Mika Hakkinen reveals doubts over F1 return after life-threatening crash in 1995
Two-time Formula 1 champion Mika Hakkinen has revealed he seriously questioned his future in motor racing following his life-threatening crash at the 1995 Australian Grand Prix.
Speaking on the Up To Speed podcast alongside his former McLaren team-mate David Coulthard, Hakkinen detailed the psychological and physical hurdles he faced following the accident in Adelaide that left him with a fractured skull.
During qualifying, a puncture sent Hakkinen’s McLaren airborne and into a high-speed spin before the car crashed into the tyre barrier on the outside of Brewery Corner.
“When I was sideways and I hit that huge kerb in the exit and the car launched in the air, that was the moment I realised this is going to be a big one,” Hakkinen said. “The car didn’t slow down at all, and I knew the barrier was not far away. It was so high speed, and then the car was spinning in the air.
“It was challenging to understand when I was going to hit the wall. Normally when you hit the wall, you hold the steering hard as you can, and you put your muscles hard, and I didn’t see that.
“The problem was that when I tried to move my hands or try to move my legs, no chance. And I said, ‘Oh s***.’ When the guy came in front of me and said, ‘Just now relax, don’t do anything, try to stay calm.’ Then somebody turned off the lights.”
Hakkinen suffered a skull fracture, internal bleeding and a blockage in his airway. F1 safety and medical delegate Sid Watkins and volunteer doctors Jerome Cockings and Steve Lewis saved his life, with Cockings performing an emergency tracheotomy trackside. He remained hospitalised for approximately two months.
Mika Hakkinen
Photo by: Alexander Trienitz
“The first people who I saw, actually who came to see me, were Ron and Lisa Dennis, and the first thing I saw was Lisa Dennis in front of me. But of course, I was under so much medication, I thought I was in heaven.
“Then I looked to the left and Ron Dennis was standing there. So I thought, this is not heaven,” he added with a laugh.
Despite the severe head trauma, Hakkinen was back behind the wheel testing an F1 car just months later. But the 57-year-old admitted the decision to return was hard to make.
“I think this decision moment is one of the most challenging,” he explained. “You could easily say, ‘Let’s move life a different direction and let’s forget motor racing.’
“You have to make this decision alone, and you have to go through so many different things in your life that way. What do you want from your life? What is the future of your life? The questions are coming to your head all the time: ‘A couple of months ago I nearly just died, so do you want to go back to this same business?'”
Ultimately, Hakkinen’s motivation to drive outweighed his apprehension.
“It is such a huge passion, motor racing and driving the car, controlling this incredible Formula 1 car at a very high speed,” he concluded. “When everything works, and they’re doing great teamwork with the mechanics, with the engineers. So I decided to go back, and I don’t know if it’s something to do with your youth when you’re young, your ego, you want to prove that way, yes, I can do it.
“I made the decision to come back, but it wasn’t an easy one, you know. You have to work on your mindset. When you sit in a car after an accident, you have to put your mindset to not think about the fear of the crash. It will happen again. You will crash again, but not to be afraid of that crash.”
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
– The Motorsport.com Team
