Italian GP McLaren race notes

West McLaren Mercedes driver Mika Hakkinen claimed second place in today's Italian Grand Prix. David Coulthard's race finished on the first lap when he was a victim of an accident occurring behind him. Mika and the West McLaren Mercedes team retain their lead in both the Drivers' and the Constructors' World Championships.

Mika Hakkinen:
'I made an OK start and managed to get by Barrichello and then I was lucky not to be affected by the accident at the second chicane. Initially I wasn't happy with the balance of the car but we made a few adjustments during the pitstop which improved matters, However despite a great pitstop from the team and the fact that I could go much quicker I was unable to catch Michael -- also as was the case in the last race I lost too much time lapping the Minardis. All in all, it would have been nice to win but I scored some important points.'

David Coulthard:
'It really goes without saying that I'm extremely disappointed with the outcome of my Monza race -- particularly since I was an innocent victim in the incident which took place behind me. I made a good start, which saw me move from fifth to third -- but it was all over at the second chicane - I'm not sure exactly what happened.'

Ron Dennis:
'Both drivers made good starts but obviously David's race was over at the second chicane. An imbalance in the car made life difficult for Mika during the first part. The team did a great pitstop and as a result of the changes we made Mika was able to lap much faster and could close the gap to Schumacher. At the end of the day we are here to win but the outcome could have be worse - we are still leading both Championships and are focusing on the next race.'

Norbert Haug:
'Today we didn't manage to win but the World Championships are still open and we kept the lead in both. We will work very hard to maintain this situation in six weeks time.'