Monaco GP McLaren Notes

Monte Carlo Grand Prix 19th May 1996

The Marlboro McLaren Mercedes team celebrated the 30th anniversary of McLaren's participation in Formula One, with its best result of the season so far at the end of a very eventful Monaco Grand Prix ran in wet/dry conditions. David Coulthard - who was wearing one of Michael Schumacher's helmet's - scored the second podium finish for the team with second place, having chased eventual winner Olivier Panis in the final laps, whilst Mika Hakkinen took sixth place.

Mika Hakkinen: "Finishing sixth is not what I had planned but starting from eigth place and trying to overtake in the race was not going to be easy. I managed to climb up to fourth after Villeneuve crashed just ahead of me. Unfortunately I was not able to get back down to first gear and I dropped back to fifth place again. Then, just before the end of the race, Eddie Irvine spun in front of Mika Salo and myself. Salo crashed into him and I crashed into Salo's car. There was no chance I could avoid them. Nobody's to blame, it's a racing accident, which could have happened to anyone. I was however classified and got more points which is good for the team before going to Barcelona."

David Coulthard: "Olivier Panis drove fantastically well and although I may have been quick enough to get right behind him I could only hope that he would make a mistake for me to overtake on this circuit. Having raced against him in F3000 I knew he doesn't make many mistakes, so it was just a case of getting the car home and picking the points. The reason why I was wearing Michael's helmet is that I had terrible problems with mine during the warm-up when the visor steamed up and I could not see anything after one lap. I did not feel confident I could sort out the problem before the race so I asked Michael who agreed to lend me one of his. We just covered the sponsors logos and off I went."

Norbert Haug: "Monaco under these conditions is like roulette. We played it well today and as a team did a good job. Bravo to David and sorry for Mika, who was involved in an accident in the final statges caused by Eddie Irvine spinning. With seven points scored by the team, we showed improvement and are looking forward to Barcelona."

Ron Dennis: "This was typical Monaco race - very eventful and one which a number of drivers could have won. The result in the end is good for David and for the team, and we are natuarally very happy for him."