“You were playing in your room and I was your first sponsor in karting” – Former World Champion Nico Rosberg recalls meeting Mika Hakkinen during his childhood

Janmeyjay Shukla | 15/05/2022
"You were playing in your room and I was your first sponsor in karting" - Former World Champion Nico Rosberg recalls meeting Mika Hakkinen during his childhood
Former World Champions Nico Rosberg and Mika Häkkinen recall their first meeting and express their love for the special Monaco Grand Prix.

Mika Häkkinen is a two-time world champion winning in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren Mercedes. Seventeen years later, Nico Rosberg won the championship with Mercedes AMG.

Both of them now share a close bond which is often seen in Rosberg’s videoblogs. They are neighbours as well living in the same apartment building in Monaco which is separated by a few floors.
Despite not being present in the same Formula One timeline, the duo quite has a unique history. Nico Rosberg actually met the Finnish legend well over twenty years ago.

Nico Rosberg’s first meeting with Mika Häkkinen

While Rosberg was winning trophies in his karting world, Häkkinen worked with Keke Rosberg. Yes, you have read it right, Keke Rosberg actually managed the two times world champion in his F1 career.
“I don’t remember when we first met but maybe Mika does!” said Rosberg when asked when he first met Häkkinen.
“Well, I think the first time we met must have been down here in Monaco in the early ’90s. I was visiting Keke, and you were playing in your room. It’s possible I was his first sponsor in karting,” replied Häkkinen.

The German driver recalls having posters of sponsors in his room and Häkkinen being one of them. He further added: “Yeah, sure. It was 1997, I was 11 years old and competing in the French go-karting championship.”

Nico Rosberg and Mika Häkkinen talk about the special Monaco races

Monaco remains a very special place for both drivers. Nico Rosberg won the Monaco Grand Prix 3 times in his career with Mercedes while the Finish legend only once in 1999.

Recalling the good old life in Monaco, Häkkinen added: “I had some great victories in my career, but Monaco was something special.”

Also Read: Michael Schumacher made a will to distribute his wealth three years before his skiing accident

Former Michael Schumacher rival has lived in Monaco for well over 20 years. He expressed how winning the Monaco Grand Prix is like winning in a home street. Explaining that he added: “The thing you realize is that the people who work on the race track are also the people who live and work in Monaco. In everyday life, these are the guys you see in the street and they say ‘hi’ as you walk past.”

Rosberg emphasized how growing up in Monaco makes it special. In conclusion, he said: “It’s home for me too as I’ve grown up here. All my friends are here and my family, I know everybody and it’s very special to race here.”

Post Edited By: Samriddhi Jaiswal
Mika Hakkinen monaco Nico Rosberg

About the author

Janmeyjay Shukla

Janmeyjay Shukla is an artist who contributes his expressions through words as an F1 writer and editor at The SportsRush. He is an F1 historian who has been watching the sport since he was a baby. Passed on from generation to generation, he has seen the prime of Michael Schumacher to the rise of Max Verstappen. A Mercedes fan from the days of the Brawn GP era, the sport runs in his blood. Besides Formula One, Janmeyjay is a Marketing Head and a musician who loves to sing and play Rock & Pop songs on guitar. His love for sports will never die as he is a loyal Liverpool Football Club fan as well!

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