Mika Hakkinen

Mika Hakkinen is a Finnish former racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1991 to 2001. Known as “The Flying Finn,” Hakkinen secured two Formula One World Championship titles, winning back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren.

Nationality	Finnish
Born	Mika Pauli Häkkinen 28 September 1968 Vantaa, Uusimaa, Finland

Hakkinen’s journey to F1 began at the age of five in karting, where he quickly showed promise by winning several regional and national championships. By 1987, he progressed to junior formula racing, where he continued to impress. Under the mentorship of 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, Hakkinen clinched his first title in Nordic Formula Ford and went on to win the 1990 British Formula Three Championship with West Surrey Racing. His success earned him a spot in the Marlboro driver academy, which led to a contract with Lotus in 1991, where he made his Formula One debut at the 1991 United States Grand Prix.

After two challenging seasons with Lotus, Hakkinen joined McLaren in 1993 as a test driver. Later that season, he partnered with Ayrton Senna to replace Michael Andretti for the final three races. Hakkinen quickly made an impact, earning his first podium at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix. Over the following seasons, he established himself as a consistent driver despite the unreliable Peugeot engine in the MP4/9, finishing fourth in the 1994 championship with six podium finishes. McLaren’s struggles continued in 1995 and 1996, but Hakkinen secured his first Formula One victory at the 1997 European Grand Prix.

In 1998, Hakkinen endured a season-long title fight with Michael Schumacher. He ultimately secured his first World Championship at the season’s final race, becoming the first Finnish Formula One World Champion in 16 years. He successfully defended his title in 1999, narrowly defeating Eddie Irvine, as Schumacher missed several races due to injury. Although Hakkinen continued to win races in 2000, Schumacher claimed the championship that year. Hakkinen retired from Formula One after the 2001 season, with his final victory at the 2001 United States Grand Prix. Over his career, he achieved 20 race wins, 26 pole positions, 25 fastest laps, and 51 podium finishes.

Following his Formula One career, Häkkinen competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) from 2005 to 2007 with HWA. After retiring from racing in 2007, he shifted focus to driver management and became a brand ambassador for Mercedes-AMG.

Mika Hakkinen Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1991–2001
Teams	Lotus, McLaren
Engines	Judd, Ford, Peugeot, Mercedes
Entries	165 (161 starts)
Championships	2 (1998, 1999)
Wins	20
Podiums	51
Career points	420
Pole positions	26
Fastest laps	25
First entry	1991 United States Grand Prix
First win	1997 European Grand Prix
Last win	2001 United States Grand Prix
Last entry	2001 Japanese Grand Prix

Mika Hakkinen Teammates

8 Teammates	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Julian Bailey	4	1991
Johnny Herbert	24	1991	1992
Michael Bartels	4	1991
Ayrton Senna	3	1993
Martin Brundle	15	1994
Mark Blundell	14	1995
Nigel Mansell	2	1995
David Coulthard	99	1996	2001

Race Wins

Win Number	Grand Prix
1	1997 European Grand Prix
2	1998 Australian Grand Prix
3	1998 Brazilian Grand Prix
4	1998 Spanish Grand Prix
5	1998 Monaco Grand Prix
6	1998 Austrian Grand Prix
7	1998 German Grand Prix
8	1998 Luxembourg Grand Prix
9	1998 Japanese Grand Prix
10	1999 Brazilian Grand Prix
11	1999 Spanish Grand Prix
12	1999 Canadian Grand Prix
13	1999 Hungarian Grand Prix
14	1999 Japanese Grand Prix
15	2000 European Grand Prix
16	2000 Austrian Grand Prix
17	2000 Hungarian Grand Prix
18	2000 Belgian Grand Prix
19	2001 British Grand Prix
20	2001 United States Grand Prix

Complete Formula One results

Year	Team	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1991	Team Lotus	Lotus 102B	Judd EV 3.5 V8	USA Ret	BRA 9	SMR 5	MON Ret	CAN Ret	MEX 9	FRA DNQ	GBR 12	GER Ret	HUN 14	BEL Ret	ITA 14	POR 14	ESP Ret	JPN Ret	AUS 19		16th	2
1992	Team Lotus	Lotus 102D	Ford HB 3.5 V8	RSA 9	MEX 6	BRA 10	ESP Ret	SMR DNQ													8th	11
		Lotus 107	Ford HB 3.5 V8						MON Ret	CAN Ret	FRA 4	GBR 6	GER Ret	HUN 4	BEL 6	ITA Ret	POR 5	JPN Ret	AUS 7
1993	Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4/8	Ford HBE7 3.5 V8	RSA	BRA	EUR	SMR	ESP	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR Ret	JPN 3	AUS Ret		15th	4
1994	Marlboro McLaren Peugeot	McLaren MP4/9	Peugeot A6 3.5 V10	BRA Ret	PAC Ret	SMR 3	MON Ret	ESP Ret	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 3	GER Ret	HUN	BEL 2	ITA 3	POR 3	EUR 3	JPN 7	AUS 12 †		4th	26
1995	Marlboro McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4/10	Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10	BRA 4	ARG Ret	SMR 5	ESP Ret	MON Ret	CAN Ret												7th	17
		McLaren MP4/10B	Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10							FRA 7	GBR Ret	GER Ret	HUN Ret	BEL Ret	ITA 2			PAC	JPN 2	AUS DNS
		McLaren MP4/10C	Mercedes FO 110 3.0 V10													POR Ret	EUR 8
1996	Marlboro McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4/11	Mercedes FO 110/3 3.0 V10	AUS 5	BRA 4	ARG Ret	EUR 8	SMR 8 †	MON 6 †	ESP 5	CAN 5	FRA 5									5th	31
		McLaren MP4/11B	Mercedes FO 110/3 3.0 V10										GBR 3	GER Ret	HUN 4	BEL 3	ITA 3	POR Ret	JPN 3
1997	West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4/12	Mercedes FO 110E 3.0 V10	AUS 3	BRA 4	ARG 5	SMR 6	MON Ret	ESP 7	CAN Ret											6th	27
		McLaren MP4/12	Mercedes FO 110F 3.0 V10								FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 3	HUN Ret	BEL DSQ	ITA 9	AUT Ret	LUX Ret	JPN 4	EUR 1
1998	West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4/13	Mercedes FO 110G 3.0 V10	AUS 1	BRA 1	ARG 2	SMR Ret	ESP 1	MON 1	CAN Ret	FRA 3	GBR 2	AUT 1	GER 1	HUN 6	BEL Ret	ITA 4	LUX 1	JPN 1		1st	100
1999	West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4/14	Mercedes FO 110H 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	BRA 1	SMR Ret	MON 3	ESP 1	CAN 1	FRA 2	GBR Ret	AUT 3	GER Ret	HUN 1	BEL 2	ITA Ret	EUR 5	MAL 3	JPN 1		1st	76
2000	West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4/15	Mercedes FO 110J 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	BRA Ret	SMR 2	GBR 2	ESP 1	EUR 2	MON 6	CAN 4	FRA 2	AUT 1	GER 2	HUN 1	BEL 1	ITA 2	USA Ret	JPN 2	MAL 4	2nd	89
2001	West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4-16	Mercedes FO 110K 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	MAL 6	BRA Ret	SMR 4	ESP 9 †	AUT Ret	MON Ret	CAN 3	EUR 6	FRA DNS	GBR 1	GER Ret	HUN 5	BEL 4	ITA Ret	USA 1	JPN 4	5th	37

Sources:

1. Mika Hakkinen. Wikipedia.com