Mika Pauli Häkkinen (born September 28, 1968) is a Finnish two-time Formula One World Champion. His titles came in 1998 and 1999 while driving for McLaren, and was considered by Michael Schumacher as “the best opponent I’ve had”.
F1 Career
Häkkinen made his Formula One 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 Formula One podium. Häkkinen would go on to remain with McLaren for the remainder of his Grand Prix career, winning his first Formula One 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 as well as McLaren team watches that featured the signatures of Häkkinen on the case back along with teammate David Coulthard and team boss Ron Dennis.
Rolex and Artisans de Genève
While not an officially licensed watch, Häkkinen has been one of just three Formula One drivers to have a custom Rolex Daytona made by Geneva-based watchmaking workshop Artisans de Genève. The personalized timepiece features manual winding at the request of the two-time world champion, and was named the Mika Häkkinen Challenge.
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://www.artisansdegeneve.com/en/challenges/the-mika-hakkinen-challenge/