US GP McLaren race notes

The West McLaren Mercedes team secured second place in the 2001 Constructors' Championship after Mika Hakkinen won, and David Coulthard finished third in today's SAP United States Grand Prix. Today's win was Mika's 20th Grand Prix victory.

David underlined his second place in the Drivers' Championship and is now seven points ahead of Rubens Barrichello with only one race to go.

Mika and David were both on a one-stop strategy and David came in on lap 43 and his pit stop lasted 8.7 seconds whilst Mika came in on lap 46 and his stop was 9.6 seconds. Mika took the lead on lap 38 for the first time and regained it on lap 50

Following yesterday's qualifying Mika was second on the grid but on Sunday morning the Stewards of the Meeting deleted his fastest time and he was relegated to fourth place after he was found to have exited the pit lane when the lights were red during the morning's warm up session.

Mika Hakkinen
'What a weekend and to finish it by winning a race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway is very special indeed -- one of my most important victories. The fans were so enthusiastic and there was a super atmosphere. Today's result is due to the efforts of the team. The mechanics worked so hard to get my race car ready after I went off in the closing stages of the warm up, and the engineers made a great car. I really enjoyed it. I was very disappointed when I found out that had to start on the second rather than the front row following the Stewards' decision. However all the frustration is gone and I'm very happy. I had a good race and we definitely used the right strategy today. We were confident that the car and the Bridgestone tyres could cope with a one stop strategy.'

David Coulthard
'A great day for Mika and the team. I'm happy that we clinched the runner up position in the Constructors' Championship. To do well at Indianapolis is definitely something every driver wishes. I was lucky to achieve a podium position as we have been struggling with oversteer throughout the weekend. From my perspective the race was rather uneventful. I only had to look after my car and not make any mistakes ? I was just running my own race.'

Ron Dennis
'The results speak for themselves.'

Norbert Haug
'Mika had a fantastic race. The entire team has shown what it was capable of doing.'