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Hakkinen retires
* Mika Hakkinen, McLaren's 1998 and 1999 Formula One world champion, formally announced his retirement at the German Grand Prix.
The 33-year-old Finn explained he had decided against a comeback after visiting this year's Monaco Grand Prix. ``The break from Formula One gave me the time to consider my future. It was clear to me at Monaco that I preferred to spend more time with my family [wife Erja and toddler son Hugo]. I've been through so much in my career and achieved a lot, and I just didn't think it was worth it to push things any further.''
Hakkinen also revealed that he had first told McLaren's Ron Dennis that he wanted to stop at Monaco in 2001, and that it had been Dennis who offered him the chance to take 2002 off.
Coulthard, Raikkonen re-up
* Shortly after the Hakkinen announcement, West McLaren Mercedes confirmed David Coulthard and Kimi Raikkonen would stay on as teammates in 2003.
Remarkably, Coulthard therefore heads toward his eighth straight season with the same team, having joined from Williams.
Source: HighBeam Research, Competition.