Mika Pauli Häkkinen (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈmikɑ ˈhækːinen]; born 28 September 1968) is a Finnish former racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1991 to 2001. Nicknamed "the Flying Finn", Häkkinen won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in 1998 and 1999 with McLaren, and won 20 Grands Prix across 11 seasons.
Häkkinen was born in Helsingin maalaiskunta, Finland, on 28 September 1968 to Harri, a shortwave radio operator and a part-time taxi driver, and Aila Häkkinen, who worked as a secretary. He has one sister, Nina, who ran a fan site for him until its closure in 1998. Häkkinen lived in the same street as Mika Salo with the two later becoming friends. As a child, Häkkinen played ice hockey and football. When Häkkinen was five years old, his parents rented a go-kart for him to take to a track near their home. Despite an early crash, Häkkinen wished to continue racing, and his father bought him his first go-kart, one that Henri Toivonen had previously competed with.
Häkkinen won his first karting race in 1975 at the Keimola Motor Stadium where he raced in the regional karting championships in 1978 and 1979, winning the Keimola Club Championship in both years. Häkkinen found further success in 1980 when he won the Swedish Lapland Cup and finished fourth in the 85cc class of the Lapland Karting Championship. In 1981, Häkkinen won his first major karting title, the 85cc class of the Finnish Karting Championship. The following year, he finished runner-up in the 85cc class of the Formula Mini series and later won the Ronnie Peterson Memorial event and the Salpauselka Cup in Lahti. Häkkinen moved to the Formula Nordic 100cc class for 1983, where he became the champion on his first attempt and also participated in the A Junior Team Races for Finland alongside Taru Rinne, Jaana Nyman and Marko Mankonen, with the line-up taking the championship. In 1984, Häkkinen won the 100cc Formula Nordic title and later participated in the World Kart Championship race held in Liedolsheim. He took his second consecutive 100cc Formula Nordic Championship in 1985 ahead of Jukka Savolainen. Häkkinen went to Parma to participate in the World Kart Championship where he retired before the event's final heat due to a mechanical problem. In 1986, he reached his third consecutive Formula Nordic 100cc title and also took part in karting events across Europe. To further fund his career, Häkkinen got a job with a friend repairing bicycles. In 1987, Häkkinen made the transition from karting to car racing when he purchased a 1986 Reynard Formula Ford 1600 from fellow Finn JJ Lehto. In that year, he entered the Finnish, Swedish and Nordic Formula Ford Championships, winning each title on his first attempt and won nine races combined. Häkkinen also entered two races of the EDFA 1600 Championship and raced in the Formula Ford Festival held at Brands Hatch, where he finished in seventh position.
Häkkinen made his first test in a Formula One car with the Benetton team driving 90 laps around the Silverstone Circuit and set quicker lap times than regular driver Alessandro Nannini. He found it difficult to fit into the Benetton but liked the steering and throttle response. Häkkinen expected not to be offered a seat at Benetton and he decided to sign with the Lotus team for the 1991 season. Making his debut in the United States Grand Prix alongside teammate Julian Bailey, Häkkinen qualified thirteenth on the grid and suffered an engine failure on the sixtieth lap and was classified thirteenth. The next race in Brazil saw him finish ninth, and scored his first Formula One points by reaching fifth place in San Marino. Häkkinen suffered from a dip in race form as he encountered consecutive retirements in the next two races—his car suffered from an oil leak in Monaco and spun out in Canada. Before Canada, Bailey lost his seat at Lotus due to a lack of funding, so Häkkinen was partnered by Johnny Herbert and Michael Bartels throughout the remainder of the season. Although Häkkinen secured a ninth-place finish in Mexico, he did not qualify for the French Grand Prix. Over the remainder of the season, he did not finish four of the nine races he entered. Häkkinen finished his debut season sixteenth in the Drivers' Championship, scoring two points.
In 1993, Häkkinen joined McLaren, originally as a race driver, although he became the team's official test driver when CART driver Michael Andretti was hired by the team. Apart from regular testing duties, Häkkinen entered two Porsche Supercup races, held as a support race for the Monaco Grand Prix, where he started at pole position and took victory in both races. He was promoted to a Formula One race seat after the Italian Grand Prix, when Andretti left Formula One. Häkkinen entered the Portuguese Grand Prix where he out-qualified regular driver Ayrton Senna. During the race, he retired due to collision with a concrete wall. At the next race held in Japan, Häkkinen claimed the first podium of his career with a third-place finish, and ended the season when his McLaren car suffered a brake pipe failure in Australia. Häkkinen concluded the season with 15th in the Drivers' Championship, scoring four points. In December, McLaren confirmed that Häkkinen would remain with the team on a three-year contract from the 1994 season onwards.
After retiring from Formula One, Häkkinen competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters from 2005 to 2007 for HWA. Upon his retirement from motor racing in 2007, he moved into driver management and became a brand ambassador for Mercedes-AMG. Since 2022, Häkkinen has been a commentator and pundit for Viaplay alongside David Coulthard and Tom Kristensen.