Mika Hakkinen, the last man to win a world championship at the wheel of a McLaren, said that he believed Lewis Hamilton was now ready to claim the title in only his second season of formula one competition.
The Finn, now 39, contested 161 grands prix in a career lasting from 1991 to 2001 and won consecutive world championships in 1998 and ‘99. He also closely identifies with the wild fluctuations in form displayed by Hamilton over the past few races and remembers how hard he himself had to work to temper his out-and-out speed with the restraint required to produce consistent results.
“I can relate what is happening now to Lewis to when I was racing,” said Hakkinen, who was present at Hockenheim where Hamilton delivered another convincing victory in the German grand prix, the first McLaren win at the circuit near Heidelberg since Hakkinen’s triumph in 1998.
“When I was a young guy at McLaren I was flat out, always at the maximum,” Hakkinen said. “Sometimes the excitement took over my thinking and there were times when I went over the top, I made mistakes.
“It took time for me to stabilise myself and calm down a little, and then I got the results. That is now the situation with Lewis. He has calmed down and is stable, more mature.
“There is still a way to go this year and a lot of things can happen. It is a long time since I won McLaren’s last title, but I am hopeful this year they can do it.”
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