Mika Häkkinen

Mika Pauli Häkkinen (born 28 September 1968 in Vantaa in the Helsinki metropolitan area) is a Finnish racing driver and two-time Formula One World Champion.

After success in karting and a near win at the 1990 Macau Grand Prix, Häkkinen joined Lotus in 1991 where he remained until 1992. Häkkinen joined McLaren as a test driver in 1993 initally as a backup for Ayrton Senna and took on the responsibility of race driver after Michael Andretti was dismissed by the team after that year's Italian Grand prix. In 1994, he became the lead driver after Senna left to join Williams. Following a life-threatening injury during qualifying for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix, Häkkinen made a considerable improvement in 1996 and took his first victory at the 1997 European Grand Prix. Häkkinen won back to back titles in 1998-99. 2000 saw the year that Häkkinen conceded the title to Schumacher with 2001 yelding two victories and the announcement of a sabbatical that later turned into retirement.

After retiring from Formula One, Häkkinen has driven in the DTM series where he won three races with Mercedes before retiring in 2007.

Early life
Mika Häkkinen was born in Helsingin maalaiskunta (now Vantaa), Finland on September 28, 1968 to Harri, a shortwave radio operator and part-time taxi driver, and Aila Häkkinen, who worked as a secretary. Häkkinen grew up with one sister, Nina, who ran a fan site for her brother until its closure in 1998. As a child, Hakkinen lived in the same street as Mika Salo with the two becoming later becoming friends.

Beyond that, Häkkinen also actively participated in an art show acrobat. Since entering junior high school age, he was fond of playing acrobatic gymnastics, and later on he joined a theater arts acrobatics in Helsinki. Häkkinen was undecided whether he will be a player or rider acrobatic gymnastics. Finally after thinking about it, he decided to become a driver.

Pre-Formula One (until 1990)
When Häkkinen was five years old, his parents hired a go-kart for him to take to a track near their home. On his first lap, Häkkinen was involved in an accident, escaping unhurt. Despite this crash, Häkkinen wished to continue racing and after persistently annoying his parents, the young Finn got his wish. His father bought Häkkinen his first go-kart, one that Henri Toivonen had previously competed with.

By 1986, Häkkinen had won five karting championships. World Champion Keke Rosberg helped Häkkinen by arranging him sponsorship that aided the Finn through the junior categories of open wheel racing. The "New Flying Finn" won three Scandinavian championships, then in 1988 the Opel Lotus Euroseries championship before winning the 1990 British Formula Three championship. During the late 1980s he was living in England and sharing a house with West Surrey Racing team mate Allan McNish. Häkkinen was close to winning the 1990 Macau Grand Prix but missed out due to a controversial accident with Michael Schumacher, which resulted in his promotion to Formula One with Team Lotus.

Lotus (1991–1992)

 * 1991



Häkkinen joined Lotus in. He qualified 13th for his Grand Prix debut in Phoenix, and would also have finished the race in the same position but his car experienced an engine failure on lap 60. Häkkinen scored his first Grand Prix points two rounds later in Imola, where he finished fifth from 25th on the grid, three laps behind the race winner, Ayrton Senna. Häkkinen finished the season in equal 15th alongside Satoru Nakajima and Martin Brundle.

Johnny Herbert joined Häkkinen for. The Finn continued his form from 1991, with points scoring finishes in six Grands Prix, his best finishes being fourth places in France and Hungary. Häkkinen finished the season in eighth place in the Drivers' Championship, with almost six times as many points as during the previous season.
 * 1992

1993
In, Häkkinen joined McLaren as test driver with a view to be promoted into the race team later on. In Monaco he returned to racing with a guest drive in the Porsche Supercup race, an event he dominated. His hopes of stepping up to the race team were realised after Monza, when Michael Andretti left F1 after disappointing results. Häkkinen's McLaren race debut in Portugal was impressive. In his first outing for the team, he outqualified their star driver Ayrton Senna. Unfortunately, when pushing too hard through the final corner of the track during the race, he ran wide onto the dirty side of the kerb, launching the car towards the pit wall. At the time he was running in a point-scoring position. He went on to score a podium finish fifteen seconds behind his triple world champion team-mate during the next weekend at Suzuka, his first career podium.

During 1993, Häkkinen, along with Ayrton Senna, tested the Lamborghini V12 engine in a modified version of the McLaren MP4/8 race car dubbed the "MP4/8B" at both Estoril and Silverstone. Both drivers were impressed with the engine, with Häkkinen reportedly lapping Silverstone some 1.4 seconds faster in the MP4/8B with its V12 engine than he had with the team's race car fitted with the Ford V8.

1994
With Senna departing to Williams for, Häkkinen became the leading driver for McLaren with Martin Brundle as his teammate. McLaren had also switched from the V8 Ford engines to Peugeot V10s (a handshake deal was reportedly done for McLaren to use the Lamborghini V12 the team had tested in 1993, but team boss Ron Dennis decided on Peugeot instead). During the season, Häkkinen took six more podium finishes to add to his sole podium of 1993, including a second place in Belgium. The Finn finished the year fourth in the Drivers' Championship with a tally of 26 points.

1995
would be the start of a long relationship between Häkkinen's McLaren team and the German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. Before the season began, Häkkinen and team-mate Nigel Mansell had complained the new car had been too small for them to fit in and they suffered from their hands and elbows bashing on the sides of the cockpit.

A further two second places in Italy and Japan put the Finn's tally of podiums up to nine. Häkkinen missed the Pacific Grand Prix at Aida due to an appendix operation. But then, at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, he suffered a tyre failure at the early part of the first qualifying session, which resulted in him crashing heavily into the wall. He was critically injured in the crash (sustaining a skull fracture, internal bleeding and swallowing his tongue, of which the latter blocked his airway) and was saved only due to an emergency cricothyroidotomy that was performed by the side of the track by Sid Watkins. This incident forged a strong bond between Häkkinen and team principal Ron Dennis, and also sent forth a new movement for extra safety in the sport. Luckily, Häkkinen recovered fully and was fit to race again in 1996, thus missing only one race. Häkkinen climbed back into a Formula One car at Paul Ricard three months after the accident.

1996
The 1996 season saw McLaren improve; Mercedes-Benz were in their second season of supplying engines to the team and Häkkinen managed to return to the podium, although his first win still eluded him. That season saw David Coulthard join the team from Williams. At the Spa circuit he nearly registered his first win while using a one stop race strategy, until Jos Verstappen's accident allowed all other cars to pit under the safety car. Based on timing, Häkkinen would have won the race by over 10 seconds without this event. Häkkinen finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring a total of 31 points.

1997
McLaren were confident of success in. With the distinctive red and white colours of Marlboro replaced by the silver and black colours of West, the team returned to their winning ways. Coulthard took the first win for McLaren in over three seasons at the Australian Grand Prix. Through the year the McLarens began to regularly challenge the frontrunners, but it was Coulthard who finished higher in the championship. Häkkinen came close to an elusive breakthrough victory a number of times in 1997, not least at Silverstone, A1-Ring and Nürburgring. At Jerez he finally crossed the line first, although after teammate Coulthard had been asked to move over for him and title contender Jacques Villeneuve, nursing a damaged car, was asked by his team to consider letting him through.

1998
The 1998 season was the turning point for Häkkinen. The McLaren MP4/13 was the first car designed by Adrian Newey, aerodynamicist who had the merit of having designed the best car when he was with the Williams team. Häkkinen and McLaren finally had a more than competitive, thanks to the passage from the Goodyear tire supplier Bridgestone most effective. The Finn managed with 8 wins and 13 placings in the points in 16 races to win the title of World Champion made over 100 points, ahead of Ferrari's Michael Schumacher with 86. In addition, he started from pole position nine times.

The year began with Häkkinen winning the first four of six rounds. However, in the next three races, Schumacher won the next three allowing him to close the championship gap to Häkkinen in the drivers' standings. Häkkinen, then won in Austria and Germany. In Hungary and Belgium, however, only one point though Schumacher took advantage of fully because he won only in the Hungarian Grand Prix and at Spa while he was leading he made contact with David Coulthard. At Monza, Schumacher and Häkkinen were imposed only finished fourth due to a gearbox problem. At this point in the season the two contenders were in the top of the standings with 80 points, with only 2 races left. Schumacher took pole at the Nurburgring with Häkkinen taking victory. Häkkinen and Schumacher arrived at Suzuka with the title still up for grabs though Häkkinen was clearly favored by the superiority of the Mclaren while the Ferrari had developed during the course of the championship. In the last race of the season, Häkkinen won again with an unfortunate Schumacher who took pole position was forced to start from the back of the grid due to a problem encountered on his warm-up lap and had made a good recovery in the race before a puncture forced him to retire. Häkkinen then won the race and his first world title.

1999
The MP4/14, once again designed from the pencil of Newey, was also a competitive car capable of fighting for the victory, though more fragile than its predecessor. The climb to the World Title was more difficult than in 1998. Despite a more competitive Ferrari, Schumacher finished out of the game in the mid-season because of a serious accident during the Grand Prix at Silverstone. The world seemed so closer to Häkkinen, but despite this the Finn was able to celebrate the second world title in a row after the last Grand Prix at Suzuka in which he managed to win finishing ahead of Michael Schumacher and Ferrari driver Eddie Irvine to another thus concluding the world with 76 points and 2 points separating Eddie Irvine finished second with 74 points.

The year did not start in the best way for Mika who had to retire in the first Grand Prix in Melbourne. The first victory of the season, however, was not long in coming and came at the Brazilian Grand Prix, but the Finn crashed out of the next race at Imola. Häkkinen finished third in Monaco, and took back-to-back wins Barcelona and in Canada. Häkkinen then came second in France and retired at Silverstone where Schumacher suffered a serious accident. Häkkinen then came third in Austria after a contact at the start with his companion and Coulthard was involved in a scary accident at Hockenheim where he lost the head of the world against Irvine. Häkkinen won in Budapest and then second at Spa behind team-mate Coulthard. At Monza, Häkkinen spun off and broke down crying in front of the cameras after running away from his car to hide during the race. Häkkinen finished fifth in the next Grand Prix and third in Malaysia. At the final round in Japan, he was back on top form and romped to a victory that secured him a second world championship, almost an entire lap ahead of title rival Irvine with Schumacher a close second.

2000
As a double World Champion, he had joined an elite group of drivers. For the 2000 season, he was eager to score a hat-trick of crowns, but after a season-long contest, finished 19 points behind Ferrari's Schumacher. Häkkinen took victory in Spain, France, Austria and in Hungary. At Spa, he took a memorable victory, with a breathtaking simultaneous pass on Michael Schumacher and Ricardo Zonta in the Kemmel straight. At the next Grand Prix Schumacher took over the Championship lead, and went on to confirm his third world championship at the Japanese Grand Prix, the penultimate race of the season. Schumacher has described his championship fight with Häkkinen as the most satisfying of his career.

2001
In, he took part in what would prove to be his last season of Formula One, before he was replaced by his young compatriot and protégé Kimi Räikkönen. The MP4-16 was not as competitive and it was Coulthard who carried the threat to Schumacher for much of the season.

Häkkinen suffered a sizeable crash due to a front suspension failure at the opening race in Australia at Melbourne, while running second. The accident seemed to have hindered his motivation considerably. There were days however when Häkkinen reminded people of his skills. In Spain he was in the lead on the last lap to record his fourth straight Spanish Grand Prix victory but he had a clutch failure and was forced to retire, just five corners away from victory. Häkkinen, stranded, was later fetched by Coulthard in the other McLaren, with Häkkinen sitting at the side of the car, back to the pit. It was a sad but memorable moment, reminding fans of the strong bonds between Coulthard and Häkkinen. At Silverstone he dominated the race to take his first victory of the year. At Monza, Häkkinen announced to the media that he was to take a sabbatical for 2002 deciding on his future in the process. At Indianapolis he put in a stirring drive to take his last Grand Prix win. By mid-2002, Häkkinen decided to take full-time retirement.

DTM (2005–2007)
During 2004 Häkkinen announced plans for a Grand Prix comeback and held talks with Williams for 2005. A deal was not reached and he instead made a race comeback in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM), with Mercedes-Benz. It was a successful season, including one win at Spa.

For 2006 he again competed in the DTM championships with Mercedes, although it was a more difficult season, with a couple of second places his best results. Autosport magazine speculated that Häkkinen's style of driving was not especially suited to a DTM car.

At the 2006 Goodwood Festival Of Speed, Häkkinen drove the 2005 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-20. Many said that it was great once again to see Häkkinen in a McLaren, as he was the last driver (at that time) to win the World Championship in a McLaren.

Häkkinen would stay on at Mercedes for a third season in the series and, although this was tainted by some bad luck in places, 2007 was to be his most competitive. Regularly qualifying on the front row, he took two wins at Lausitz and Mugello on his way to 8th in the championship.



Possible returns to F1
After Häkkinen's sabbatical year and subsequent retirement, rumours of his return were reported on several occasions. Häkkinen was linked to Williams during the 2004 season, because of Montoya going to McLaren-Mercedes following year.

At the end of the 2006 season there were further rumours regarding Häkkinen returning to the wheel of a McLaren-Mercedes for the 2007 season. Autosport magazine reported that Häkkinen had tested a McLaren simulator twice during November and discussed a possible comeback with the team. On November 24 McLaren announced that Lewis Hamilton would take the team's second seat in 2007, ending the speculation of a possible return to a Formula One drivers seat. However, it was reported that Häkkinen had participated in an advisory role, with Ron Dennis stating that "He's a very interesting person to bring in and evaluate some of the things we are developing." On Thursday, November 30, Häkkinen tested the 2006 McLaren-Mercedes MP4-21 for a full day at the Circuit de Catalunya, in Barcelona, Spain. He completed 79 laps of the circuit, but his fastest lap was three seconds off the pace of regular race drivers. McLaren said they were using his expertise to see how Formula One had evolved over the years since his retirement from Formula One at the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix, for possible developments which may have come out of this testing.

Häkkinen has also been named as the Responsible Drinking Ambassador for McLaren sponsor Johnnie Walker.

Häkkinen has a street named after him in the Australian city of Adelaide in which he suffered a near fatal accident.

2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup
Team AMG China has entered a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup - 6 Hours of Zhuhai race, which will see Häkkinen make his ILMC debut in the GT3-based machine.

Retirement
Häkkinen announced his retirement from competitive motorsport on Sunday, 4 November 2007. He was quoted as saying that the decision "was not an easy one," but added that "racing is still in my blood and this decision does not mean that this will prevent me from racing for pleasure."

In November 2008, Häkkinen announced that he will begin a new career in driver management.

Helmet
Mika Häkkinen's helmet is white with a Dark Blue stripe, a Royal blue stripe and a Sky blue stripe in the middle, a blue circle on the top and his name written in the chin area of his helmet

Other interests
Häkkinen can ride a unicycle and has performed on stage riding one.

In February 2010, Häkkinen offered driving lessons at Mercedes-Benz World to raise money for children's charity, Great Ormond Street Hospital. The event was sponsored by myHermes, for which Häkkinen is the brand ambassador.

Häkkinen also featured on BBC Two's TopGear, teaching presenter James May the basics of rally driving in preparation for his first supercar test with the Pagani Zonda.

Personal life
Since 1991, Häkkinen has resided in Monte Carlo although he also has houses in France and Finland. On 18 May 2008, his newly completed mansion in France burned down after a light in one of his trophy cabinets short circuited. Nobody was injured in the conflagration, but his pet tortoise perished in the fire along with his collection of F1 trophies.

Häkkinen married Erja Honkanen in 1998. The couple have one son, Hugo Ronan (born 11 December 2000) and one daughter, Aina Julia (born 12 May 2005). The couple applied for divorce in 2008. Häkkinen's third child, daughter Ella, was born on 30 November 2010 to his Czech girlfriend Marketa Remesova.

Complete Formula One results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete DTM results
(key)

* Half points were awarded in the race due to several errors made by the race officials.