Mika Häkkinen

Mika Pauli Häkkinen (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈmikɑ ˈhækːinen]; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1991 to 2001. Nicknamed "The Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren, and won 20 Grands Prix across 11 seasons.

Häkkinen began his career in karting at the age of five, winning several regional and national championships before graduating to junior formulae in 1987. A protégé of 1982 Formula One World Champion Keke Rosberg, Häkkinen won his first championship in Nordic Formula Ford before winning the 1990 British Formula Three Championship with West Surrey Racing. A member of the Marlboro driver academy, Häkkinen signed for Lotus in 1991, making his Formula One debut at the United States Grand Prix. After two seasons with little success at Lotus, Häkkinen moved to McLaren as a test driver in 1993, replacing Michael Andretti for the final three rounds of the season to partner Ayrton Senna.

Häkkinen was immediately successful at McLaren, achieving his maiden podium at the 1993 Japanese Grand Prix. Despite the poor reliability of the Peugeot-powered MP4/9, Häkkinen scored six podiums and finished fourth in the 1994 standings. After further winless seasons for McLaren in 1995 and 1996, he achieved his maiden win at the 1997 European Grand Prix. Amidst a fierce title battle with Michael Schumacher in 1998, Häkkinen won his first championship at the final race of the season, becoming the first Finnish Formula One World Champion in 16 years. He successfully defended his title in 1999, beating Eddie Irvine by two points in lieu of an injured Schumacher. Häkkinen won several races during his 2000 campaign, but was unable to beat Schumacher to a third title. Häkkinen retired at the conclusion of the 2001 season—taking his final victory at the United States Grand Prix—having achieved 20 race wins, 26 pole positions, 25 fastest laps and 51 podiums in Formula One.

Outside of Formula One, Häkkinen competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters from 2005 to 2007 for HWA. Upon his retirement from motor racing in 2007, he moved into driver management and became a brand ambassador for Mercedes-AMG. Since 2022, Häkkinen has been a commentator and pundit for Viaplay.