Mika Hakkinen announces his retirement

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vat_man

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Well, no surprise, but McLaren announced today that Mika was would not be returning to Formula One.

I always had a real soft spot for Mika - some of his supernatural performances in the Lotus, outqualifying Senna in '93 in his first drive for McLaren. I was there that day at Adelaide when he was very nearly killed in 1995. After the shocks of 1994 there was a horrid air of morbid anticipation that day, and a palpable sense of relief the following day when it was apparent he was going to be okay.

It was good to see him get out when he did - he made the most of his time at the top. Farewell, Mika!

hakkinen.jpg
 
It was the right time for him to go. He's had an eventful career, couple of World Championships, still got all his bits in the right places and working: time to say "So long, and thanks for all the fish". Most drivers would think he's had a pretty good innings.
 
It is sad to see him go, but I know that he is very interested in his son right now and this is the best time for him to leave. There was always something about him that I liked, and I became a fan when he won at Indianapolis, the very first Grand Prix I ever attended. :)

 
Mika Hakkinen was a risk taker of a different kind. Let's see, he tried to pass Schumacher in the 1990 Macau GP for F3 cars (unfortunately failing on the last lap). They were the only two up front of the race, and it was a race, so he made it one.

Plunging into the Lotus T101B car from 1991. He qualified 11th on his debut at Phoenix, but the car erupted in flames after spinning earlier in the race. To spin and not crash on a concrete-lined street circuit really says something. Later on, he would record a fifth place in his 3rd F1 race (Imola); rainy race, not a bad showing for a car that Herbert and Julian Bailey had trouble qualifying.

Making Lotus look good again in 1992. The Ford V8's and a simple chassis was the right tool for the job. Hakkinen was alomost always running in the points, even if the car didn't always last. He was up to 3rd in Suzuka until his car broke down in the late stages.

Here's a risk: Testing for McLaren when Senna and Andretti were racing in 1993. No racing at all until Portugal, where he promptly out-qualified Senna. After Senna left, he was given the task of making the Peugeot engine competitive. He tried and tried, but all his talent made for good showings, but mostly just clouds of smoke.

In 1995, he steered that ugly Mercedes-powered MP4/10 to some places the car shouldn't have been, and despite a serious head injury and a team-mate with a serious ego problem (Mansell), he got on with the job. Fortunelty, Mika was better than ever by the time 1996 rolled around.

Coulthard threatened to make the tem his own after recording two wins in 1997, but he showed his determination to win by showing David how to really win a championship. In 199, he faced a tougher Ferrari team, but miraculously pulled it off again.

By 2000, the Ferrari was rthe best car, and last year, Mika didn't look like he was trying anymore. It was time to step away, and he did so with class. Although he wasn't the most exciting driver on the track, his racing career is really an interesting story. It wasn't carefully planned, but that's life sometimes...
 
I didn't think he would want to come back after taking a year off.

Still sad news though. :(
 
Now there's noone to challenge ******* *********.:mad: Mika was the only one that could really make a run at ********* on the last lap.:) F1 won't be the same without him.:(
 
That really makes me sad to see the only man in the past 5 years who can actually KICK MS ass leave. I loved seeing mika in the lotus days. I will always see him in a lotus (in my mind) I still think those were his best days when he showed you dont need the best car to compete. Well he did that throughout his carreer, he never realy had the best car, imagine if he did.
 
I would disagree with that entirely. The 1998/1999 McLaren was definitely the class of the field.
 
Mika will be dearly missed he was a great guy

now he just wants to spend time with his son can't blame him

Quit while your ahead
 
Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
I would disagree with that entirely. The 1998/1999 McLaren was definitely the class of the field.
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Well, the 1998 car certainly was. I saw it on debut at Melbourne before they banned the braking system on it, and that car was an absolute starship.

I think Mika (much as I love him) might have struggled in 1999 had Michael not broken his leg - the McLaren might have been marginally better than the Ferrari, but the advantage wasn't as clear cut as in '98.
 
I thought Mika wouldn't come back anymore either. I had on tape the races where Häkkinen wins the championship in '98 and in '99, and a few days ago I decided to dig them up and watch them again. Well then, about 5 into the race and Formula 1 suddenly changes into a dating show. What a nice surprise. Someone had recorded crap over my precious Formula 1 races without asking me anything. I felt like screaming at someone, but it was 5 in the morning so I couldn't. *sigh*
Oh well, maybe I should buy the Official F1 Season Review videos sometime to relive the glory, but seems I forgot the address to that site...
 
Originally posted by JoniK
Oh well, maybe I should buy the Official F1 Season Review videos sometime to relive the glory, but seems I forgot the address to that site...
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I know it's not exactly what you're looking for, but here are a few highlight videos for download from '98, courtesy of one of my favorite websites, F1 Seasons. Official F1 season review videos would be great, however. If you come across the site again, please let me know! :)
 
I found the site I was talking about the URL is www.alfamer.fi
The site is in finnish only though, sorry about that. They have all the F1 Season Reviews from 81' Season to the season 2001. They each are pretty expensive though, 38 € a piece. They're not available for DVD, at least. Maybe i'll buy one when they come out in DVD, if they ever come. By the way, Jordan, thanks for the links.
 

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