US GP: McLaren race notes

West McLaren Mercedes driver David Coulthard finished today's SAP United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in third place. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen retired from sixth place with an engine failure on lap 50. David had his pitstop on lap 42 (10.8 seconds) and Kimi on lap 43 (12.9 seconds). David remains fifth in the Drivers' World Championship with 41 points and Kimi is sixth with 20 points. The West McLaren Mercedes team is third in the Constructors' World Championship with 61 points.

DAVID COULTHARD

"I was quite surprised by my start as I had a lot of fuel in the car and was actually next to the two Ferraris coming into the first corner. There was a lot of traffic during the race, which combined with our one stop strategy allowed me to close the gap to the leaders. For the last 40 laps, I was not pushing as hard as I could have done because I chose to look after my engine. Our strategy worked well and overall our performance throughout the weekend indicates that we have taken a step forward."

KIMI RAIKKONEN

"I made a decent start but understandably couldn't prevent Trulli, who was on a two stop strategy, from passing me at the first corner where I had to go a little wide to avoid contact. 13 laps into the race I felt a misfire in the engine, which dropped it onto nine cylinders. Obviously I lost some top speed, which allowed Villeneuve and Montoya to pass me. It's a shame because the car was feeling good and my overall pace was not bad. Unfortunately the engine ultimately gave up on lap 50 and that was the end of my American Grand Prix."

RON DENNIS

"Perhaps a cliché that I use too often, but it really was a weekend of mixed emotions. There is no doubt that we improved our performance package, which allowed us to challenge Ferrari's dominance a little harder. We of course aim to maintain the momentum into the Japanese Grand Prix, which has historically seen us achieve good results."

NORBERT HAUG

"We have taken a step forward with regard to our performance and thanks to the team's strategy we got close to the Ferraris at one stage of the race. David did well to finish on the podium. Unfortunately Kimi had to retire with an engine failure caused by a broken sparkplug, before that he had done impressive lap times with nine cylinders. We are now looking forward to the final race at Suzuka where we hope to continue our progress."

David Coulthard: Chassis 06
Kimi Raikkonen: Chassis 09
T-car (Kimi): Chassis 07
Spare: Chassis 03

-mclaren-