Hakkinen: It’s great that I still have a lot to do

Mika Hakkinen, a two-time world champion, is still a very popular character, although his racing career is long over. But the 54-year-old Finn still has a very busy schedule, including working as a pundit at TV channel VIaplay and at Unibet, headquartered in Malta.

At her invitation, he took part in a golf tournament in Tallinn and spoke to the Finnish press there.

“I still have such a busy schedule that I don’t even have time for a more or less extensive visit to my homeland,” said Mika. – When we visit Finland, we first visit relatives. However, it’s great that I have a lot to do. You know, there is a saying: “No moss grows on a rolling stone.”

While Häkkinen attends many Formula 1 races, he sees how his favorite sport has gained popularity all over the world: “The championship is literally experiencing a rebirth. The new owners, Liberty Media, managed to attract the attention of a new generation of fans. At the same time, it seems to me that we have lost the previous generation.

People are interested in different kinds of stories about other people, and if the Formula 1 racers don’t get the attention of the fans, the public won’t be very interested. But the hosts have learned an important lesson.”

The popularity of Formula 1 was greatly aided by the documentary series Drive to Survive, which has been broadcast on the Netflix platform for five years in a row. Häkkinen admits this, but when asked if he’s seen at least one of the five seasons, the Finn replied: “I’ve started many times, but for some reason I never watched to the end. This is a bright show , although in reality not everything is as it is shown there.

It is possible that soon racers with the surname “Hakkinen” will again appear in the news from the sports world: the fact is that the children of the two-time world champion, 12-year-old Ella and 9-year-old Daniel themselves showed interest in karting, their father didn’t force them to learn the basics of racing. They are already participating this year.

“They themselves felt a burning interest in motorsport,” says Mika. “Children love karting because they see continuous progress and begin to understand what needs to be done to get better results.

Even though I’m a racing driver myself, I’ve never really enjoyed messing around with race cars. Of course, I can do something with my own hands, somehow work with the map, but to get good results, this must be done constantly, and I just don’t have time for that. Therefore, it is better to entrust this work to professionals who know how to do it correctly.

When Ella and Daniel succeed, I always praise them. Although it seems to me that you can get more benefit if you learn from the experience of failures.