Häkkinen grew up in Vantaa, Finland, and began karting at the age of five, winning multiple Finnish and Nordic karting championships through the 1980s. He transitioned to car racing in 1987, winning the Finnish, Swedish, and Nordic Formula Ford Championships in his debut season. After a year in the British Formula Three Championship in 1989 — where he finished seventh overall — he applied for and received a Marlboro sponsorship scholarship and joined the West Surrey Racing team for 1990.
A protégé of 1982 World Champion Keke Rosberg, Häkkinen entered the 1990 British Formula Three Championship as one of the favourites. He won nine races en route to the championship title, accumulating 121 points and finishing well clear of the field including fellow Finn Mika Salo.
The Macau Grand Prix at the Guia Circuit used a two-heat aggregate format. Häkkinen took pole position for the event and won the first heat, putting him in a strong position to take the overall victory.
In the second heat, German Formula Three champion Michael Schumacher moved ahead of Häkkinen. The aggregate format meant Häkkinen needed to close to within three seconds of Schumacher to win overall. As the race entered its closing stages, Schumacher made a minor mistake that allowed Häkkinen to close the gap. When Häkkinen moved to make his overtaking attempt, Schumacher changed his line to defend. Häkkinen followed the direction of the defending car and drove into the rear of Schumacher's machine. The collision ended Häkkinen's race and his chance of the overall win.
Schumacher continued to the finish without a rear wing, taking the overall victory. Häkkinen was classified as a non-finisher.
The incident at Macau was not the last time Häkkinen and Schumacher would clash in a decisive moment. Both drivers entered Formula One in 1991 — Häkkinen with Lotus, Schumacher with Jordan and then Benetton. When Häkkinen won back-to-back Formula One World Championships with McLaren in 1998 and 1999, Schumacher was his closest rival in both seasons.
In 1998, it was Schumacher driving for Ferrari who pushed Häkkinen closest before the McLaren driver clinched the title at the Japanese Grand Prix. In 1999, an injury that broke Schumacher's leg at Silverstone removed him from the championship fight mid-season, but Häkkinen still needed to beat Eddie Irvine at the final race in Japan to secure the title. Schumacher later described Häkkinen as "the best opponent I've had" and the rival he respected most.
The Macau collision in 1990 was therefore the opening chapter of a competitive relationship that ran for more than a decade and defined Formula One's most compelling title battles of the late 1990s. Häkkinen's British F3 title that same year, and his ability to dominate nine races in a highly competitive national series, was sufficient proof of his talent regardless of the Macau result, and McLaren signed him to their Formula One programme beginning with a test driver role in 1993 before his first race seat.
The 1990 Macau Grand Prix is remembered as the flashpoint that introduced Häkkinen and Schumacher to each other's racing styles on a global stage. Häkkinen's pole position and first-heat victory demonstrated that he was among the very best Formula Three drivers in the world that year. The retirement in the second heat, controversial as it was, did nothing to diminish his standing in the eyes of teams evaluating him for Formula One seats.