Formula 1
Australian GP McLaren race notes
2000 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - RACE Melbourne, Sunday 12th March 2000 Mika Hakkinen Chassis 01 David Coulthard Chassis 02 T-car Chassis 03 The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the Australian Grand Prix early when David Coulthard retired ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
2000 AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX - RACE
Melbourne, Sunday 12th March 2000
Mika Hakkinen Chassis 01
David Coulthard Chassis 02
T-car Chassis 03
The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the Australian Grand Prix early when David Coulthard retired from second place with a problem with the engine's pneumatic valve system after 11 laps. Mika Hakkinen, who was leading the race from pole position, pulled off the track with a similar problem to his teammate seven laps later.
MIKA HAKKINEN
'Obviously I'm disappointed to leave Australia and the first race of the season without any points, particularly since I didn't score any points here last year either. I was very happy with the car until I was forced to retire with a technical failure. We will identify exactly what caused the problem and work hard to solve it before the next race.'
DAVID COULTHARD
'I made a good start and was feeling comfortable in second place when the engine developed a misfire just after the safety car pulled in. I went into the pits to change the engine mapping but the problem could not be cured and unfortunately that was the end of my Australian Grand Prix.'
RON DENNIS
'This is an understandably disappointing outcome to a race that we were controlling from the front. We can at least be positive about the fact that the failures we experienced in the race are the same as those in practice which means it should not be particularly difficult to find a solution as its in an area where we have never incurred problems before. As is obvious we are quick enough to win. We were conserving fuel because Mika and David were very happy with their cars but as always to finish first -- you first have to finish.'
NORBERT HAUG
'The same problem on the engine's pneumatic valve system, which caused failures yesterday, stopped us today. We have to fix that rapidly in order not only to be quick but to finish races.'
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 Saturday press conference
Next article Dennis doesn''t believe Schumacher, and Fiat-GM tie up
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 ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
10 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Formula 1
Formula 1
United States GP
The figures that show Mercedes has lost its supremacy in F1 2026
Latest news
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Australian GP
2 h
MotoGP Australian GP: Marco Bezzecchi leads Aprilia 1-2-4-5 in Friday Practice
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
9 h
Max Verstappen slams “unacceptable” bumps at Austin F1 track: “It's out of control”
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
United States GP
10 h
Kimi Antonelli ready to "finish the job" as first F1 title chance beckons at US GP
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Talladega II
10 h
How to watch NASCAR at Talladega II: Weekend schedule, start time, entry list, TV
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