Mika Hakkinen: speed and respect

Mika Hakkinen, born 28 September 1968, won the Formula One Drivers World Championship in 1998 and 1999, both times driving for McLaren. He currently works in driver management and is a brand ambassador for McLaren.

During his F1 career that spanned from 1991 to 2001, he only drove for two teams, Lotus and McLaren. Extremely fast, Hakkinen had a long wait till he finally won his first F1 race, the 1997 European Grand Prix at Jerez in Spain. In 161 F1 starts, he obtained 20 wins, 51 podiums and 26 pole positions.

Seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher particularly respected Mika Hakkinen, who he considered his main rival on track, and declared: “Mika Hakkinen was the best opponent (I’ve had) in terms of his quality, but the biggest admiration I had for him was we had 100% fight on track but a totally discipled life off track. We respected each other highly and let each other live quietly.”