Mika Hakkinen reveals the ‘beautiful’ discovery he made following Michael Schumacher around in F1 practice sessions

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Mika Hakkinen and Michael Schumacher were Formula 1’s biggest competitors at the turn of the century. When the McLaren legend talks about their rivalry, his immense respect shines through.

Hakkinen was a consistent front-runner in his early years at Woking, but he reached another level in 1998. He beat Schumacher to the world championship in his Adrian Newey-designed machine by 14 points (100 to 86).

The rematch the following year was brought to an early end when Schumacher broke his leg in a crash at the British GP. Hakkinen was eight points clear of the Regenmeister before the accident.

He duly edged out the sister Ferrari of Eddie Irvine for a second consecutive title.

The battle was renewed in 2000, though, and Hakkinen was on course for three in a row heading into the final stretch of races. However, Schumacher ended the year with four victories on the bounce to win his first Ferrari title.

Hakkinen announced a ‘sabbatical’ at the end of 2001 and later announced his retirement. Nobody would beat Schumacher again until Fernando Alonso in 2005.

Mika Hakkinen reveals how he used to study Michael Schumacher on a Friday

Speaking on the Drive to Wynn podcast, Hakkinen admitted that he used to follow Schumacher in practice sessions as a learning exercise. He would have relished the opportunity to be his teammate.

He noticed a ‘beautiful’ variety in Schumacher’s approach rather than one overriding driving style. This studious approach helped him defeat a driver who went on to win seven titles.

In his Bennetton days, Ayrton Senna used to shake his head in disbelief at Schumacher’s lap times. He consistently brought the best out of his rivals.

“It was fantastic,” Hakkinen enthused. “It’s all about constantly learning, constantly asking questions, constantly challenging people. I was never a teammate for Michael Schumacher, but it would have been fascinating.

“But already at the race track, outside of the race track, and when we were racing, it was beautiful to follow him with a very calm mind, not rushing – just observe his way of entering the corner, his approach to the braking point.

“Is he driving with anger? Is he driving with physical power? Is he driving with talent? Is this all mixed together?

“I was very calmly just looking, low, medium, high-speed corners, at his technique of driving. It was fascinating to look at this and to learn something from that.”

How Max Verstappen’s overtakes remind Mika Hakkinen of Michael Schumacher

In the same podcast, Hakkinen compared Max Verstappen to Schumacher. The Red Bull driver is a firm outsider in this year’s title race as he tries to match the record-breaking 2000-04 streak.

Verstappen possesses the same impatience, Hakkinen says, attempting overtakes at moments where many would be inclined to wait.

“I sometimes compare Max with Michael Schumacher,” he said. “Michael Schumacher was always flat-out. Even when he was last, he was thinking, ‘I’m going to win this race’.

“He took risks, overtaking manoeuvres that were sometimes incredible in my opinion. He doesn’t think, ‘I’m going to overtake at the next corner, he overtakes at the first corner where he has a chance’.

“The confidence that Schumacher had was incredible. Here we are with Max, and I think his confidence is also so high that whatever position he is, he’s just maximising his performance.”

Verstappen emulated Schumacher after the Spanish GP when he refused to let the media ‘push’ him. He was initially defiant after a 10-second time penalty for controversial contact with George Russell, before expressing regret on social media.