Q&A: David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen - Imola.

Having toppled the seemingly invincible Michael Schumacher from not just pole position, but also the front row, for the San Marino Grand Prix, McLaren drivers David Coulthard and Mika Hakkinen gave their views on an all-silver front row.

Q:
David, everybody seemed to go out early and put in a banker lap, but your car was still up on the jacks - what was the problem?

David Coulthard:
We just had some problems in the morning session which just took a while to sort out. The guys worked very hard, they were up
until four this morning building another car, so it's a surprise, but I'm delighted to get the pole position. I'm putting it down to the glasses, because I saw Mika wearing his blue ones last week and I thought I'd go for orange today.

Q:
It must have been a gamble on set-up with the possible changes in weather, but you put in the fastest lap of Imola, beating the previous record.

DC:
Obviously things are moving forward with tyre development and I think the cars, with these regulations, have slowed down but you can see how close the competition is and we all move forward.

Q:
David, winning the last race and on pole for this one you're riding high at the moment, I think.

DC:
I'm a little surprised. My guys did a lot of work on the car overnight, working on the car until four o'clock I think, and the first
time I drove it this morning I didn't feel that comfortable in the damp conditions. It really was a case of changing the car through qualifying and we made some changes right before the last run and it worked well, so all credit to the guys.

Q:
So was it the perfect lap?

DC:
After the first chicane, I didn't think that it was going to be good enough, because it just wasn't a handful enough to know that you're absolutely on the limit. I prefer just to feel the car move around a little bit on the exit to know that I've got the maximum out of my acceleration, and it felt quite calm and I don't know if it was the quickest lap, but clearly it was good enough for today. I knew I had to push on the last run, but I felt I was already at the limit of the car so it really was a journey into the unknown - you're either going to look great or you're going to look silly and, with each corner I was just thinking 'I'm getting away with it, I'm getting away with it' and it's a good feeling to keep it together.

Q:
How much of a lottery is it going to be tomorrow?

DC:
I think we've all got good experience here of this circuit, so only if the weather's changing, particularly now that there's another tyre
manufacturer, because at certain points you'll either be on the right tyre or the wrong tyre.

Q:
How does it feel to end Ferrari's run of poles on home ground.

DC:
It's not as personal as it being Ferrari, I'm just pleased to be on pole. I'm very sorry for all the Italian supporters of Ferrari - we'll try
not to do it again!

Q:
Mika, at what stage was it decided that you were going to take the traditional approach and do four runs of three laps when Ferrari took the reverse and did three runs of four?

MH:
We weren't very confident with the conditions, so that's why we took a different approach.

Q:
It was very, very exciting at the end - what made you miss out on the final lap?

MH:
This is very simple - because it's nice to see David on pole. There have been many occasions when I've been in front of David, so it's great!

Q:
How damp was it at the start?

MH:
It was a bit particularly down into the Minerale. That was one of the trickiest corners, it was a bit damp, and at that time Michael
had the pole and I was second about three tenths behind him and most of the difference came actually in the mid-section. The Minerale was just the most difficult corner.

Q:
Now your team-mate's on pole position, are you confident.

MH:
Oh absolutely, I mean you're talking about a great achievement from the team. Obviously looking back to the start of the season - how we performed in qualifying and the finishing of grands prix - I think it's a fabulous situation to have two McLarens on the front row at Imola. It shows what hard work really can achieve and I think it's great that David's on pole - he's very confident and it's going to be good.

Q:
How have the past few races been for you?

MH:
It's been difficult. Unfortunately, I do have experience from the past when the first grands prix don't go so well, but I'm not too worried yet. Many things can happen through the year, so I'm not that worried about it.

Q:
You appeared to be slightly up on the splits for about two-thirds of the lap, and then you seemed to lose about three-tenths on the last sector, was that a mistake?

MH:
Well, looking at the data, I was certainly losing some time on the braking - especially in a couple of the last corners. The last run was really maximising, but I was just behind the Michael on my last run and it was difficult to get the maximum braking point. Excellent excuse!