F1: Mika Hakkinen's 10 most memorable moments

Mika Hakkinen, or the Flying Finn as he's famously known as, is arguably one of the greatest F1 drivers to have ever stepped foot in the competition, and so far, the greatest Finnish driver of all time.

Although his career span in Formula 1 was relatively short when compared to other veterans, he achieved a lot more than most drivers. Hakkinen started his career with Lotus in 1991 and then made a move to McLaren in 1993. He stayed with McLaren till he retired in 2001, as a double World Champion (1998,1999).

Throughout his career, Hakkinen competed against legends such as Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Jaques Villeneuve, Damon Hill and many more. But, out of these people, his rivalry with the great Michael Schumacher will always be the most memorable one.

Schumacher was once quoted saying "Mika Hakkinen was the best opponent I've had in terms of his quality, but the biggest admiration I had for him was he had 100% fight on track but a disciplined life off track. We respected each other highly and let each other live quietly."

Let's take a look at 10 of his most memorable moments:

#10 First points in Formula 1 (1991)

Mika Hakkinen started his F1 career as a test driver for Benetton in 1990. Although he was doing faster laps than the regular drivers, he wasn't expecting a deal from Benetton. So, he decided to sign with Lotus instead in 1991.

The Finn's debut race came in the United States of America, where he qualified 13th on the grid. But, an engine failure during the latter half of the race, saw him retire.

Hakkinen qualified extremely low on the grid at San Marino but impressed everyone by finishing 5th on the final race day and grabbed his first ever points in Formula 1. The race saw McLaren drivers Ayrton Senna and Gerhard Berger earn a 1-2 finish.

Hakkinen's luck and form dipped from then, as he retired from 2 consecutive races after San Marino. Out of the 9 races he entered, the Finn failed to finish 4 of them. Hakkinen ended his debut season 16th on the final Driver's Championship table.

#9 Out-qualifying Ayrton Senna in Portugal

Hakkinen and Senna were teammates for a year at McLaren

Hakkinen had a disappointing season with Lotus in 1992 as well. He then chose to sign with Williams after the end of the season. But, the contract with Williams fell apart, and Hakkinen decided to go with McLaren instead.

McLaren had Ayrton Senna and Michael Andretti as their two main drivers, so the Finn was made their new test driver. But due to Andretti's poor form, Hakkinen replaced him as the 2nd driver, partnering up with Senna.

Hakkinen's first race as a McLaren driver came in Portugal, where he finished 3rd in Qualifying, pushing down teammate Senna to a 4th place finish. Both of them failed to finish the race though, with Hakkinen crashing out and Senna suffering an engine failure. Michael Schumacher won the race and Alain Prost and Damon Hill completed the podium.

But, the Finn made such an immediate impact that a McLaren team member said: "I haven't seen Senna being made to work as hard as that since Alain Prost was here."

#8 First podium finish (Japanese Grand Prix)

Hakkinen managed to grab 51 podium finishes in his career

After impressing in Portugal, Hakkinen entered the Japanese Grand Prix and successfully finished 3rd and claimed his first podium finish in his career.

Senna this time, out-qualified the Finn and earned the 2nd spot on the grid, with Alain Prost winning the pole position. Hakkinen started the race in 3rd place, and his position didn't change throughout the entire race.

This Grand Prix saw yet another battle between two of the greatest drivers, Senna and Prost. The Brazilian successfully overtook Prost and ended up winning the Grand Prix. Hakkinen was impressive enough to not give up his spot and bagged his first podium finish.

Unfortunately, the 2-time World Champion failed to gather any further points, as he retired from the Australian Grand Prix with a brake failure. Hakkinen finished the season 15th on the Drivers' Championship table with 4 points.

#7 Life threatening crash at Australia

The Finn was in critical condition after the crash

In 1994, Ayrton Senna left McLaren to join Williams, and Hakkinen was partnered up with Martin Brundle. The Finn started the season terribly as he retired out of the first two races. But, he managed to finish the season 4th on the Drivers' Championship table.

Hakkinen stayed with McLaren in 1995 and his partner was the legendary Nigel Mansell. Until the final Grand Prix of the season in Australia, Hakkinen managed to grab 17 points.

During the Qualifying round at Adelaide, Hakkinen's suffered a tire puncture, which made him lose control and crash into a tire barrier at the speed of approximately 200 km/hr. The trackside medical team arrived quickly and found him unconscious inside his car.

He suffered a fractured skull and many internal injuries, and a blockage in his airway as well. He was rushed to a hospital immediately and remained there for approximately 2 months. He made a remarkable recovery and managed to take part in the next season.

#6 Comeback after injury in 1996

McLaren decided to team up Hakkinen and David Coulthard for the upcoming 1996 season. The Finn was confident enough to achieve success, and both the drivers helped McLaren dominate the upcoming seasons.

Hakkinen returned to Australia for the inaugural race of the season, and he qualified 5th on the grid and finished the race in the same spot and took away 2 points. 1996 world champion Damon Hill, took pole position at the Transurban Australian Grand Prix.

It was a 1-2 finish for Williams, as Hill's partner Jacques Villeneuve, finished 2nd and Eddie Irvine of Ferrari finished 3rd to complete the grid.

After many ups and downs, Hakkinen finished the season off with a third-place finish in Japan. At the end of the season, the Finn managed to grab 31 points and was placed 5th on the Drivers' Championship table.

#5 First Grand Prix win in 1997

After acquiring the services of David Coulthard in 1996, McLaren decided to go with the same partnership in the 1997 season as well. Hakkinen started off the season brilliantly, by grabbing a 3rd place finish in the season opener in Australia.

The Finn grabbed points in the successive races to come, but, suffered his first retirement in Monaco. He failed to finish the race in France, Canada and UK as well. However, he made a comeback in Germany and secured a 2nd place finish.

In the final Grand Prix of the season (European) in Spain, Hakkinen qualified 5th on the grid, with Jaques Villeneuve leading the race from pole position. This was the title decider between Schumacher and Villeneuve, who went into the race with a 1-point gap.

During the race, Schumacher crashed with Villeneuve and had to retire. Both the McLaren's were looking faster and they overtook the Canadian. Hakkinen won his first ever Grand Prix and Villeneuve finished 3rd, earning him his first world championship

#4 Luxemborg Grand Prix (1998)

Hakkinen on the podium with Schumacher and Coulthard

Although the race took place Nurburgring, Germany, this would turn out to be one of the most important Grand Prix in Mika Hakkinen's career.

Ferrari and Schumacher looked set to take away the Championship, with McLaren's unsteady season. The 7-time world champion had won the previous Grand Prix in Italy, and drew level with Hakkinen on the points table. Hakkinen's last win came 4 races prior to this.

Both the Ferrari's (Eddie Irvine and Schumacher) qualified and locked out in the front row, and Hakkinen qualified 3rd. Both the Ferrari's were off to a flying start, but Hakkinen took the lead, as Schumacher pitted 4 laps earlier.

With brilliant lap times and a few low fuel laps, Hakkinen managed to maintain his position and ended up winning the race. Schumacher finished 2 seconds behind in 2nd place, and McLaren's David Coulthard completed the podium.

#3 World Champion in 1998 (2nd Finnish driver after Keke Rosberg)

Hakkinen winning the championship in 1998

The final Grand Prix of the season was held in Japan, and after a stunning victory at Nurburgring, Hakkinen needed to finish at least 2nd to clinch his first World Championship. Schumacher was trailing by 4 points.

The German claimed pole position during the qualifying round and Hakkinen started 2nd. During the formation lap on the main race day, Schumacher stalled, which made him start the race at the back of the grid.

The 7-time world champion made a great effort and managed to reach 2nd on the grid, however, he was forced to retire in the latter half of the race. Hakkinen though managed to hold onto the lead throughout the entire race and win it. Hakkinen became the first Finnish world champion after Keke Rosberg had won it in 1982.

#2 1st Finnish double world champion

McLaren continued to pair Coulthard and Hakkinen for the 1999 season as well, and the Finn was confident to continue his form from last season. However, his first Grand Prix in Australia, ended in bitter disappointment, as he had to retire the car due to an throttle issue.

He retired from the British and German, and Italian Grands Prix as well. However, he did manage to clinch victories at Brazil, Spain and Canada. The final race of the season was held in Japan, and once again it was here that Hakkinen was confirmed as the 1999 Drivers' World Champion, and in doing so, became the first (and only so far) double world champion from Finland.

Schumacher started in pole position, with Hakkinen right behind him. The Finn overtook the Ferrari off the line and maintained the lead almost throughout the race. Both the Ferrari's (Irvine and Schumacher), finished 2nd and 3rd respectively. He finished the year with 76 points.

#1 Hakkinen and Schumacher: One of the best rivalries in F1 history

The rivalry between Schumacher and Hakkinen might not have been as controversial in nature, but it was a rivalry between two of the most dominant and the best drivers in the history of F1.

The rivalry wasn't as emotional as Nikki Lauda and James Hunt or as bitter and competitive as Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. This was one of those battles, where both of them had immense respect for each other, and it was very disciplined in nature.

The battle between the two really reached its peak in the 1998 season, where both of them were tied on the championship table with only 2 more races to go. The Luxembourg Grand Prix really tested both these drivers, and against all odds, Hakkinen ended up winning the race and Schumacher finished 2nd.

A win for Schumacher would have been his first championship win for Ferrari and vice versa with Hakkinen and McLaren as well. The Finn managed to win the championship in 1998 and 1999 as well. Schumacher, however, rose to prominence after Hakkinen's decline and won 5 straight world championships.

Edited by Pratyay Ghosh