Italian GP McLaren race notes

The West McLaren Mercedes team had a disappointing race as both David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen failed to finish the 53 lap Italian Grand Prix at Monza. David retired on lap seven with an engine failure whilst on lap 19 Mika had a drivetrain problem. Before his retirement David was fifth whilst Mika was 10th. Both David and the West McLaren Mercedes team remain second in the Drivers' and Constructors' Championships.

David Coulthard
'There is no doubt that this has been a race of attrition. Unfortunately this didn't work to our advantage as both Mika and I retired. It's been a difficult weekend for us with a few problems along the way, but we still hoped to get points. At least I retained my second place in the Championship points standings.'

Mika Hakkinen
'The pile up at the first corner after the start caused me to go straight on at the chicane, which cost me several positions and I came out 13th. This was extremely disappointing as us drivers had discussed that we should be particularly careful at the start, as the first chicane is so tight. On lap 19 I got stuck in fifth gear and as I went around the chicane I lost all the gears and that was the end of my race.'

Ron Dennis
'Overall not a good weekend for Formula One and certainly not for us. Just when we thought we had come to grips with our reliability we suffered an engine failure and a drivetrain problem -- the causes of which we are still investigating. We have to do better in the future.'

Norbert Haug
'A disappointing race on a difficult Grand Prix weekend with our engine and drivetrain failures. We definitely have to raise our game in terms of speed and reliability.'