Racegurlz’s Weblog

Double Formula One world champion Mika Hakkinen has announced his retirement. The Finn made his announcement at Mercedes’ annual event Stars & Cars in Stuttgart and thus after three seasons in DTM the 39-year-old Hakkinen has finished his career.

At the end of the 2001 season, Mika Häkkinen had retired from Formula 1. During the 2004 Stars & Cars Day he announced his comeback in the DTM in which he participated in 2005, 2006 and 2007 as the darling of the public. On Saturday, again at the Stars & Cars Day, the Finn declared the end of his career as a professional race driver. He said goodbye to his supporters with parade laps in the original McLaren-Mercedes MP4-13 with which he became the 1998 World Champion, a really historicially valuable and precious car in motorsports which belongs to the museum today. This final drive was a surprise of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport for Mika.

Mika Häkkinen said in Stuttgart: “The decision to retire now was not an easy one; however, with 39 years, it’s about time to say goodbye to professional motor racing. Of course, racing is still in my blood and this decision does not mean that this will prevent me from racing for pleasure. I leave with mixed emotions. On the one side, it is hard to say ‚Auf Wiedersehen’ to the many friends I found in motor sport and particularly in the Mercedes-Benz motor sport family. Together with Norbert Haug and the brand with the star I have celebrated all my successes in Formula 1 and DTM here and this makes me very proud. On the other side I am glad to remain closely associated to the brand Mercedes-Benz. We agreed on a long-term co-operation and we will announce more details in due course.”

The McLaren Formula One team today announced that it came to an agreement with Fernando Alonso that it would be in the best of interests of both parties to bring the relationship to an end. The Spaniard had an ongoing contract with the Woking based team for another two seasons.

Fernando Alonso will now be on the lookout for a new challenge in Formula 1. It is very likely he will return at Renault. Team boss Flavio Briatore never made a secret of it he loved to see Alonso return at Renault.

“Since I was a boy I had always wanted to drive for McLaren, but sometimes in life things do not work out,” Alonso said on the announcement. “I continue to believe that McLaren is a great team. Yes, we have had our ups and downs during the season, which has made it extra-challenging for all of us, and it is not a secret that I never really felt at home. I know there have been suggestions of favouritism within the team and people say a lot of things in the heat of battle, but in the end I was always provided with an equal opportunity to win. Today’s decision allows all of us to focus on 2008, and I wish the team, Vodafone, Banco Santander, Mutua Madrileña and all the other team Partners who I have worked closely with during the year, the best for the future.”

Ron Dennis wishes the driver all the best in the future. He said: “Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, especially McLaren’s Spanish Partners Banco Santander and Mutua Madrileña and the team’s title partner Vodafone, want to wish Fernando all the best for the future. He is a great driver but for some reason the combination of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes and Fernando has not really worked out, and in the end we reached a stage where none of us could find a way to move forward. We all believe that our joint decision to part company is for the best, and we will now continue to focus on our 2008 World Championship challenge.”