Michael Schumacher and his record-breaking 2001 Hungarian GP weekend - a look back

Michael Schumacher is now considered as the benchmark for greatness in Formula 1. The German, who once hoped to be as successful as the likes of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, eclipsed them all in terms of title and race wins. Schumacher dominated the sport in a way few have in the early 2000s. The image of his red Ferrari streaking away from every other car was an all-too-common sight. Fans of other teams hated the dominance, but Germany and Italy rooted for him all the way. And it was on this very day in 2001 that Schumacher took another step towards establishing his all-time great status.

We look back at the 2001 Hungarian GP, which saw Schumacher seal his fourth world title – and break other records too.

The background

After having broken Ferrari’s 21-year wait for a title in 2000, Schumacher did not rest on his laurels. 2001 saw him dominate the sport in spectacular fashion.

By the time of the Hungarian GP – the 13th of 17 races – he was leading the championship with 84 points. In second place was McLaren’s David Coulthard, who had scored… 47 points.

The maths was simple – to keep the title alive, Coulthard needed a win. Yet it was even simpler for Schumacher – win and the title was his, regardless of where Coulthard or Ralf Schumacher – who had 41 points – finished.

In practice, Schumacher was fastest in all of the first three sessions. Only in the final session did Coulthard find some pace and finish quickest.

Qualifying, however, was a breeze for Schumacher. He took pole with a lap of 1 minutes and 14.059 seconds – more than 0.8 seconds ahead of Coulthard. Schumacher’s Ferrari teammate Rubens Barrichello was third.

How Barrichello finished the race was also important – a one-two finish for Ferrari would seal the constructor’s title, their third on the trot.

Michael Schumacher – record breaker extraordinaire

The race was a typically dominant affair for Ferrari, as was the norm during that time. Michael Schumacher led from start to finish, losing the lead only while pitting.

Barrichello, who overtook Coulthard early in the race, finished second, thus sealing Ferrari’s constructor’s championship win. It was the 11th in the team’s history and the 3rd on the trot.

Schumacher was jubilant after the win. “I love you, I love you! I don’t have the right words for you at the moment. This is simply amazing. We all love it. It is so lovely to work with you guys. I love you all. I love you all,” was his message on team radio after the race.

It was a notable win for Schumacher for two reasons. This was his fourth world title – drawing him level with Alain Prost for number of championships won.

Incidentally, this was also Schumacher’s 51st win in the sport – again drawing him level with Prost. Schumacher knew the magnitude of his achievements and was visibly emotional on the podium.

But this wasn’t to be the end of the German’s dominance that season – let alone in the sport. He won two more races that year, at Belgium and Japan.

He would also seal a further three world driver’s championships in 2002, 2003 and 2004 before retiring from the sport in 2006 – at least until Mercedes came calling in 2010, when he raced for three more years.