Luxembourg GP McLaren race notes

LUXEMBOURG GRAND PRIX 1998 RACE DAY

Chassis Numbers: Mika Hakkinen MP4-13/04 David Coulthard MP4-13/06 T. Car MP4-13/07 T. Car MP4-13/02

Mika Hakkinen won the penultimate race of the FIA World Championship with David Coulthard claiming third place to put the West McLaren Mercedes team 15 points ahead in the Constructors' and Mika Hakkinen four points ahead in the Drivers Championship as we head towards the final race in Suzuka, Japan.

MIKA HAKKINEN As we demonstrated in this mornings warm up, we managed to solve the set up problems I had been experiencing in practice over the weekend. This made driving the car in the race really enjoyable. Our race strategy proved to be right and the team did a fantastic job of the pitstops to get me out ahead of Michael on both occasions.'

DAVID COULTHARD 'I have struggled all weekend with the set up of the car and for the race I tried the qualifying set up again. It seemed to work better but it was still a difficult race for me in terms of balance but with more rubber on the track I gained better grip and naturally I am very happy to be on the podium.'

RON DENNIS 'Probably the most important race in the history of the company. Today's race puts us in a very strong position for the Constructor's Championship and of course gives Mika the opportunity to win the World Championship. We shall enjoy the celebrations today but we will be focusing on Suzuka from tomorrow.'

NORBERT HAUG 'The weekend did not start so well but it ended in a fantastic way. Mika proved that he can win under very difficult circumstances and David did a great job in finishing third. Last year we lead here but dropped out. This year, I think we can say, that our learning curve is heading in the right direction.'