in the early stages of the race due to fuel loads but said that he managed to keep up with them. After the race, Michael Schumacher accused Coulthard of "unsporting behaviour" in the battle for the race lead. The accusation arose from Coulthard's minor collision with the Ferrari driver. Michael Schumacher believed that Coulthard was driving dangerously: "He [Coulthard] ran in a way that he thought it [touching] could happen, and he didn't try to avoid that, that's pretty simple. As he is not fighting for the championship.....I just want to make sure that we don't see teammates helping the drivers fighting for the championship in the way which is not appropriate." Coulthard denied any wrongdoing: "I could have easily pushed him off the circuit. But I didn't and I won't in the future because it is not sporting and it is not the way I do things." There was similar ill-feeling between Trulli and Button after their collision on lap two. Trulli called the Williams driver an "idiot" and accused him of "driving like a crazy". Button defended his actions and suggested that Trulli had moved slightly towards him although he believed he took the right line. He also believed Trulli moved towards him under braking. A total of 15 out of 20 Indianapolis 500 winners praised the inaugural running of the United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. 1985 Indianapolis 500 winner Danny Sullivan heralded the race organisers for their efforts, "Tony George has done a phenomenal job of integrating it into (the schedule) and not losing the integrity of the current Indianapolis 500 track. I think this shows this is the place it (Formula One) should be." 1993 winner and double Formula One World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi believed that it would create a new era of Formula One motor racing in the United States. Fittipaldi's view was backed up by 1998 winner Eddie Cheever who thought the event would inspire more Americans to move into Formula One. The Grand Prix was awarded the Race Promoters' Trophy at the FIA Prize Giving Awards in Monte Carlo in December 2000. As a consequence of the race, Michael Schumacher regained the lead in the Drivers' Championship, on 88 points, taking the Championship lead for the second time in the 2000 season. Häkkinen, who failed to score points, lost the lead in the Drivers' Championship, falling eight points behind