a reason to stop the race. There's lots of races that would have benefited from being red-flagged to give people a show." He also said he felt consistency was needed but accepted that the organisers had the final say on stopping a race. Villeneuve also agreed with Coulthard's view. A spokesman for the FIA confirmed and defended the red-flag decision and they said it was shown to prevent a larger accident. Michelin Motorsport Director Pierre Dupasquier agreed with the FIA's view and stated he was concerned about cars hitting the strands of debris and catching a puncture. The race result saw Michael Schumacher retain his World Drivers' Championship lead over Coulthard. Race winner Ralf Schumacher, on 41 points, moved to third and Barrichello's second-place demoted him to fourth. McLaren's non-score saw Ferrari extend their World Constructors' Championship lead to fifty-eight points. Williams retained third on 56 points, but were ten points closer to McLaren, with five races of the season remaining. This was the final Formula One event to be held at the high-speed configuration of the Hockenheimring circuit; the circuit was shortened by 1.5 miles and the new layout was used starting from the 2002 season. Race classification Drivers who scored championship points are denoted in bold. Championship standings after the race Bold text indicates who still has a theoretical chance of becoming World Champion. Drivers' Championship standings Constructors' Championship standings Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. References German Grand Prix German Grand Prix Grand Prix July 2001 sports events in Europe