Hakkinen’s pledge to open account in Malaysia

The Finn looked set for a solid second placed finish in the season opener at Melbourne until front suspension failure caused him to crash out, leaving him with slight concussion. The Woking-based team has said it has taken steps to ensure the failure won't happen again.

"I'm focusing on securing my first points of the 2001 season," said Hakkinen. "The whole team is optimistic that we will leave Malaysia with a good result. I enjoy driving at Sepang, as it offers a good mixture of corners and fast straights."

Team boss Ron Dennis is also in an upbeat mood about his outfit's chances after it was soundly beaten by Ferrari Down Under.

"In Australia, David [Coulthard] demonstrated the potential of the car with his second place, and the whole team has been working hard since then to ensure that this potential is fully harnessed. We have been testing at Magny-Cours and are confident that we are in good shape."

Malaysian TV stations have been banned from carrying live coverage of next weekend's Grand Prix in an attempt to boost dismal ticket sales. Basir Ismail, chairman for the Sepang circuit, said: "There will be no live telecast during the three days of the event. The race will be a delayed telecast at 9pm."