German GP McLaren race notes

MOBIL 1 GERMAN GRAND PRIX 1998 - RACE DAY Chassis Numbers: David Coulthard MP4-13 04 Mika Hakkinen MP4-13 06 T Car MP4-13 03

The Mobil 1 German Grand Prix saw Mika Hakkinen and David Coulthard claim their fifth 1-2 victory and give the West McLaren Mercedes team a clear advantage in the Constructors ' World Championship with 118 points. Both Mika and David also added valuable points to their Drivers' World Championship with Mika 16 points ahead of Michael Schumacher on 76 points with David now in 3rd place with forty two points.

MIKA HAKKINEN 'It is great to be on the top of the podium again especially as it is Mercedes-Benz home Grand Prix. We had opted to start with a heavy fuel load to cover all options during the race but following my pitstop there was a concern that my fuel consumption was greater than expected. However, this turned out not to be problem. I also felt as though the car lost some power towards the end of the race so I slowed down to make sure nothing serious happened. All in all a really great finish to the weekend.'

DAVID COULTHARD 'I am very pleased that we have finished first and second again which puts the team further ahead in the World Championships. We chose the harder compound tyres today and they worked well, although it was a bit tricky in the slow sections of the circuit. My second set of tyres worked better although sometimes the dirty air behind Mika made things more difficult. In the last five laps of the race it was very difficult to see where I was going as there was some fluid coming out of the back of Mika's car but I made it passed the chequered flag and I am very pleased to have another podium finish.'

RON DENNIS 'An exceptionally professional performance from both drivers. We had a concern at one stage about the fuel consumption, but a mixture change soon accommodated our concerns which, post race proved to be without foundation. For me the highlight of the race was the performance of the mechanics, who executed a perfect stop for David, despite him overshooting the pitstop area.'

NORBERT HAUG 'This was the perfect race at our home Grand Prix with our fifth 1-2 result - it is a fantastic outcome. The drivers and the team displayed an exemplary performance, with the pit crew putting in the fastest one stop pit strategy of the day.'