Hakkinen: Bottas & Verstappen to attack Hamilton
Jun.26 - Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen could put up a real challenge to reigning six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in 2020. That is the view of former double world..
Mika Häkkinen info & statistics
| Name | Mika Häkkinen |
| Country |  Finland |
| Place of Birth | Vantaa |
| Date of Birth | Sep 28th 1968 - 52 years old |
| First Race | 1991 USA Grand Prix |
| Last Race | 2001 Japanese Grand Prix |
| First Pole | 1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix |
| Last Pole | 2000 Belgian Grand Prix |
| First Win | 1997 European Grand Prix |
| Last Win | 2001 USA Grand Prix |
| First Podium | 1993 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last Podium | 2001 USA Grand Prix |
Mika Häkkinen F1 Stats | |
| Drivers' Titles | 2 |
| Race Entries | 165 |
| Race Starts | 161 |
| Race Wins | 20 (12,1%) |
| Pole Positions | 26 (15,8%) |
| Fastest Laps | 25 (15,2%) |
| Podiums | 51 (30,9%) |
| Points Finishes | 83 (50,3%) |
| Retirements | 67 (40,6%) |
| Hat-tricks | 5 |
| Wins from pole | 10 |
| Frontrow Starts | 39 |
| Total Points | 420 |
| Total Laps | 7.720 |
Biography
Mika Hakkinen Biography
Mika Hakkinen driving his first race at the 1991 US GP in Phoenix in the Lotus 102B
Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Häkkinen had great success and tough times in F1. His main rival was Michael Schumacher.
He started his racing career at the age of five (1973) with karting. It turned out he had talent and skill. He won his first race at the age of 7. He then took part of regional and national karting championships in Finland and at the age of 10 he started to win each championship he entered until 1986.
After karting, he got into open-wheel racing. In 1987 he took part of 3 Formula Ford 1600 championship in Scandinavia, the Finish, Swedish and Nordic championship. He won all 3 championships.
In 1988 he entered the Opel Lotus Euroseries Championship and the British GM Euroseries. That season he won the Opel Lotus Euroseries Championship and finished second in the British GM Euroseries.
Mika Hakkinen in the Lotus 107 cockpit (1992)
After this adventure, he stepped up to the British Formula 3 Championship and could really shape up his skills in 1989 and 1990. In 1989 he had a learning curve and finished 7th in the championship. In 1990 he already was used to the much faster Formula 3 cars and won the championship for West Surrey Racing. This resulted in a Formula 1 contract with Lotus for the next season.
Mika's Formula 1 career
In 1991 Mika Häkkinen started his first Formula 1 career in Phoenix for the 1991 US Grand Prix. He qualified 13th on the grid in his Lotus and had to retire, due to a Judd engine failure. He had 3 different teammates that season, Julian Bailey, Johnny Herbert and Michael Bartels. Häkkinen scored his first and only points that 1991 F1 season in his 3rd race for Lotus by finishing 5th in the San Marino Grand Prix. He started the race on Imola circuit as 25th! He ended his first season on 16th place on the 1991 drivers championship table.
Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen before the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Estoril circuit in Portugal (1993)
In 1992 he stayed at Lotus and had a much better season. The Judd engine was changed to a Ford engine and picked up regular points. He only had Johnny Herbert as teammate and the Lotus 107 with Ford engine had a very fragile gearbox and engine. Mika retired 6 times, 2 times with gearbox problems and 2 times with engine failure. Although Herbert out qualified Hakkinen with 9-7, Mika scored more points than Johnny, because Herbert had to retire 11 times!. Mika scored 11 points in total to end on 8th place of the 1992 drivers championship table.
1993 - 2001 at McLaren
During the 1992 season, Häkkinen wanted to move to the quicker Williams car but got into a contract dispute with Lotus. Häkkinen, who was under contract to Lotus, opted to join Williams, but Lotus team principal Peter Collins would veto the Williams team entry if they had signed Häkkinen.
Mika Hakkinen spins in the McLaren MP4/9 with Peugeot engine (1994).
Mika then tried to get a seat at Ligier although his Lotus contract contained a clause of which his manager Keke Rosberg disagreed. He later approached the McLaren team and principal Ron Dennis signed the contract.
The dispute eventually went to the F1 Contract Recognition Board, who ruled in favour of McLaren after two days of deliberation.
He still could not drive in 1993, because McLaren had hired Michael Andretti to race and Ayrton Senna was their number 1 driver. It was until Andretti had enough of being beaten by Senna and left after finishing 3rd at the Italian GP to drive IndyCar again.
Hakkinen, at last, could drive for McLaren for at Portuguese Grand Prix. Mika Hakkinen was very determined and even out-qualified three times Formula 1 Drivers Champion Senna in his first race.
Mika Hakkinen testing the McLaren MP4/11 Mercedes at Estoril, Portugal (1996).
In the race, he drove second for a long time and could even have won his first race for McLaren if he hadn't crashed into the barrier in the last corner of the Estoril circuit by trying to pass Jean Alesi. In the penultimate race of the season at Japan, he scored his first Formula 1 podium by finishing 3rd.
McLaren filled up the seat left by Senna who moved to Williams, with Martin Brundle. Mika had a tough season with the McLaren MP4/9 which was powered by Peugeot.
He got a race ban for the German Grand Prix because he collided with too many other drivers. The engine also wasn't very reliable and he retired 4 times with engine failure. Nevertheless, the engine seemed to be very powerful and he did score 6 podiums to end as 4th on the 1994 F1 drivers championship table.
In 1995 he had a sever crash in practice for the Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide which almost killed him.
Mika Hakkinen driving the McLaren MP4/12 at the 1997 Canadian GP
It took 6 seasons before Häkkinen won his first Formula 1 race. The 1997 European Grand Prix was his first F1 victory at Jerez. It was also the race where Michael Schumacher got his heavy penalty for deliberately driving into Jacques Villeneuve's Williams to prevent him from passing and winning the 1997 drivers championship.
It looked like the winning of his first race change everything for Mika. He kept on winning the next 2 seasons and he even became F1 drivers world champion in 1998 and 1999. He was the only driver who was able to defeat Schumacher on his way to his glory days at Ferrari. Hakkinen and Schumacher were able to put each-other under enormous pressure. They were fears competitors but also showed a level of mutual respect never seen before in F1.
The most unbelievable pass ever is the pass made by Hakkinen on Schumacher in Belgium during the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix. Hakkinen was chasing the Ferrari of Schumacher through Eau Rouge and on the Kemmel Straight they lapped a back-marker. Ricardo Zonta was the driving the lapped car, Schumacher overtook him on the outside, but Hakkinen chose to stick to the right side of the backmarker and overtook both cars.
After the very strong season for Schumacher at Ferrari 2001 F1 season in which the German won 9 races and Hakkinen only 2, he decided to quit Formula 1 to enjoy and have more time with his family. It was a sabbatical initially, but it was his definitive retirement from the sport.
Cars
Mika Hakkinen F1 Cars
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- McLaren MP4-16 Mercedes driven by Mika Hakkinen in Belgium (2001)
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- McLaren MP4-15 Mercedes Mika Hakkinen, 2nd position. Suzuka, Japan. 6-8 October 2000
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- Mika Hakkinen driving the McLaren MP4-13 Mercedes at the morning training session, Austrian GP, A1 ring (Red Bull Ring) (1998)
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- McLaren MP4-14 Mercedes driven by Mika Hakkinen (1999)
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- McLaren MP4-12 Mercedes diven by Mika Hakkinen at the Canadian GP (1997)
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- Mika Hakkinen testing the McLaren MP4-11 Mercedes at Estoril, Portugal (1996).
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- Mika Hakkinen crashed out with the McLaren MP4-10 Mercedes in the Argentinian F1 GP in Buenos Aires (1995)
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- Mika Hakkinen spins in the McLaren MP4-9 Peugeot (1994).
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- Ayrton Senna and Mika Hakkinen before the Portuguese Grand Prix at the Estoril circuit in Portugal (1993)
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- Lotus 102D driven by Mika Hakkonen in Monaco (1992)
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- Mika Hakkinen driving his first race at the US GP in Phoenix in the Lotus 102B (1991)
Seasons
Mika Hakkinen F1 Championship Season Results
| 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16th | 8th | 16th | 4th | 7th | 5th | 6th | 1st | 1st | 2nd | 5th |
Mika Hakkinen F1 Seasons Summary
| Year | Team | Engine | GP | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Pod | Pole | Laps | FL | Avg Pts | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 |  McLaren | Mercedes | 16 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 689 | 3 | 2.31 | 37 |
| 2000 | McLaren | Mercedes | 17 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 944 | 9 | 5.24 | 89 |
| 1999 | McLaren | Mercedes | 16 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | 851 | 6 | 4.75 | 76 |
| 1998 | McLaren | Mercedes | 16 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 856 | 6 | 6.25 | 100 |
| 1997 | McLaren | Mercedes | 17 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 718 | 1 | 1.59 | 27 |
| 1996 | McLaren | Mercedes | 16 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 900 | 0 | 1.94 | 31 |
| 1995 | McLaren | Mercedes | 15 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 536 | 0 | 1.13 | 17 |
| 1994 | McLaren | Peugeot | 15 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 670 | 0 | 1.73 | 26 |
| 1993 | McLaren | Ford | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 0 | 1.33 | 4 |
| 1992 | Team Lotus | Ford | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 794 | 0 | 0.73 | 11 |
| 1991 | Team Lotus | Judd | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 649 | 0 | 0.13 | 2 |
Races
Mika Hakkinen F1 GP Race Classifications
| 1st | 20 Times |
| 2nd | 14 Times |
| 3rd | 17 Times |
| 4th | 13 Times |
| 5th | 10 Times |
| 6th | 9 Times |
| 7th | 4 Times |
| 8th | 3 Times |
| 9th | 5 Times |
| 10th | 1 Time |
| 12th | 2 Times |
| 14th | 3 Times |
| 19th | 1 Time |
| DNF | 58 Times |
| DSQ | 1 Time |
| DNQ | 2 Times |
| DNS | 2 Times |
Mika Hakkinen F1 GP Race Results
Podiums
Mika Hakkinen F1 Podium Finishes
Poles
Mika Hakkinen F1 Pole Positions
Comparison
Mika Hakkinen Teammate Comparison
| Season | Team | Team Mate | Best Pos | Points | Wins | Poles | Position | Qualifying | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Team Lotus | Johnny Herbert | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Julian Bailey | 5 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Michael Bartels | 14 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1992 | Team Lotus | Johnny Herbert | 4 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 9 |
| 1993 | McLaren | Ayrton Senna | 3 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1994 | McLaren | Martin Brundle | 2 | 2 | 26 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 0 |
| 1995 | McLaren | Mark Blundell | 2 | 4 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 2 |
| Nigel Mansell | 5 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1996 | McLaren | David Coulthard | 3 | 2 | 31 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 4 |
| 1997 | McLaren | David Coulthard | 1 | 1 | 27 | 36 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 6 |
| 1998 | McLaren | David Coulthard | 1 | 1 | 100 | 56 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 13 | 3 |
| 1999 | McLaren | David Coulthard | 1 | 1 | 76 | 48 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 6 | 13 | 3 |
| 2000 | McLaren | David Coulthard | 1 | 1 | 89 | 73 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 7 |
| 2001 | McLaren | David Coulthard | 1 | 1 | 37 | 65 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 13 | 9 | 8 |
News
Latest Mika Hakkinen News
Hakkinen: Bottas only needs to beat 'one driver'
Jun.11 - Valtteri Bottas could win the 2020 world championship by beating just "one driver". That is the view of Mika Hakkinen, the retired double world champion who remains..
Hakkinen: Shutdown could shake up F1 hierarchy
Jun.11 - Experienced drivers in smaller teams may benefit the most from F1's long coronavirus shutdown period, according to Mika Hakkinen. The sport is currently counting down the..
Hakkinen: 2021 seat depends on Vettel's motivation
Mika Hakkinen is sure that quadruple world champion Sebastian Vettel's Formula 1 career can carry on beyond 2020. It is reported that Ferrari has offered the German a new two-year..
Isola: F1 must be 'careful' with comeback plans
F1 must be careful about when it returns to the track in 2020, according to Pirelli boss Mario Isola. The Italian has been in the headlines recently as he conducts his duties as a..
Mika Hakkinen 2019 Beyond the Grid interview
He is regarded as one of the fastest drivers to ever grace an F1 racetrack, and arguably the rival Michael Schumacher feared the most. Not only was Mika Hakkinen’s commitment in..
Report: New engine for Leclerc may include 2020 parts
Ferrari may test parts for its 2020 engine this weekend in Brazil. The Maranello team's engine is a hot topic at present, after the FIA in Austin issued a clarification over how..
McLaren closes door on Alonso's F1 return
McLaren has apparently closed the door to a Formula 1 return for Fernando Alonso. Alonso, who quit at the end of last year, said this week that he would study the 2021 regulations..
Hakkinen reflects on his 1999 Japanese GP win
Exactly 20 years after his victory in Suzuka, Mika Hakkinen sits down to reflect on that special race on October 31st
Seidl: McLaren 'never considered' own engine
Team boss Andreas Seidl says McLaren "never considered" building its own Formula 1 engine. After 2020, the British team will continue its push to catch the top three teams by..
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