Mika Häkkinen

Finnish racing driver

The Flying Finn at McLaren

Mika Häkkinen waited six seasons for his first win, then took consecutive championships with McLaren in 1998 and 1999.

Mika Häkkinen was born in Vantaa, Finland, on 28 September 1968, and began karting at five. Guided by 1982 world champion Keke Rosberg, he won in Nordic Formula Ford and then took the 1990 British Formula Three title with West Surrey Racing, which led to a Lotus seat for 1991. He made his debut at the United States Grand Prix that March.

Two seasons with Lotus brought points but no podiums, and in 1993 he joined McLaren as test driver. He raced only the last three rounds that year, alongside Ayrton Senna, and finished third in Japan. A run of podium seasons followed with Peugeot and then Mercedes power, yet his first victory did not arrive until the 1997 European Grand Prix, in his seventh season.

Once the wins started they came quickly. In 1998 he won eight races, beat Michael Schumacher to the title at the final round, and became the second world champion from Finland. He won five more in 1999 and defended the crown by two points over Eddie Irvine. Four wins in 2000 left him runner up to Schumacher, and he closed his career in 2001 with victories at Silverstone and Indianapolis.

His Formula 1 record reads 161 starts, 20 wins, 26 pole positions, 25 fastest laps and 51 podiums, all with Lotus and McLaren. From 2005 to 2007 he raced touring cars in the DTM with Mercedes, and later he moved into driver management, ambassador work for Mercedes AMG and television commentary.

2 world titles, 20 wins, 26 pole positions, 161 starts.

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