Monaco GP Thursday McLaren notes

MONACO GRAND PRIX - THURSDAY PRACTICE

Chassis Numbers: Mika Hakkinen: MP4 - 14/02 David Coulthard: MP4 - 14/04 T Car: MP4 - 14/01

The West McLaren Mercedes team finished the first action packed practice sessions for the Monaco Grand Prix with Mika Hakkinen finishing second quickest of the day with a 1:22.854. David Coulthard worked hard to achieve a satisfying set up for his car throughout both sessions concluding the day with a 1:23.503 which put him in sixth position.

MIKA HAKKINEN 'Looking at our first session times, this morning was a bit disappointing, but we were able to improve things on the car. As a result everything was better for the second hour, my performance improved and I am pleased with the work we did. The engineers did a good job on the car, I am glad I kept it on the track and we will see what Saturday brings.'

DAVID COULTHARD 'A regular first day at a grand prix - trying to find your way round the circuit and going through all the set up procedures. The main focus for me at the moment is some understeer, so that is what I am trying to improve.'

RON DENNIS 'We feel more comfortable this afternoon. Our set up this morning was wrong, but fortunately we quickly identified the problem and the times this afternoon reflect that fact. Unfortunately we wasted this morning which affects the overall result of today, but this shouldn't impact on Saturday's qualifying.'

NORBERT HAUG 'It was good to see the improvements in the second part of the practice sessions and I believe we can achieve a tip top performance on Saturday.'