OCTOBER 16, 2000
Hakkinen wants more time off
MIKA HAKKINEN has called for Formula One drivers to have more time off for holidays and breaks during the seven-month season.
Finn Hakkinen, who came under fire for taking a holiday before and after the Austrian Grand Prix in July, believes all drivers will perform better the more time they have off.
McLaren's Hakkinen believes he justified his time off earlier this season by winning the Austrian Grand Prix and following that up with two wins and two second places in the next four races - his best spell of the season.
He said: "Very often, people don't understand what it takes to travel and to race, or what it takes to travel to a test or a promotion, and so the more a driver can take some time off and stay in one place, the better.
"It gives us a bit of stability. If you have to travel five or six times a week you cannot live normally.
"After Magny-Cours, I had an excellent break and I got good results in Austria and after Austria. It was then that the whole season started to change around for me and I was back into it."
Hakkinen and the rest of the Formula One drivers will be helped next season when the FIA introduce a three-week break in August, when there will be no racing or testing permitted.