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Mika Hakkinen interview: ‘History is repeating itself a little bit’
McLaren have sealed the constructors’ championship but the drivers’ title fight is going right down to the wire
Though McLaren won the constructors’ championship — their first successive title since 1991 — at the Singapore Grand Prix on Sunday night, the achievement was overshadowed by the on-track clash between their two drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris and the following back-and-forth arguments over team radio.
With only six races remaining and 22 points separating the two, their friendship has become prickly and their relationship feisty as the 2025 nears its end, looking for the first McLaren drivers’ title since Lewis Hamilton in 2007.
In an interview facilitated by FanCode, F1 great Mika Hakkinen, who won both his titles driving for McLaren in 1998 and 1999, discusses the title fight, the mental state of the drivers and how the team dynamics work during such a time, reigning champion Max Verstappen’s outside chance to win the title among other topics. Excerpts:
What do you make of the championship fight between Norris and Piastri?
I think history is repeating itself a little bit. I had an amazing racing career with McLaren. I had a teammate where we were fighting for the championships. And we had an incredible car in those years. That meant that our competitors were really quite far behind in terms of lap time. We were dominating. What that meant was that me and David Coulthard were fighting for who was going to win the championship. Because of that, it created not only a bit of tension inside the team, but also caused some aggressive action on the racetrack. History is repeating itself. Oscar and Lando are fighting for who is going to be No.1 by the end of the year. I don’t have a crystal ball. It’s impossible to say who’s going to win. But logic says that the season is very tough and long. And because of that, experience normally influences a lot of results. Lando has more experience. That could be an important factor towards the end of the season.
The rivalry is getting intense. How are they coping mentally and how does the team handle the dynamics in such a situation?
From my experience, the team is very important — what kind of confidence they give the drivers. Your personal management team is a very important factor, how they can keep you stable. I know from my experience that all these factors can generate huge confidence for your performance. I’m sure it’s (support from their private management and families) at a high level because they’ve been racing for many years. But when you’re talking about fighting for the World Championship, that is a bit different than anything else. These are important factors, how your private management team takes care of you, how the racing team is supporting you. And they don’t come automatically. You personally as a driver have to work hard to enable them to understand where you are with your feelings and pressure, what you’re experiencing. Otherwise, how will they know?
Verstappen has won more points than anyone else in the last four races. Do you think he still has an outside chance, given the fact that the two McLaren drivers are fighting among themselves?
It’s a mathematical possibility. But the fact is that Max has done incredible work with the team to be able to maximise the performance of the car. It’s just incredible. Sometimes results are like a wave, it’s not consistent. Max is very much alone with the team. He doesn’t have a teammate who is pushing him to maximise his personal performance. So, it’s interesting to see how Max is able to go (despite that). It’s very interesting.
What do you make of Lewis Hamilton’s 2025 season? He now holds the unwanted record of most races without a podium since debuting in a Ferrari.
First of all, Lewis is just an incredible racing driver. He has succeeded in his career over the years, taking all the pressure that he’s been experiencing. It’s just unbelievable. When you come to a new team, normally it can take 4-5 years until you can make the car to fit your driving style. Thus, Lewis has to have the patience to wait for such a long time. You normally don’t jump in the team and the car and say, ‘Oh, this car is fantastic. I’m going to win races.’ It requires a lot of work and a long time.
Lewis’ teammate Charles Leclerc was Ferrari’s long-term project but after seven years with the Scuderia, the team has not been able to deliver a top talent like him a title winning car. At some point, his patience is going to run out.
His management is thinking very hard about what is happening and what’s going to happen in the future. From my personal experience, I never gave up. I was very loyal to McLaren with the management being able to convince me that ‘Mika, just wait, when we get all the aspects correct in the team, you will win. Let’s work hard. It doesn’t matter if it takes 1-2-3 years. Let’s just go for it.’ It worked on my personal commitment. It’s going to work with Leclerc and Ferrari.
Unlike in the past, 2025 has seen so many rookie drivers. Who has impressed you the most and why?
There are many great rookie drivers. First of all, F1 today is a very difficult sport for the young drivers. Why? Because the testing programme is very limited. When you don’t have so much testing, it’s difficult to find your limits. When you come to the Grand Prix, that’s where you are finding your limits. And when you’re finding your limits, it means it will include mistakes. And these mistakes are normally expensive, and make you look bad. It’s quite difficult to say because every car is different. Some cars can be very difficult to handle. Some cars are easier to drive, but they’re a bit slow. I think (Sauber’s) Gabriel Bortoleto has, in my opinion, done quite impressive work. What he’s doing at the moment, against a very experienced teammate (Nico Hulkenberg), I feel he’s been able to push the car to the limit without huge mistakes compared to other rookies.
All teams are pinning their hopes on the 2026 engine regulation changes, expecting to upend the existing order. Which teams do you think will come out on top?
The cars are technically changing a lot for next year. The very experienced designers can develop a fantastic car. Drivers will probably have to change their skills a little bit. They will need to focus very hard to keep the car on track as the cars can become very difficult to drive next year. The teams which have good designers who are able to build a great car, they’re going to do well. Teams who are not so experienced will have a lot of problems.
