British GP McLaren qualifying notes

The West McLaren Mercedes team will start tomorrow's British Grand Prix from second and third positions after Mika Hakkinen set a time of 1:20.529 and David Coulthard did 1:20.927. Mika's time was 0.082 of a second from pole position.

MIKA HAKKINEN
'I'm pleased to be back at the front and also to be so close to pole position. What makes it even better is that the car is performing well and is extremely enjoyable to drive. I'm confident for the race tomorrow as we have found a consistent performance from the car and the tyres are working well. Today I was able to drive flat out and the front end worked really well and I could push hard.'

David Coulthard
'It would have been nice to have been on the front row for my home grand prix, but it was an extremely close session. The changing track conditions we have experienced so far here at Silverstone made it difficult for me to find the optimum balance. I hope it stays dry tomorrow particularly because the spectators deserve a dry and sunny race.'

Ron Dennis
'Mika and David both did a good job in today's qualifying. Their grid positions and the performance of our cars will allow us to contest the race tomorrow with a justifiable expectation of success.'

Norbert Haug
'An exciting qualifying session and with second and third positions Mika and David have a good basis for tomorrow's race especially since Mika was less than a tenth of a second away from pole position.'