Hakkinen aims to put 'hell' behind him

'I was in heaven on Saturday. Now I am in hell,' he said after the race at Monza where he spun off while leading by seven seconds.

The Finn shed tears as he threw away what could prove to be a vital victory in the battle to retain his world crown.

'I will spend the rest of the evening looking at myself in the mirror saying 'you bloody idiot'.

'I've had 10,000 miles testing and never made the same kind of mistake. My finger slipped.

'It's so easy to blame the team or your team-mate but it is the most difficult thing to blame yourself.

'This time lying won't help anything. I have to accept I am guilty.'

Hakkinen added that Frentzen's gifted triumph meant he had another avenue to cover besides team-mate David Coulthard and Eddie Irvine.

'This time it is different because there is a third person who is a potential threat - I'll have to watch Heinz-Harald Frentzen very closely.

'I was under big pressure before the race - which perhaps affected me and perhaps changed the result in a negative way.

'What I have now got to do is prepare myself stronger and keep myself in better control - and make sure the situation does not arise in the next few races.'

The Finn's championship rival Eddie Irvine is standing in the wings hoping that Hakkinen's generosity will not end at Monza.

'Mika has made two errors now when he has not been under pressure,' said the Ferrari driver. 'Let's hope we can make it a hat-trick.'

'It is going to be very interesting to see the effect this result has had on Mika. It is something that could go to his head.'