Sunday June 4th, 2000

A single point was world champion Mika Hakkinen's reward for determination in the face of adversity at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Finn had started the race with his McLaren in an unusually low fifth position after a tough time in Saturday's qualifying session.

That left him with the task of trying to get past four cars on the notoriously narrow and winding Monaco circuit, where overtaking is next to impossible.

Then, halfway through the race and still in fifth place, Hakkinen suffered a setback that almost left him out of the running altogether.

"Let's just say I'm glad it's over," the two times world champion said while his team mate David Coulthard, who lapped the Finn, was celebrating his first Monaco win.

"It could have been worse in the circumstances... I was running all right in fifth, quite comfortable with that and just looking for the right moment to overtake.

"Then I went into a corner and the brake didn't work," Hakkinen said.

He made a pit stop that took him out for 53.2 seconds and rejoined the race well down the field.

But he was 12th after 41 laps and showed his mettle by setting the fastest time of the race at that stage.

A gearbox problem then slowed him again on the 74th lap when he had made it back into the points and he had to settle for sixth behind compatriot and big rival Mika Salo who steered his Sauber to fifth place.

Coulthard had started from third on the grid and took the lead after Ferrari's Michael Schumacher limped back to the pits with his suspension broken after 55 laps.

It was McLaren's 11th victory on the streets of Monte Carlo, reinforcing their dominant record in the streets of the Mediterranean principality.

The result meant that Coulthard overtook Hakkinen in the drivers championship with 34 points to the Finn's 29, still trailing Schumacher on 46.

Ferrari stay ahead in the constructors' competition, with Rubens Barichello's second place taking their score to 68 ahead of McLaren on 63.

McLaren chief Ron Dennis said he was reasonably happy with the result however.

"It edges us closer to having a crack at the world championship. It closes the gap on Michael and it closes the gap on the constructors. And with 10 races to go anything can happen," he said.

Dennis said he was disappointed with the mechanical problems that plagued Hakkinen during the race:

"At least we got a point. Of course we try to have 100 percent reliability but he certainly didn't with his car. We were lucky to get him out again at all."