In hindsight, it was a clinical display by the men in red. But as the season progressed, never did it feel as though Ferrari were running away with things, Williams 1992-style. That Rubens Barrichello collected 3rd in the championship with no poles, no wins, no fastest laps, and 6 fewer points than he scored in 2000 is testimony to that. In the face of the under-performing McLaren challenge, and the ominously strengthening Williams onslaught, Ferrari simply won by being more competitive more consistently, over a more sustained period of time.

As F1 becomes ever more professional too, it's no surprise that the 2001 field was stratified like never before, right from the start. Unlike in 2000, when apart from McLaren and Ferrari the rest of the field was incredibly close, for most of 2001 there was the clear leading three teams, the trio in pursuit, the group of perennial midfielders, and the usual suspects at the back. But generally there were enough interlopers to keep things exciting, and the odd shower (or even a monsoon) could be guaranteed to upset the order sufficiently.

You could also mention the spectacle of a few decent crashes, but really in 2001 they were no laughing matter. Surely the increased speeds due to the renewed tyre war was a factor. Schumacher himself suffered two massive accidents, Luciano Burti and Kimi Raikkonen also had two big ones each, and Jacques Villeneuve's horror smash in Melbourne killed a marshal. That no driver was seriously hurt was a miracle. Suffice to say that F1 was relieved when Burti escaped from his Spa crash alive, let alone virtually uninjured.

Finally, 2001 was a year of hellos and goodbyes. We bid farewell to the likes of Jean Alesi, Jo Ramirez, and of course Murray Walker, and perhaps also Mika Hakkinen. But we also discovered a remarkable trio in the form of Raikkonen, Juan-Pablo Montoya and Fernando Alonso that seems set to be the backbone of F1's next superstars, especially since Jenson Button disappointed badly this year. Add to that the resurgence of Williams, and the undoubted improvement of Renault, and 2002 can't roll around fast enough.

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10.	A real battle for the World Championship.
9.	Replays from the Suzuka world-feed director.
8.	Luca Badoer in the Ferrari at Indianapolis.
7.	Jean Alesi on the Suzuka podium.
6.	Nick Heidfeld getting the McLaren seat for 2002.
5.	Minardi scoring some points.
4.	Prost GP renamed "Diniz" for 2002.
3.	Jenson Button sacked by Briatore in favour of Mark Webber.
2.	Real fisticuffs between Ralf Schumacher and JPM.

And the Number 1 Thing We Didn't See In 2001 ...

1.

A Rahal v Lauda drive-off in the R2 for control of Jaguar.

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