The 2001 Spanish Grand Prix (formally the XLIII Gran Premio Marlboro de Espana) was a Formula One motor race held on 29 April 2001 at the Circuit de Catalunya, Montmeló, Spain. It was the fifth round of the 2001 Formula One season. The 65-lap race was won by Michael Schumacher driving a Ferrari car after starting from pole position. Juan Pablo Montoya finished second driving a Williams car with Jacques Villeneuve third for the BAR team. The race was Schumacher's third win of the season, and the result that he led the Drivers' Championship, eight points ahead of Coulthard and twenty-two ahead of Rubens Barrichello. Ferrari extended their lead in the Constructors' Championship, eighteen points ahead of McLaren, and thirty-two ahead of Williams, with 12 races of the season remaining. This race marked the return of electronic driver aids, which were made legal and reintroduced by the FIA at this race, and this event marked the first time since the 1993 Australian Grand Prix in which the use of traction control, launch control, and fully-automatic gearboxes were all permitted. Formula One cars would not race without these systems again until the 2004 and 2008 Australian Grand Prix, respectively. Background The Grand Prix was contested by 22 drivers, in eleven teams of two. The teams, also known as constructors, were Ferrari, McLaren, Williams, Benetton, BAR, Jordan, Arrows, Sauber, Jaguar, Minardi and Prost. Before the race, Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher and McLaren driver David Coulthard were tied for the lead of the Drivers' Championship with 26 points each. Behind them in the Drivers' Championship, Rubens Barrichello was third on 14 points in the other Ferrari, with Ralf Schumacher and Nick Heidfeld on 12 and 7 points respectively. In the Constructors' Championship, Ferrari were leading on 40 points and McLaren were second on 30 points, with Williams third on 12 points. Following the San Marino Grand Prix on April 15, several teams conducted testing sessions at the Silverstone circuit from April 17–19. Heinz-Harald Frentzen (Jordan) set the fastest time on the first day, while Mika Häkkinen (McLaren) topped the second and final day's running. Sauber, Ferrari, and Minardi opted to test at the Fiorano circuit from April 18–20. Luca Badoer topped the first day's running, while Michael Schumacher was fastest on the second and final days of testing. During the testing sessions and race, several teams tested out traction control, fully-automatic gearboxes, and