Why F1 legend Mika Hakkinen made Ayrton Senna ‘totally mad’ during their first race as teammates in 1993

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Mika Hakkinen is renowned for his intense battles with Michael Schumacher in the late 1990s, as well as a spectacular overtake at the Belgian Grand Prix in 2000.

He won two Drivers’ Championships in his time at McLaren and retired from the sport in 2001 at the age of just 33.

The next driver to win something for the Woking-based outfit after that was Lewis Hamilton when he claimed his first title in 2008.

Hakkinen fears Hamilton is on the same path that ended his F1 career as the Brit seeks to regain his sharpness ahead of the 2025 season.

Only two Finnish drivers have enjoyed success since the ‘Flying Finn’ left the sport, including world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Valtteri Bottas.

Bottas says Hakkinen’s first win made him fall in love with F1 which came at the season-ending 1997 European Grand Prix when Schumacher collided with title rival Jacques Villeneuve.

Mika Hakkinen made Ayrton Senna ‘totally mad’ by beating him in their first qualifying together

Hakkinen rose through the ranks at McLaren before competing for championships. His first win came in the last race of the 1997 season before his first title-winning campaign.

Back in 1993, he was drafted in by the team to race alongside Ayrton Senna after Michael Andretti had struggled to perform and been let go.

His first race was at the Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril, where he managed to out-qualify Senna in his first session as teammates.

READ MORE: Mika Hakkinen names the key mistake Lando Norris has made when racing Max Verstappen

Hakkinen revealed that he made the Brazilian legend mad by answering his questions regarding how he beat him rather immaturely.

“I showed him [with my hands] and said: I have bigger balls! That made him totally mad,” he said.

“He got really angry and went on to tell me about his whole career, about the world championships he had won. He put me against the wall and said: Don’t even try…”

Would Mika Hakkinen have won another F1 title if he didn’t retire in 2001?

Hakkinen was promptly replaced by Raikkonen for the 2002 season at McLaren, who only had 16 races of top-flight experience.

He won his first race in 2003 and ran Schumacher close for the title that year, as well as Fernando Alonso again in 2005.

Second place in both championships was an unfair reflection of his efforts, with some cruel reliability costing him in 2003 particularly.

It begs the question of whether Hakkinen could’ve utilised his extra experience to come out on top in either of those seasons, or whether he lacked the skills to compete at the top anymore.

READ MORE: Five unforgettable Belgian GP including Schumacher vs Hakkinen

He won two races in his final season but only managed 5th in the championship – his worst result since 1997.

Their car wasn’t as good as it had been in previous years but the Finn felt as if his time was up and retirement was the best option.

Anyone who wins races in their final year could’ve gone for longer. Hakkinen would’ve had a shot in 2003 at least, his subtle attempt at a return in 2006 with a secret test shows he still had some hunger left.