Formula 1
Australian GP McLaren race notes
The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the first race of the season with David Coulthard claiming a strong second place to open his and the team's 2001 Formula One World Championship challenge. Mika Hakkinen's race finished on lap 25 when his ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the first race of the season with David Coulthard claiming a strong second place to open his and the team's 2001 Formula One World Championship challenge. Mika Hakkinen's race finished on lap 25 when his car had a front right suspension failure which caused him to go off the track at Stewart corner.
The event was overshadowed by the death of a Marshall and its difficult to reflect on the race in such circumstances. The entire West McLaren Mercedes team would like to express their deepest sympathy to the family of the Marshall who lost his life whilst performing his duties during the race.
@DAVID COULTHARD
`I was quicker off the line than the cars in front of but my front wheels got caught between their rear wheels but fortunately I got away without any damage. I`m happy with my performance because I was able to overtake Trulli and Ralf Schumacher to claim fourth and then get past Barrichello on the outside to take third which became second after Mika's retirement. Having to start from the third row I'm pleased that I managed to get six points today and we now have to further improve the performance of the car before Malaysia where we should be even better.'
MlKA HAKKlNtN
`Something broke on the car, which caused me to go off the track and hit the barrier at the entry of Stewart. I hit the brakes and then last control of the car. I went to the medical centre for a check up as something hit my helmet but I'm fine. It was a shame as we were looking good and in hindsight our strategy might have given us a race win.`
RON DENNIS
`We had the right strategy far the race and Mika was wall positioned to optimise this advantage until his accident which was caused by front right suspension failure. David drove a great race and hi6 overtaking manoeuvre to claim second was superb - combined with a well executed race strategy his result was well deserved.'
NORBERT HAUG
`Mika's strong performance was unrewarded when his accident prevented him from ~challenging for the lead. David drove a strong race and performed well overtaking three cars. Both drivers were scheduled to have their pit stop late which we are convinced was the right strategy. We are happy with the reliability of the engine following the teething problems we had to overcome after Barcelona testing and we are definitely heading in the right direction.'
-McLaren-
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Australian GP Burti on accident
Next article Australian GP death linked to mechanical failure
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Mika Hakkinen
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
Formula 1
Formula 1
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
Mika Hakkinen reveals why McLaren rivalry with David Coulthard never boiled over
Formula 1
Formula 1
Dutch GP
Mika Hakkinen reveals why McLaren rivalry with David Coulthard never boiled over
Mika Hakkinen urges McLaren not to "rock the boat" with Max Verstappen move
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mika Hakkinen urges McLaren not to "rock the boat" with Max Verstappen move
More from
Mercedes
Kimi Antonelli hails "step forward" at United States GP as Mercedes chips away at upgrades
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
4 h
Kimi Antonelli hails "step forward" at United States GP as Mercedes chips away at upgrades
George Russell reveals he lost sleep over his own driving, not the F1 championship
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
17 h
George Russell reveals he lost sleep over his own driving, not the F1 championship
Latest news
"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
27 min
"Just undriveable" – Isack Hadjar looking for answers after "massive" struggles in Austin practice
Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
56 min
Maverick Vinales: “If I stay at home, I don’t get paid”
The unexpected problem Honda encountered despite its second F1 power unit upgrade
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
1 h
The unexpected problem Honda encountered despite its second F1 power unit upgrade
MotoGP Australian GP: Full starting grid as four riders forced out of Phillip Island race
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
1 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Full starting grid as four riders forced out of Phillip Island race
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe