Sunday October 31st, 1999

Hakkinen Ecstatic; Coulthard Disappointed with Schumacher
McLaren Press Release

Mika Hakkinen: "Brilliant! What a great English word to express how I feel. It was one of my best races and I shall never forget it. Whilst I think I did a good job it wouldn't have been possible without all of the people back in the factory and the here in Japan. Just a big thank you to them and of course David my team mate, West, Mercedes, Mobil, Ilmor, Bridgestone all of our other sponsors, Erja, and my Mum and Dad! Thanks to everybody."

David Coulthard: "It is a good day for the team and I think the right man has won the World Championship this year. I am however, very disappointed with Michael Schumacher's comments especially the way he has questioned my integrity over the incident in Spa which I believe was dealt with at the time. I have never tried to endanger any driver on the track and in fact fight within the GPDA for driver safety. The fact is that when Michael was behind me my car was suffering from problems which I don't want to go into, anyway he was only delayed two and a half seconds which is borne out by the official results. I subsequently was told by the team to retire as it was clear that the problems that I was experiencing were only going to get worse. I can only believe that Michael is trying to deflect the attention from the fact that Mika beat him fair and square and he was therefore unable to help Eddie win the championship."

Ron Dennis: "An almost perfect weekend. Mika deserves his result - it was one of his best races, if not his best. David had to put the maximum pressure on the competition and in doing so made a mistake, which can happen to anyone. It was prudent to retire the car as it had developed a fault which was making the car very difficult to drive. The important thing is that in the most difficult circumstances the team excelled and both drivers did exactly what was asked them. Finally, whilst we are here in Japan enjoying our success, we must remember that without all the efforts of everybody in the company it is impossible to succeed. Well done everybody."

Norbert Haug: "A marvellous victory and title win by Mika Hakkinen. He has given the right answer on the track and has demonstrated that he is a worthy double World Champion. For me this is a dream come true. Thanks to the team who put so much relentless effort into achieving this goal."