LEGENDS: Mika Häkkinen

Name: Mika Häkkinen

Nationality: Finnish

Born: 1968

Seasons: 1991-2001

World Titles: 2 (1998,1999)

Like many successful racing drivers, Mika started off racing karts; in his case when he was just five years old. He went on to be Finnish Karting Champion a remarkable five times.

His Formula 1 journey began when he was signed by Lotus in 1991 but unfortunately the car he was driving was past its prime despite his best efforts during races. In 1992 he managed to finish a respectable eighth in the Championship. The Finn wanted more and decided to move to McLaren to become a test driver realizing that this could give him the foothold to race with a top team. In qualifying for his first race, he out-performed teammate Ayrton Senna, proving he was serious about becoming a champion.

The Finn was McLaren’s team leader in 1994 & 1995 but failed to win a race in both these seasons. In 1995, a tyre failure caused Häkkinen to crash into a wall resulting in him need an emergency tracheotomy to save his life. Luckily, he made a full recovery and stayed on with an improving McLaren team.

Did you know? Häkkinen has many fans all over the world. His nicknames include the Flying Finn and, in Finland, ‘Haka’ which means carbon monoxide.

1998 proved to be a huge year for Mika, as he and McLaren were on a role with Adrian Newey on board as technical director. Winning eight races that year, he could challenge the reign of Michael Schumacher. He did exactly that and won the Drivers’ Championship with ease. In 1999, with a less reliable car, the Finn began to lose points at the beginning of the season as he struggled to compete against Schumacher. However, he soon found his form and was ahead of the German on points. In the final race of the Championship, Häkkinen won in Japan to claim back-to-back titles. In 2000, he went for the triple but was edged out by Schumacher. The next season in 2001 would prove to be his last as a Formula 1 driver – announcing his full retirement in 2003.

It is unlikely Häkkinen will return to the sport as a driver, but he will always be remembered as one of the great Formula 1 drivers.

By Chris Nightingale

Twitter: @NightySport