European GP McLaren race notes

Chassis Numbers: Mika Hakkinen: MP4 - 14/04 David Coulthard: MP4 - 14/06 T.Car: MP4 - 14/05

The West McLaren Mercedes team leave the Nurburgring in the lead of both the Drivers' and Constructors' World Championships. At the end of a very exciting and unpredictable race Mika Hakkinen came home in fifth place claiming two precious World Championship points. Sadly David spun out of contention on lap thirty seven, whilst in a comfortable lead.

MIKA HAKKINEN 'Today I scored two very hard earned but valuable points. We will now build on this as we focus on the next race in Malaysia.'

DAVID COULTHARD 'I am very disappointed to have gone off in these conditions, as I had a good lead and it is more acceptable to go off whilst you are chasing, than when you are leading. I am sorry for the team for that. It is the first time I have put the car off in a race this year, but that is little consolation.'

RON DENNIS 'I never thought that I could be so pleased with a fifth place. The team has to take responsibility for calling Mika in during what turned out to be a brief period of rain. Both drivers gave their best, but David of course knows that to finish first, first you have to finish. That said we still lead both World Championships and we are looking forward to the remaining Grands Prix.'

NORBERT HAUG 'What a crazy and spectacular race we had today. It's a pity for David, but Mika was lucky in the end as he still maintains his World Championship lead with two additional points. The positive aspect is that Ferrari has not scored points on this occasion. Congratulations to the Stewart team.'