2001 German Grand Prix

Championship standings

Schumacher leads with 84 points, thirty-seven clear of Coulthard. Barrichello is third on 34, Ralf Schumacher fourth on 31, and Häkkinen fifth on 19.

Previous race

At Silverstone, Häkkinen passed Schumacher on lap five and dominated to win his first race of the season. Schumacher finished over thirty seconds back in second and Barrichello was third.

Between-race developments

Heinz-Harald Frentzen has been sacked by Jordan mid-season. Jordan principal Eddie Jordan denied a heated argument caused the split, but Frentzen announced he would take legal action and the matter is heading towards court. Frentzen is replaced by Jordan’s third driver Ricardo Zonta. The Schumacher brothers expressed sympathy for Frentzen.

Schumacher lost control of his Ferrari at the Seconda Variante chicane during mid-season testing at Monza and slid into the barriers; the car came to rest in the tyre barriers. Testing was halted for an hour while repairs were made. Ferrari found the crash was caused by a broken diffuser from riding kerbs, creating a sudden loss of downforce under braking. Schumacher passed a medical check and is declared fit.

Safety car

The new Mercedes SL55 AMG safety car makes its debut at Hockenheim, replacing the CL55 AMG used previously.

Practice

Barrichello led FP1, with Irvine briefly setting the lap record in FP2 before Barrichello recovered. Schumacher was fourth and fifth in the two Friday sessions, hampered by going wide at the chicanes. Ralf Schumacher hit the Sudkurve tyre barrier after going wide in the stadium section in FP2. Schumacher led FP3; Ralf was fastest in the final session. Coulthard beached his McLaren in the Agip corner gravel and spent most of FP4 in the pits.