For 2001, Häkkinen pledged to make a challenge for the World Championship, citing inspiration from the birth of his son Hugo. He also added that he was under less pressure to compete, saying that results over the previous year increased his desire to win. The season started badly for Häkkinen: He was forced into retirement in the opening round held in Australia due to a failure with his car's suspension resulting in his car spinning violently into a tyre barrier. The McLaren cars were off the pace in Malaysia, with Häkkinen managing to end at the 6th place. He retired from the following race in Brazil when his car stalled on the starting grid, Further points came at the San Marino Grand Prix. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Häkkinen looked on course to win his first victory of the season, until the final lap of the race, when his car was hampered with a clutch failure and was classified ninth.