Mika Häkkinen

Mika Häkkinen

Häkkinen in 2012
Born	Mika Pauli Häkkinen (1968-09-28) 28 September 1968 (age 48) Vantaa, Finland
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Finnish
Active years	1991–2001
Teams	Lotus, McLaren
Entries	165 (161 starts)
Championships	2 (1998, 1999)
Wins	20
Podiums	51
Career points	420
Pole positions	26
Fastest laps	25
First entry	1991 United States Grand Prix
First win	1997 European Grand Prix
Last win	2001 United States Grand Prix
Last entry	2001 Japanese Grand Prix

Mika Pauli Häkkinen ( pronunciation ; born 28 September 1968), nicknamed "the Flying Finn", is a Finnish former professional racing driver. He was the 1998 and 1999 Formula One World Champion, driving for McLaren and has been ranked among the greatest Formula One drivers in various motorsport polls. Häkkinen currently works in driver management and is a brand ambassador for various companies.

Häkkinen began his career in karting at the age of five and achieved success by winning regional and national kart championships. He progressed to car racing when he entered the Formula Ford and Formula Three series in Italy and the United Kingdom. After success in the series, Häkkinen entered Formula One in 1991 with the Team Lotus where he remained until 1992. The following year, he moved to McLaren as test driver before he was promoted to the race team following the departure of Michael Andretti.

After four years which yielded minor success for Häkkinen, he scored his first Formula One victory in 1997. He went on to win eight races of the 1998 season, securing the World Drivers' Championship at the season ending Japanese Grand Prix; his success also helped McLaren secure the World Constructors' Championship. Häkkinen repeated his World Championship success in 1999, taking five victories. He finished as runner-up in the Drivers' Championship in 2000, behind Michael Schumacher and secured two more victories in 2001 before announcing a sabbatical from the sport, which became full-time retirement in mid-2002.