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Brazilian GP McLaren press release

BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX: McLAREN RACE REPORT - McLaren's cars were placed second and fourth following the disqualification of the Benetton and Williams cars for fuel irregularities. Had it not been for difficulties with their refuelling rig ...

Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM

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BRAZILIAN GRAND PRIX: McLAREN RACE REPORT

- McLaren's cars were placed second and fourth following the disqualification of the Benetton and Williams cars for fuel irregularities. Had it not been for difficulties with their refuelling rig and "bird-damage" to Mika Hakkinen's car, the Finnish driver would have been placed first. Marlboro McLaren Mercedes celebrated the first Grand Prix of the 1995 season with both cars finishing in the first six. Mika Hakkinen finished fourth after a storming race while Mark Blundell paced himself to gain points after a difficult start. (See above). Both cars and engines ran extremely well in a race which took place on a tough circuit where many cars had to drop out.

Mika Hakkinen: I was very calm at the start. The Ferrari and Benetton in front of me were revving very high. Then the red light went and I managed to take both the Ferraris: that was a great feeling. After that I had the unusual mishap of hitting a bird which damaged the rear wing and caused the car to lose balance. That might have cost me third place in the race. But this was a great start to the season and my thanks must go to the team for doing such an excellent job in such a short time.

Mark Blundell: I had gear selection problems in the warm-up lap. That was traced to the steering wheel which was changed and I was able to make it to the grid in time. As for the start, practice does make perfect and I am afraid that I need alot more practice at race starts. I also had more gear selection problems, especially with the third and that caused me to get boxed in and lose more places. Still, considering the few laps I have had in this car, I am extremely pleased that I managed to pace myself and finish in the first six.

Norbert Haug (Mercedes): I am totally satisfied: it is like a dream result for the first race of the season. The reliability was a great plus and the cars were reasonably quick. There is still much to do as we were one second a lap slower than the pace setters. If we can break that down to half a second for the chassis and half a second for the engine, that is still a good position to be in for the second half of the season.

Ron Dennis: It is very good that both cars finished in the points. Mika drove an exceptional race, even though he was hampered by a rear wing flap failure after he hit a bird. We are exteremely happy with the reliability of the cars and of the engines. The refuelling stops were performed under great pressure and the team performed admirably. This is a sound foundation on which to build the rest of the season.

RACE RESULT (following Benetton & Williams disqualification)

1. G Berger        Ferrari                10pts
2. M Hakkinen        McLaren                 6
3. J Alesi        Ferrari                 4
4. M Blundell        McLaren                  3
5. M Salo        Tyrell                 2
6. A Suzuki        Ligier                 1

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