4 19 11 4 10 Ret 22 18 Ret 16 10 Ret 6 5 Ret 7 17 2 3 6 6 KTR 25 10 9 2 2 Ret 11 Ret 8 6 6 7 4 19 26 5 15 18 Ret Ret 18 17 17 9 13 15 15 7 Team Astromega 5 17 Ret 23 7 Ret Ret 20 Ret 13 Ret 17 Ret 12 6 Ret 11 9 15 Ret 21 8 Ret 7 5 11 1 8 European Minardi F3000 7 4 Ret 5 9 Ret 4 9 DNS Ret 2 Ret 5 11 8 11 Ret 13 6 Ret 9 Ret Ret Ret 8 Ret 8 9 Arden Team Russia 14 8 2 20 Ret Ret 7 5 6 Ret Ret Ret Ret 9 15 Ret 10 12 11 10 17 18 16 14 Ret 18 14 10 Durango Formula 29 Ret 13 Ret 12 Ret 14 13 10 9 9 14 Ret 8 30 2 Ret 21 5 11 13 14 12 12 10 16 11 11 F3000 Prost Junior Team 11 20 17 14 10 3 16 11 9 15 14 Ret Ret 4 12 15 Ret 15 14 Ret 19 Ret 18 16 Ret 13 17 12 Coloni F3000 19 6 8 17 Ret 8 20 12 10 Ret Ret 12 10 3 20 13 7 22 8 9 12 15 14 8 Ret 5 7 13 Kid Jensen Racing 27 16 12 0 28 18 Ret Source:[2][3]

Colour Result Gold Winner Silver Second place Bronze Third place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Withdrew (WD) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Did not arrive (DNA) Excluded (EX) Bold — Pole Italics — Fastest lap

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