Hakkinen wins in Brazil

The race at Interlagos was notable for a high number of retirements, leaving just nine finishers after the 72 laps.

Hakkinen, starting in pole position, led for most of the race, but not before Brazilian Rubens Barrichello had excited his home crowd by leading in the early stages, after he took advantage of a problem with the Finn's McLaren Mercedes.

However, the Stewart driver wasn't able to hold on to the lead, and after his pit stop, he retired when in third place.

Hakkinen's team-mate, David Coulthard, had a miserable day. Stalling on the grid, he rejoined the race three laps behind the rest of the field, and eventually retired.

Other retirements included Damon Hill early on, after a collision with Alexander Wurz, but as he dryly noted after the race, at least he completed more laps than in Australia.

He was joined by non-finishers including Johnny Herbert and debut F1 driver, Stephane Sarrazin, who hit the wall and spun a number of times before coming to a halt minus his front left wheel.

Hakkinen was pushed hard by Michael Schumacher in the Ferrari in the closing stages, but he managed to hold the German off. The other Ferrari of Eddie Irvine looked set for a third place, until he was forced to pit to have debris cleared from his radiator.

This put Heinz-Harald Frentzen into third spot, a place he held onto, giving Eddie Jordan's team something to smile about.

Fourth was Ralf Schumacher, who held Irvine off in spite of the Irishman's hard push in the dying stages.

[full results and report to follow on the website]