Italian GP Saturday McLaren notes

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

The West McLaren Mercedes team is very pleased to have Mika Hakkinen on pole for the Italian Grand Prix. Mika put in the fastest time ever achieved on this revised circuit layout with a 1:22.432 as he claimed his sixth consecutive pole. David Coulthard posted a 1:23.177 which will see him start from third place on the grid.

MIKA HAKKINEN 'The qualifying session today was one of the most enjoyable for me - my third run was my quickest and it really worked out fantastically. I was a little bit surprised that I was able to bang out that time, but we had made some pretty good changes during the session to help me go faster in the places where I was having a problem and the team did a great job. The start is always a bit tricky, but so long as we get the balance right I think everything is going to be cool.'

DAVID COULTHARD 'Mika's lap was a pretty special time and even if I had had a clear run I think it would have been difficult to match it. You have good days and bad days and today wasn't so good for me, but I think that we are in pretty good shape for the race. I think that third position is a good place to start from because it is on the racing line and has better grip than the other side.'

RON DENNIS 'Mika's lap time showed his commitment once more, his eleventh pole of the season was probably his best qualifying performance of the year. The team helped to improve David and Mika's cars throughout the session. David won two years ago from fourth on the grid, so his third place puts him in a good position for tomorrow's race.'

NORBERT HAUG 'That was an excellent performance from Mika and the whole team. Being almost half a second ahead of the next quickest car really means a lot here in Monza. David has a good position to start from being third. The team is looking forward to the race tomorrow.'