Italian GP Friday McLaren notes

Chassis Numbers Mika Hakkinen MP4 - 14/05 David Coulthard MP4 - 14/07 T.Car MP4 - 14/02

The West McLaren Mercedes team worked through their scheduled programme to find the best race set-up for the Italian Grand Prix. Mika Hakkinen finished Friday's free practice sixth with a time of 1:25.103 whilst his team mate David Coulthard posted a 1:25.347 which saw him in eighth position.

MIKA HAKKINEN 'Despite the fact that we had a very positive test here last week, the set up always changes and that is what we have been working on today. We tried to find the best balance for the car and we had a good day even though the times might not make it look that way '

DAVID COULTHARD 'We worked on the car progressively throughout the session in order to find the limits and in some cases we pushed them a bit too far. The track constantly changed as more rubber went down and the surface became grippier. I am happy how we responded to this situation and the progress we made - I think everything is looking good for tomorrow.'

RON DENNIS 'Irrespective of our successful test, we still spent today concentrating on the race set up. The times therefore, as always, only represent differing tyres and fuel loads.'

NORBERT HAUG 'Both Mika and David used one set of tyres each and I think the team found a good base for the race. Today's practice order will certainly change tomorrow and I am sure Ferrari will not be on the eighth row. I expect them battling for pole with us.'