Formula 1
Japanese GP McLaren race notes
The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the Japanese Grand Prix -- the penultimate race of the season - with Mika Hakkinen taking second place and David Coulthard third. Mika Hakkinen set the fastest lap of the race on lap 26 with a time of ...
Edited: Apr 15, 2002, 11:45 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the Japanese Grand Prix -- the penultimate race of the season - with Mika Hakkinen taking second place and David Coulthard third. Mika Hakkinen set the fastest lap of the race on lap 26 with a time of 1:39.189. Mika had his pitstops on lap 22 and lap 36 and David came in on lap 23 and lap 39.
Mika Hakkinen:
'Obviously I'm disappointed, but I would still like to congratulate Michael. We have had a great battle this year with both ups and downs and it's been very exciting. Today I made a good start to take the lead and things were looking good until my second pitstop. The guys did a great stop, but unfortunately I lost valuable time on my out lap partly due to traffic but also it began to rain a bit more and as a result of the new tyres it was extremely slippery and I was sliding everywhere. Anyway I believe to be a good winner you have to be a good loser and now we are focusing on finishing the season on a high in Malaysia and on next year's Championship.'
David Coulthard:
'I had a fairly quiet race and was not really involved in any battles. I was just concentrating on keeping the car on the track as the conditions were difficult due to the track conditions changing all the time. One lap it was really damp and the next it wasn't. Anyway we look forward to next year where we will renew our Championship challenge.'
Ron Dennis:
'The intermittent rain and traffic after Mika's final pitstop were significant contributors to the outcome of today's race. The drivers and team as a whole have worked hard throughout the weekend and we must remember that World Championships come from points gained over 17 races so we can't look at this race in isolation. Its been a difficult year which has seen both our competitors and our fortunes swing in both directions - we have not had a perfect season but certainly not a bad one either. The points gap between the top two teams and the rest of the field demonstrates exactly how intense the battle has been this year. Its difficult to feel positive at this moment in time but the entire company has done a great job and we can all take some satisfaction from the seven victories and seven pole positions we have achieved so far this year.'
Norbert Haug:
'To finish runner up in the Drivers' World Championship after two consecutive title wins is nothing to be ashamed of. It was a close race today, which Mika had under control until the final pitstop when he lost time when he was out on new tyres in partly damp conditions. He was also unlucky to lose additional time due to backmarkers. We look forward to our next World Championship season, which for us already starts in Kuala Lumpur. Congratulations to Michael Schumacher and Ferrari.'
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Japanese GP results
Next article CHAMPCAR/CART: Handford to leave Lola
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Mika Hakkinen
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
Formula 1
Formula 1
Who belongs on F1's Mount Rushmore? Pick your four greatest drivers
Mika Hakkinen reveals why McLaren rivalry with David Coulthard never boiled over
Formula 1
Formula 1
Dutch GP
Mika Hakkinen reveals why McLaren rivalry with David Coulthard never boiled over
Mika Hakkinen urges McLaren not to "rock the boat" with Max Verstappen move
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mika Hakkinen urges McLaren not to "rock the boat" with Max Verstappen move
More from
Ferrari
Lewis Hamilton demands “serious talks” at Ferrari after Charles Leclerc clash
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
32 min
Lewis Hamilton demands “serious talks” at Ferrari after Charles Leclerc clash
Why Charles Leclerc only got a five-second penalty in F1 Mexico GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
2 h
Why Charles Leclerc only got a five-second penalty in F1 Mexico GP
Latest news
Complete NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Martinsville II
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
10 min
Complete NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Martinsville II
Lewis Hamilton demands “serious talks” at Ferrari after Charles Leclerc clash
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
32 min
Lewis Hamilton demands “serious talks” at Ferrari after Charles Leclerc clash
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Martinsville Chase race
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
45 min
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Martinsville Chase race
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe