Herbert backs Hakkinen for Crown

(29-Oct-98) - Johnny Herbert, a former team-mate of both Mika Hakkinen and
Michael Schumacher, believes that it will be the Finn who comes out on top
in Sunday's Formula One showdown at Suzuka.

The Sauber driver, who is switching to Stewart next year, claims that the
superiority of the McLaren will see Hakkinen through.

"Mika has the better car, which will help," he said. "But
the real story will be the tyres. The right choice will be criticial.
Bridgestone screwed up in the race last year, but they have learned from
that.

"It's going to be a very close contest, and it's going to depend on
which tyre company. Bridgestone or Goodyear has done the right work for
this track and where their development has been concentrated.

"Mika has the right character to win but crucially he also has the
support from Ron Dennis and all the team at McLaren. The difference between
them is that Michael also has the character but doesn't need the support.
He's more capable of doing something on his own.

"Mika responds well to being told by McLaren that he can do the job,
and I believe that he will. He only needs to finish second if Michael wins,
but I can't see Mika doing that because settling for second can be fatal. I
think he will just do the normal thing and go for it. He has to.

"He's got to get through the first few laps, which will be the most
dangerous for him and then he can decide how to play the race."

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