Formula One Auto Racing Driver Mika Hakkinen

Mika Hakkinen - The Flying Finn

On September 28, 1968, Mika Pauli Hakkinen was born, five years later his parents placed him on the first go-kart he had ever been on and from there his love of racing began. It was not long after that, that the persistent Mika finally got his parents to buy him his very own kart. Soon the whole family joined Mika on the racetrack and they would all go together as a team in their minibus. In 1986 Mika Hakkinen had become a five-time karting champion and from there became protégé to Keke Rosberg, a fellow Finn and the 1982 World Champion. Rosberg became Hakkinen’s manager and organised sponsorship to help the rising star through the “junior categories of single-seater racing.”

The new “Flying Finn” won overall three Scandinavian Formula Ford championships, the first was the Opel Lotus Euroseries, then the British Formula Three championship, which led to his move to Formula One racing backed by Team Lotus. At this point Lotus was not doing well but because of the talent Mika had as a driver it put him on demand. This changed in 1993 when McLaren boss Ron Dennis took him on for testing duties and to also be an understudy to Michael Andretti and Ayrton Senna. With Michael Andretti retiring and Senna moving to Williams, Mika Hakkinen became McLaren’s number one driver.

In his entire career, the worst accident that he ever had nearly bought him to deaths door. He started the 1995 season with seven podium finishes but ended terribly in Adelaide. During a practice session debris punctured one of his tyres and threw him and his McLaren against the wall with incredible force. Rescue crews ran to his assistance finding Mika critically injured, he was bleeding copiously from the mouth and was going blue due to lack of oxygen. An emergency tracheotomy was performed to allow him to breathe before a move to the hospital could be attempted. He slowly regained consciousness and it was his girlfriend Erja who helped nurse him back to health.

With all the “Flying Finn’s” speed he had still not converted it into a Formula One victory. However, on the last race of the 1997 season at Jerez, Mika finally won. His next victory was during the opening season in 1998 in Melbourne and from there on there was no stopping him and he became the 1998 World Champion. In 1999 his task of defending his title was made easier with the absence of Schumacher who had an injured leg and again he secured his second title.

Mika Hakkinen kept his wins up, four times in 2000 and two times in 2001. At this point Mika and Erja had married and become parents to little Hugo Hakkinen. It was at this point that Hakkinen became more aware at just how dangerous racing was and he grew tired of the constantly high pace he had to keep up. So in 2001, after nine incredible years with McLaren, Mika Hakkinen announced that he was going to take a year’s sabbatical leave but in fact he never came back to Formula One racing.