Tuesday January 16th, 2001

Double world champion Mika Hakkinen has said that he will drive faster than ever this year because the birth of son Hugo has given him more the confidence he lacked last year.

Hakkinen returned to the cockpit of the McLaren for testing in Valencia on Monday. It was the first time he had driven since the Malaysian Grand Prix in October and came just over a month after his wife Erja had given birth to their first child.

The Finn said: "Since the birth of Hugo I feel more confident and complete as a person and it should make me drive faster. I'm always motivated and always have the will to win, but I'm even more motivated now and I know how much there is to do."

Hakkinen has yet to taste the changes to the Mercedes-powered McLaren, but he is confident the team will give him the armoury to regain his title from Michael Schumacher.

He added: "At the moment I can't tell you what my expectations are for next year as I haven't driven the new car yet. But really, my expectations are to win."

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