Todt hails Hakkinen's win as best ever

(28-Sep-98) - Ferrari sporting director Jean Todt bounced back from the
disappointment of Mika Hakkinen's victory in the Luxembourg Grand prix to
hail it as the best drive of the Finn's career.

Todt, whose drive Michael Schumacher now lies four points behind Hakkinen
heading to the final race at Suzuka on November 1, was clearly upset but
also in awe at the Finn's performance.

"I am not a man to use too many superlatives," said Todt, the
diminuitive Frenchman who has revitalised Ferrari. "But there is
nothing to say but this was a superb race by Hakkinen, one of the best of
his career -- probably his best race ever.

"He surprised me and the team. We were all surprised by the speed of
the McLaren team. But at the end of the day, the difference between us was
just a couple of seconds which is nothing much after a race. "That
shows how close we are and how close it is going to be in Japan. It will be
a very tight and tough finish. Mathematically, it is still wide open. And
we have five weeks testing ahead of us to work on getting everything
right."

While Schumacher shrugged his shoulders and admitted he was confused by the
loss of his competitiveness, rival McLaren team chief Ron Dennis admitted
he had effectively hoodwinked Ferrari by running with more fuel than usual
on Friday and Saturday.

Asked about the difference in performance between his team's efforts in
practice and those in the race, he smiled. "We were happy given what
we knew," said Dennis, whose McLaren team were also boosted by the
performance of their Bridgestone tyres in the cooler conditions.

McLaren chief engineer Steve Hallam said: "That was a really fabulous
race. Mika drove better than I can ever remember and our tyres came into
their own just when we needed them. I am really pleased for everyone that
we are back on top."

If Hakkinen wins or finishes second at Suzuka in Japan on November 1, he
will bring McLaren their first title since Ayrton Senna won his last world
championship for them in 1991.

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