Mika wants a punch bag after last-lap heartbreak

The Finn had looked a dead-cert to win his first race in eight months in Barcelona after his strategy of pitting later than Ferrari's Michael Schumacher came up trumps.

Hakkinen took the lead from pole-sitter Schumacher on lap 50 out of 65, following his second pit stop, and then built a significant lead over the German - only to cruise to a halt with clutch problems when victory was little more than a mile away.

"It would be good to get a punch bag in the motorhome right now," said
Hakkinen after the race. "I need to hit it a couple of times to relax.

"As you can imagine, I am very disappointed, not just for myself, but for the team also. It would have been great to win. It is a shame for the mechanics as well, who have put so much hard work in. It is a real bummer."

The former double world champion is now in the midst of one of the longest losing streaks since he started winning for McLaren at the end of 1997. But Hakkinen insists that, despite the disappointment, there are positives to be taken from the day.

"It shows the car is very fast," he said. "Generally, it was a fantastic race with good racing all the way. I had great speed in the car and it was getting better and better all through the race."

The Finn looked poised to leap right back into the title race, but is now a massive 32 points behind championship leader Michael Schumacher, who has 36 points after his third win of the season.