Perfect moment for Ralf

Ralf Schumacher salutes the fans after his German win

German Grand Prix hero Ralf Schumacher has spoken of his delight at finally winning in front of his home crowd at Hockenheim.

After securing victory in a dramatic race, the Williams driver said: "It's a great feeling.

"With a German package, and a German driver in Germany, it's the perfect scenario.

"I've never really finished where I have wanted to finish at this track until today, so it's great to finally have the right package."

We thought we'ld ease away from the rest - but we didn't imagine wel'd go that quickly

Sir Frank Williams

Schumacher dismissed all hope of challenging his older brother Michael for the title, even though he is 43 points behind with 50 points to play for.

"I'm not going for the championship," smiled Ralf, seemingly surprised at being asked such a question.

Williams boss Sir Frank Williams hailed the victory, the younger Schumacher's third of the season.

"Ralf drove a very sensible race. It was a good performance by the whole team.

"In the weekend qualifying and warm-up we thought we'ld ease away from the rest of the field - but we didn't imagine we'ld go that quickly."

Rubens Barrichello thought his second-place finish was a tactical triumph.

Coulthard reflects on a disappointing German Grand Prix

"The two-stop strategy paid off because it meant I was the only car to keep pace with the Williams.

"I was hoping to finish well and if Michael (Schumacher) had done well then I don't know what would have happened."

For Jacques Villeneuve, third place was a surprise after starting from 12th on the grid.

The Canadian former world champion said: "I thought we would be lucky to get in the points, never mind the podium, so this is great."

The Canadian also revealed he was not expecting the race to be restarted after Luciano Burti's Prost ploughed into the back of a slow-moving Michael Schumacher.

He said: "I didn't see what happened - but I was surprised when there was a red flag because we had gone through the debris once.

And his sentiments were shared by David Coulthard, who saw his championship hopes, quite literally, go up in smoke when his engine blew after 27 laps.

The Scot had hoped to benefit from Schumacher's early exit and cut the 37-point gap in the drivers' championship but was instead left questioning the "consistency" of the decision makers.

I've tried not to be cycnical but once I've seen all the facts then maybe it will be clear why they put the red flag out

David Coulthard

"It's so unusual to have a red flag now, especially when a driver is unhurt. I find it - with the limited information I have at the moment - difficult to accept," Coulthard said.

"The red light came on as I went across the debris, so it wasn't as if other cars were backing up.

"And they would have had two and a half minutes minimum to clean the track before we came round again, or clean one side up at least and let us go.

"I feel quite strongly we should have consistency. There are lots of races which would have benefited from having red flags because we all want to see the cars race.

"I said to the team at the time, if you were cynical you would understand the reasons for the red flag.

"I've tried not to be cynical. I haven't had a chance to see all the facts, but once I have seen all the facts then maybe it will be clear why they put the red flag out," Coulthard concluded.