“Lewis Hamilton had very smart teammates”: Mika Hakkinen credits 103-race winning driver’s success to his teammates

Former F1 Champion Mika Hakkinen believed Lewis Hamilton’s teammates significantly contributed to his success.

Lewis Hamilton had another highlighting moment in his career. As 7-time World Champion became only the 6th driver to complete 300 race starts in F1. And he wrapped up the 2022 French GP in style too.

Mika Hakkinen has known Hamilton since his early Karting days. When he signed for McLaren, he was with Lewis and later won his First drivers’ championship in 2008.

Throughout his F1 career, Hamilton has been fighting for victories and been a championship contender. And Hakkinen believes he was pushed to pursue excellence due to the talented teammates he raced with over the years.

The boy from Stevenage debuted in F1 with McLaren in 2007. And he was immediately paired with 2-time World Champion Fernando Alonso.

He shared a fiery relationship with Alonso during his time at McLaren. But the Brit did not allow himself to be a pushover. Instead, he started outpacing and outqualifying Alonso very quickly.

Lewis later partnered with Nick Heidfeld, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg and Valtteri Bottas. All of whom have always kept Hamilton on his toes. And the Finn believes with the incoming of George Russell; Hamilton has gotten better at adapting to the new cars.

He said, “I think it’s the way it always has been. You know, to be able to be a winner requires a great teammate – having great teammates to get your success.”

He adds, “If you look at the list of teammates, Lewis had brilliant people, extremely great racing drivers. So all this combination, getting success, has an effect.

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Mika Hakkinen resonates with Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton and Mika Hakkinen both have been F1 World Champions. Therefore, the Finn believes his example too could underline the fact that teammates play an essential role in F1 too.

Throughout his decade-long F1 career, Hakkinen raced for McLaren and Lotus. In his time with McLaren, the ‘Flying Finn’ would be partnered with some talented names. And the list includes two other World Champions.

He adds, “I had Nigel Mansell, Ayrton Senna, Martin Brundle, Mark Blundell, Johnny Herbert and, of course, David Coulthard. A lot of great teammates.”

He shared how he learned alongside his co-drivers to get quicker. This trait would come in handy when Hakkinen won his two championships in 1998 and 1999 for McLaren.

“I always respected my teammates. My teammates are my ally. I can learn from my teammates. I can learn to be quicker than my teammates if I’m not quicker automatically.”

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