Mika Hakkinen: from the Second Title to the Farewell to Racing – The Flying Finn

First Part

Second Part

McLaren's winning ride didn't stop the following year either. Another car masterpiece allowed Mika to replicate the world success, however with some extra thought. In 1999 Michael Schumacher suffered a bad accident at Silverstone and was out of action for several races, so Ferrari bet everything on Eddie Irvine, who managed to bring himself back with a series of three consecutive victories in the summer. Once again Suzuka was decisive, where Hakkinen managed to win ahead of the two Ferrari drivers, winning the world championship for the second time, now just two points behind the English driver from Maranello.

“Michael and I fought a lot of duels. Obviously when you find yourself in front of a driver like that it's fantastic to duel and race with him. I knew how difficult it was and that's why I thought it was fascinating.”

For the third consecutive year this was a duel between two very fast drivers, a duel that will go down in history. In 2000 the performances of the two leading cars were more or less equal, but the factor that gave the Maranello team the advantage was its reliability. The Mercedes engine from the Woking team abandoned its drivers too many times during that championship. At Spa-Francorchamps what is still considered the best overtaking in the history of Formula 1 took place: on the Kemmel straight Hakkinen caught the wake of the German's Ferrari and overtook him just as he was preparing to lap Ricardo Zonta. Three cars fanned out on that straight: a historic image.

“I still remember that feeling. I went to the limit, and I don't usually drive like that when there are six laps to go, but there I did. Throughout my career I have had many opportunities to overtake, but the most exciting ones were mainly when I was fighting with Michael."

In Indianapolis, however, the engine left Hakkinen stranded just as he was leading the group, allowing Schumacher to close the score for the next race. Once again in Suzuka. Michael did not fail and won his first drivers' title in red, relegating Mika to second position.

2001 was a rather poor season of results for the Finn, who would later declare that after two world titles and after the birth of his son Hugo, his motivation to race was fading.

"At Melbourne 2001 I was running in second place when suddenly the front failed and I went straight into the barriers. At that moment I said to myself – Mika, you are burning everything you have – I simply couldn't give more than I had already done."

The season reserved for the McLaren drivers very little joy, but many disappointments linked to the poor reliability of the vehicle. In Spain, a Grand Prix that Hakkinen had always appreciated, and that year too he was going to win, the clutch betrayed him a few corners from the end, and so he had to give up the victory to his all-time rival who was literally dominating the championship with the Ferrari. Hakkinen managed to score two victories, one at Silverstone, home of McLaren, and one at Indianapolis, what would be his last victory in Formula 1. At the end of that year he announced that he would take a year off before making better decisions about his future.

Initially his departure from the world championship was supposed to be exclusively temporary, and the plan was that of a sabbatical. However, when it came time to return, after a year the Finn decided that he had had enough, and left the Formula 1 circus definitively, except for a test with McLaren in 2006 in which, however, he was no longer up to par with the young emerging drivers.

Initially he took part in the DTM championship, achieving some victories, but in the end he decided that the time had come to stop for good. However, as we know, a driver never completely leaves the world of racing, in fact Mika was hired by various television networks for a few years as a commentator for the Formula 1 championship.

The Finn is often remembered for his fantastic duels with Michael Schumacher and for his extraordinary loyalty on the track. For this reason he was loved by both McLaren fans and non-McLaren fans, and for this reason he is often remembered with great nostalgia.

The Flying Finn.

Matteo Bramati.