Book Description
It had long been accepted within the Formula 1 community that McLaren's Mika Hakkinen was one of - if not the - fastest driver in the world. Nevertheless, doubts remained over whether this quiet, modest Finn had both the consistency and the temperament to put together a season-long championship challenge. The 1998 season destroyed that perception, and silenced even Hakkinen's most vociferous critics. His defeat of double World Champion Michael Schumacher in the race for the 1998 title confirmed him as a genuine winner and a worthy champion. It also set him up as favourite to retain the crown in 1999.
Alan Henry, one of the most authoritative journalists in the F1 paddock, tells the inside story of Mika's extraordinary Formula 1 career, including his miraculous return to the cockpit after his life threatening crash at Adelaide in 1995. He describes the Finn's determined return to form and fitness in 1996; his first Grand Prix win at the end of 1997 and his triumphant 1998 season. Henry also examines in depth Hakkinen's battle with both Ferrari drivers, Jordan's Heinz-Harald Frentzen and his own team-mate, David Coulthard, to retain the crown in 1999.
With the text due for completion as the 2000 season gets underway and published at the start of the European season, MIKA will be provide the most authoritative and up-to-date account of the career of the man many now regard as the finest driver in the world, bar none.
From the Publisher
Essex-based author Alan Henry is the Grand Prix Editor of the seminal weekly magazine, Autocar, and of the Guardian newspaper. He has covered Formula 1 since the early 1970s, which places him in a unique position among motoring writers as someone who has witnessed the development of Formula 1 in the modern age. A prolific author, his recent works include a biography of the 1996 World Champion, Damon Hill.