(Motorsport-Total.com) – Special honor for two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika Häkkinen: The Finn, who won the world championship in the premier class with McLaren in 1998 and 1999, was honored with his own bronze statue as part of the team’s 1000th Grand Prix celebrations.
Read more McLaren honors Mika Häkkinen with a bronze statue for the 1000th Grand Prix
The “Flying Finn” was created by renowned motorsport artist Paul Oz and depicts Häkkinen at the 1998 Formula 1 season finale in Suzuka, where he won his first of two world championship titles. The statue occupies a place of honor on the boulevard of McLaren’s headquarters in Woking and stands next to his world championship car MP4/13.
It joins the collection of bronze statues of other McLaren legends, including Bruce McLaren, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, and Ayrton Senna. Häkkinen was personally present at the unveiling, along with McLaren boss Zak Brown, Team Principal Andrea Stella, and current drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.
“Wow… good memories! That’s me in Suzuka when I won my first World Championship, the beginning of something very special,” says Häkkinen. “When you spend your whole life racing, you’re under pressure to win a World Championship, and you never know if you’re going to make it.”
Häkkinen recalls “incredible moment”
“On that day in Suzuka, before the race, I just remember thinking, ‘Okay, let’s go for it, let’s get it done.’ An incredible moment. Thank you all.” The unveiling of the statue was part of the team’s broader celebrations for reaching 1000 Grands Prix in Formula 1.
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“More than 100 Formula 1 teams have come and gone since McLaren made its debut,” Brown adds. “We are the second most successful team in history and the second oldest. This is all due to the DNA that Bruce McLaren instilled in this team.”
“It’s incredibly special to work here, and it’s important for all of us to take a moment to enjoy that, because we are the ones who are here at this time, and we are the ones who are making history.”
“It’s an incredible honor,” says McLaren Team Principal Stella. “We have a responsibility to continue filling our trophy cabinets, just as our predecessors did. That is both an honor and immensely motivating.”
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