Mika Hakkinen tells Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri that McLaren are doing something he ‘never’ experienced

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If Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri want to know how to win a Formula 1 championship with McLaren, then Mika Hakkinen is the man to speak to.

Mika Hakkinen is one of only three drivers to have won multiple drivers’ championships with McLaren during his Formula 1 career.

Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna both won three titles with McLaren before Hakkinen added to the team’s tally in 1998 and 1999.

On both of those occasions, Hakkinen was fighting a Ferrari driver. In 1998, he beat Michael Schumacher by 14 points, and the following year, Eddie Irvine didn’t get enough support to beat Hakkinen during the closing stages of the campaign.

This year appears as though it will play out slightly differently for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri.

The pair are only split by a single point with four races to go, and while the threat of Max Verstappen is lurking in the background, team principal Andrea Stella will firmly believe that one of his drivers will become world champion this year.

Hakkinen has been speaking about his time at McLaren alongside David Coulthard, and how it differs from what Norris and Piastri are experiencing right now.

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Mika Hakkinen admits he ‘never’ experienced team orders at McLaren like Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris

Hakkinen was asked on the Beyond The Grid Podcast about his relationship with former McLaren team boss Ron Dennis.

It was put to him that Coulthard believed that his life-threatening accident in Adelaide in 1995 brought them closer together, and he said: “I was very close to Ron, of course.

“Ron knew me since I was absolutely still an amateur in Formula 1. Ron saw my development becoming a man, getting more confident, more experienced.

“And of course, an accident like that happens, it just kills everything. So I’m starting from zero again.

“So naturally, Ron had a huge trust in me that I was a very hardworking guy. And at the same time, I was giving my full commitment to the McLaren team.

“So naturally, Ron was supporting me. Was Ron supporting me more than David? I’m not so sure about that.

“But one thing I’m sure, because maybe David Coulthard is going to hear this one day, this is our discussion, I have to say, we never did have any team orders!”

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David Coulthard explains how Mika Hakkinen always beat him to winning world championships

While Hakkinen doesn’t believe there were any team orders at McLaren during his time, that might not be strictly true.

One of Coulthard’s biggest regrets in Formula 1 was letting Hakkinen pass him at the 1998 Australian Grand Prix.

He admitted he was simply respecting his contract, but admits the likes of Ayrton Senna or Michael Schumacher probably wouldn’t have followed that instruction.

It was the first race of the season, meaning Coulthard should have had just as much of a chance of winning the championship as Hakkinen, although he ultimately finished 44 points behind his teammate.

Coulthard also explained why he never became a champion, citing the level of perfection that Hakkinen and Schumacher were able to consistently deliver.

Piastri and Norris now know that whoever comes closest to being perfect across the next four race weekends will follow in Hakkinen’s footsteps and become McLaren’s next champion.