Hakkinen: 'No tears this time.'

Twelve months ago the Finn slid into the sand and threw away a certain victory when he missed a gear change while leading on lap 30. As he walked back to the pits through a small copse he fell to his knees and cried.

This year Hakkinen returns with a six point lead over Michael Schumacher and the man very much in form having won three of the last four races.

"What happened last year was something different and strong and I hope I don't have to experience something like that again," he said.

The scene of his emotional exit to the race has been re-designed to improve safety by reducing entry speed and discouraging kerb-hopping.

"The first chicane looks scary. You are braking down from 350km/h down to 70km/h and reducing speed in a big way," he said.

"The improvement to the run off area is good but the speed will really be coming down and overtaking is going to be a big issue in the race and at the start of it.

"If you brake five or 10 metres late you will go wide, cross the chicane and then get a 10s penalty which will make everything very complicated."

Hakkinen has had a top four finish four times in the last six years at Monza but is yet to win the race.