In a recent video byte on YouTube, Mika Hakkinen praised Lando Norris for sticking it out with the team during the bad times and how it has eventually given him the opportunity to fight for the championship. In a mid-season review of McLaren’s year so far, the two-time F1 world champion spoke to Unibet International and compared his own journey with McLaren to that of Norris.
Hakkinen highlighted how when he joined McLaren back in 1993, the Woking outfit went through a performance slump and he had to wait for four years before finally claiming his first victory in 1997.
Lando Norris like Mika Häkkinen took his 1st GP win on his 16th Podium finish
Mika had 15 podiums until the last race in 1997 where he claimed his first win at Jerez
Later on he won 2 World titles with McLarenLando also had 15 podiums until the race at Miami! pic.twitter.com/viCKUfLzuK
— McLaren Team (@McLarenTeamFan) May 6, 2024
Like the Finnish driver, Norris too had to wait for five seasons before tasting his first victory in F1 with McLaren in 2024. Hakkinen said, “And I can relate my personal experiences with the McLaren team when I joined the team in 1993 it took me quite a few years until I reached my first victory in 1997.”
“But I knew this team is doing the right thing… and that’s what Lando has experienced and it’s beautiful to see.”, he added.
After his maiden win in Miami, Norris has only grown in confidence and challenged for wins multiple times. While the 24-year-old missed out on several wins in Canada, Austria, Britain, and Belgium, he finally doubled his wins tally in the Netherlands by beating Max Verstappen by nearly 23 seconds.
While he praised Norris a lot for his performances, Hakkinen also feels that McLaren’s top management also deserves its credit.
Hakkinen privileged to be part of McLaren family, predicts 2024 dominance
The Finn highlighted how the top management at McLaren motivated everyone to turn the team’s fortunes around despite facing such a long spell of failure. It is similar to how the Woking outfit fought back when Hakkinen first joined them in 1993 and they had just parted ways with Honda resulting in their slump.
He recalls how McLaren kept fighting to secure a better engine deal and finally, he was able to contend for and win the championships with a Mercedes engine in 1998 and 1999. Hakkinen called himself privileged to be a part of the McLaren racing family, highlighting just how much he appreciates the work that goes behind the scenes.
“I’m very privileged being part of the McLaren team today seeing inside what happened in the factory, how they structure the people inside the team, what position positions they do, what machines they invest in to develop the car to become better,” Hakkinen added.
The two-time F1 champion praised McLaren’s focus and understanding to get the team in the fight for race wins consistently. Hakkinen feels that with all pieces of the puzzle falling in place, McLaren may “dominate” the second half of the 2024 season.
