The 2001 Austrian Grand Prix (officially the Grosser A1 Preis von Österreich 2001)[3] was a Formula One motor race held before 76,000 spectators at the A1-Ring in Spielberg, Styria, Austria on 13 May 2001.

Michael Schumacher finished second after Barrichello complied with team orders from Ferrari to cede the position on the final lap.

Ferrari continued to lead McLaren by 18 points in the World Constructors' Championship and Williams maintained third – both Montoya and Ralf Schumacher failed to finish due to mechanical problems – with eleven races left in the season.

The 2001 Austrian Grand Prix was the 6th of the 17 motor races of the 2001 Formula One World Championship and the 24th edition of the event as part of the series.

[1][4] Redesigned by Hermann Tilke to comply with FIA Grade 1 Circuit License requirements for its Formula One return in 1997, the track is of average length and provides very few low-speed sections.

[9] At the previous round in Spain, Coulthard stalled on the starting grid and McLaren team principal Ron Dennis accused him of "brain fade", a remark he later retracted.

[10] The Daily Telegraph columnist Sarah Edworthy said the Austrian Grand Prix was where Coulthard had to demonstrate no driver errors.

[11] Michael Schumacher said his focus was to respond to McLaren's challenge and hoped to be competitive in Austria, "Last year I got pushed out of the race at the first corner which was very disappointing.

[14] Jean Alesi's Prost had an engine failure on the start/finish straight,[14] and Jordan driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen had his running curtailed with a power steering problem.

His teammate Häkkinen placed second and Barrichello was the highest-placed Ferrari in third, having been the fastest driver late in the session until both of the McLaren vehicles set their quickest laps.

[17] Verstappen later spun into the final turn gravel trap and his Arrows teammate Bernoldi lost control of his car returning to the pit lane.

[18] With a time of 1 minute and 10.094 seconds, Michael Schumacher was fastest in the third practice session, ahead of Williams' Juan Pablo Montoya, Häkkinen, Barrichello, Coulthard, Frentzen, Panis, Villeneuve and the Sauber duo of Räikkönen and Heidfeld.

[21] Häkkinen, Montoya, his teammate Ralf Schumacher, Frentzen, Jarno Trulli, Heidfeld and Villeneuve completed the top ten.

[20] Verstappen's right-rear suspension failed at the double left Niki Lauda bend turn, spearing into a gravel trap and a wall beside the track.

[23] As the circuit was low on grip due to a lack of usage, drivers waited for 21 minutes before driving on it,[24] leading to heavy traffic.

A minor loss of water pressure in his engine at turn three and on the back straight slowed his teammate Häkkinen in eighth on his final attempt.

[23][26] Ninth-placed Räikkönen was slowed by Villeneuve on a timed lap and had a recurrence of gearbox shifting problems from the prior two practice sessions.

Frentzen in 11th accidentally engaged his pit lane limiter at his first attempt and his best lap was on his second timed run before his car's balance deteriorated.

[23] Jaguar's Eddie Irvine swerved into the pit lane to avoid hitting Alesi's spun car on his first timed lap and traffic left him in 13th.

[26] Bernoldi in 15th was ahead of his teammate Verstappen 16th after a spin at the final corner, which caused Michael Schumacher to swerve into a gravel trap.

[32] All drivers fine-tuned their race set-ups against the weather of the time, set laps in their spare cars and Jaguar and Williams tested their launch control systems.

Coulthard and Frentzen were second and third and the Ferrari pair of Barrichello and Michael Schumacher fourth and fifth, the latter stopped at the exit of the pit lane with fire erupting from the rear of his car.

[36] At the start, both Jordan cars of Frentzen, Trulli, Häkkinen's McLaren and Heidfeld's Sauber were stationary on the grid with launch control system faults.

[42] On the 14th lap, Trulli was shown a black flag to inform him he had been disqualified from the race because he ignored the red light to indicate that the pit lane was closed and going into the queue behind the safety car.

[29][37] Out of respect for Paul Morgan, the managing director of Ilmor Engineering, who was killed in a plane crash at the Sywell Aerodrome in Northampton the day before the race, Coulthard refrained from spraying champagne on the podium.

"[53] Michael Schumacher said he executed a manual start after a launch control system fault and that his strategy after the collision with Montoya was to wait until the pit stops, adding, "I didn't have much to lose.

[54] Alonso called it "a strange decision" since it was early in the season and the technical director of McLaren Adrian Newey felt it went against Formula One's moral principles.

"[56] The finishing order outside of the top three remained provisional because BAR lodged an appeal with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA)-aligned Royal Automobile Club over its belief Räikkönen overtook Panis under yellow flag conditions necessitated for Button's retirement on lap 66.

[49][57] It came about when the team's protest to the stewards was rejected following a review of video footage resulting in the conclusion there was no incident since it was unreported by track marshals.

[58] Craig Pollock, the BAR team owner, explained the appeal was lodged because the constructor sought clarity over the regulation preventing drivers from passing under yellow flag conditions.