Hakkinen surprised by stop-go penalty

He believes Michael Schumacher moved forward just as much as he did.

Hakkinen edged over his line before the lights changed and then stopped before leaping away into the lead of the Malaysian Grand Prix followed by team-mate David Coulthard.

He was slapped with a 10 second penalty that destroyed his chances of winning the last round of the year.

"I am very disappointed they gave me the stop/go penalty," said the Finn, who battled back to finish fourth and clinch second in the series, 19 points behind world champion Michael Schumacher.

"When all the red lights were on, I saw Michael move a little bit and my car moved a little bit," said the Finn.

"Michael stopped his car. I stopped mine and then the light went off. It was a weird situation. I saw some other cars moving over [the line] as well, so I was surprised they gave me the penalty.

"At the end of the day though, it is the decision of the stewards. It is easy to talk about it afterwards and I cannot change it now."

Hakkinen added he deliberately slowed his car after hearing the news on the radio, letting Schumacher, David Coulthard and Rubens Barrichello through.

"I let Michael through," he continued. "There was no point. It didn't matter anymore because I knew that I was going to get the 10 second penalty.

"There is no point wasting time over this. Now we just have to look forward and get on with next season. I am feeling great and will want to come back and be just as competitive next year."

To see the final results of the Malaysian GP click HERE.

To see how the race unfolded with autosport.com's lap by lap report click HERE.

To see the final drivers' championship standings click HERE.

To see the final constructors' standings click HERE.