Hakkinen not nervous about title-deciding race

   Copyright c 1998 Nando Media
   Copyright c 1998 Agence France-Presse

SHANGHAI (Oct 24, 1998 - 13:14 EDT) - Formula One championship leader Mika
Hakkinen said Saturday he is treating the biggest race of his career like
any other.

"Every Grand Prix this season I've been going to win," the
Finnish McLaren driver told reporters during a promotional stop in Shanghai
before next week's Japan Grand Prix. "I'm not nervous at all."

Hakkinen must defend a four-point lead over Ferrari rival Michael
Schumacher to claim his first world championship crown at Suzuka on Nov. 1.

But he said he was going into the season finale as usual, albeit with
"enormous preparation."

"I don't think we need magic, I don't think we need luck,"
Hakkinen said, adding he was "very confident" in his car and
team.

"I don't want to think about the pressure situation," he said.
"When we go to Suzuka, it doesn't matter if I'm leading the race or
running second. It just doesn't matter."

Asked to respond to Schumacher's public prediction earlier this week that
he would steal away the championship, Hakkinen said competition from all
the drivers would be intense.

"You have to race against the others ... you just can't race against
one guy," he said.

The main goal is to "keep the car on the track" and avoid
mistakes that could disqualify him, he said.

The 30-year-old would still become champion under Formula One rules even if
he finished second behind Schumacher and both men ended the season level on
96 points.

The two drivers would be 7-7 in terms of race victories -- but the Finn
would beat the German 3-2 in second place finishes.

Hakkinen also said he was looking forward to China's first Formula One
event next March 21 on the $35 million track built in southern Zhuhai city.

To have a new circuit in a new country is "fantastic" he said,
adding that it would create a challenge not only for the drivers but for
the marketing and business end of the fast-growing sport.

The track, which seats 100,000 people, will be the site of the second
Formula One event of 1999.

Hosting a Grand Prix event will also provide a great opportunity for China,
which he joked had "a much better chance" of producing great
drivers in the future than Finland because of its huge population.

Finland is home to five million people compared to China's 1.2 billion.

But he acknowledged that auto racing is inherently expensive, making
conditions for developing competitors in the developing country difficult.

"Finance means a lot for parents to sacrifice," he said, citing
his own background as a national champion go-kart driver from the age of
six to 17.

Hakkinen, whose series of wins this year has marked a breakthrough
following years of struggle, said he was enjoying hard-won success.

"It took patience, but it was worth it," he said.

He made his Formula One debut in 1991, but the first top finish was only
last year in the European Grand Prix.

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