Mika Pauli Häkkinen (born September 28, 1968) is a Finnish two-time Formula 1 World Champion. His titles came in 1998 and 1999 while driving for McLaren, and was considered by seven-time F1 champion and rival Michael Schumacher as “the best opponent I’ve had”.
F1 Career
Häkkinen made his F1 debut in 1991 testing for Benetton before racing for Lotus that season. He scored his first world championship points in his debut season, and was knocking on the door of the podium in 1992.
The Finnish driver switched to McLaren in 1993 and only competed in the final three races after the departure of Michael Andretti, but managed to score his first F1 podium. Häkkinen would go on to remain with McLaren for the remainder of his Grand Prix career, winning his first F1 race in the 1997 season finale before his back to back world titles the following two years. He finished runner-up to Schumacher in 2000, and announced a one-year sabbatical before the end of what would turn out to be his final Grand Prix season. Fellow countryman Kimi Räikkönen was signed as his replacement, with Häkkinen announcing his retirement from the sport nine months into his sabbatical.
TAG Heuer
During Häkkinen’s time with McLaren, long-time sponsor TAG Heuer produced several limited edition timepieces bearing the Finnish legend’s name. This included both Mika Häkkinen edition 6000 Series chronographs (refs. CH1114 and CH1118) as well as the possibly confusing S/el Mika Häkkinen Limited Edition (ref. CG2111), which from the front is either very similar or identical to the CG2111-RO. Häkkinen’s engraved signature also features on the case back of some TAG Heuer McLaren team watches along with then-teammate David Coulthard and team boss Ron Dennis.
Artisans de Genève
Häkkinen was the third F1 driver to work with Geneva-based watchmaking workshop Artisans de Genève. Named the Mika Häkkinen Challenge, the personalized chronograph was announced in 2021, based on a Rolex Daytona (ref. 116520), and featured manual winding at the request of the two-time world champion.
Related Pages
References
https://us.motorsport.com/f1/news/the-race-that-unearthed-schumachers-greatest-rival/4778531/
https://www.tagheuer.com/us/en/vintage-collection/tag-heuer-6000-series.html
https://www.watches.co.uk/archived-watch/15202/tag-heuer-6000-series-mika-hakkinen-limited-edition-ch1114/
https://watchcharts.com/listing/6693075-good-condition-tag-heuer-tag-heuer-6000-series-mika-hakkinen-model
https://marketplace.watchcharts.com/listing/4497403-tag-heuer-f1-mika-hakkinen-limited-edition-men-watch-box
https://timepeaks.com/item/15641/
https://www.artisansdegeneve.com/en/challenges/the-mika-hakkinen-challenge/