LEGENDS: Mika Hakkinen’s 1995 crash + incredible recovery

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World champion. Nineteen. Mika Hakanan achieving his dream of winning the Formula One World Championship. And completing one of the sport's greatest recoveries. Because three years earlier, he suffered a crash which threatened more than just his racing career. I couldn't lift my arms. I couldn't move my legs and I realized this is serious. Serious enough to make him question his future? I was looking all those years back.

What I have done in motor racing started when I was six years old. Little boy. I thought. I got so far in my career now, I mean a great team McLaren, and there's no way I can just now give up. I cannot. I cannot give up. This is F1 Beyond the Grid. I'm Tom Clarkson. It's 30 years since that day in Adelaide when a puncher at 120 miles an hour sent Miker's McLaren spinning over a high curb and into a wall of tyres. The crash and Micah's injuries.

Led to safety improvements which F1 drivers still benefit from today. Mika remembers the accident and his recovery in hospital vividly. We talked about the difficult decision on whether he would return to racing, the trepidation he felt getting back into the car, and how he became a driver capable of winning the World Championship twice. Mekka, it is great to see you again. It's been six years since you were last on the podcast. How have you been? Six years. Yeah, time flies.

So long time ago. That's that's incredible. One journey, it's very hective. There's a twenty four Grand Prix. And and suddenly you realised like, oh my goodness, it's only one month left before the Christmas. So it's really flying. The time is flying in this business, yes. Talking of time, we're coming up to the thirtieth anniversary of your accident in Adelaide in nineteen ninety five, and can I take you back to that time? How often do you think back to what happened?

in that Friday qualifying session. Yeah, it is already en long time ago, but some reason I tell you I don't think I have a single day when I don't think about it. It's it's really weird. It's such a strong experience when accidents like that happens.

you are so close to basically losing your life that automatically it's in it's so d deeply in your memory. But it's not a negative thing. I'm not thinking about negatively like I'm I'm a very positive person and I I'm very grateful every day about life what I'm living, what I'm experiencing, having a five children, having a great time in Formula One.

uh all these things and I think the accident that I have uh reminding me always how lucky I am uh to be taking part of part of my journey of my life, because it could end up very sadly in that thirty years ago in Adelaide.

Do you remember any details? I mean the accident was caused by a puncher. Do you remember how much warning you got? Things happen very quickly. Going at such a high speed and when the rear tire lost to air and Formula One car the ride height is extremely low. It's only about twenty millimeters, twenty five millimeters. So what happens when the tyre is losing air very suddenly? The car start bottoming very hot to tarmac.

And that means you're definitely gonna lose the control. And it just happened when I turned in the corner. So it didn't really happen on a straight line. It happened just when I turned in the corner. And this corner was extremely high speed corner. The corner where you have to Put maximum fokus. Koska efter kounnen är super longa. So you need to have to get this exit perkly right. So just for nuancer turned I realised that's it. I'm losing a backhand.

Of course I tried to do something with the steering, but because it was bottoming so hard on the tarmac, the car started sliding sliding off the off the racing line, going towards the exit of the corner and of course exit of the corner, there was a huge curb. and uh what is not anymore happening in Formula one they have removed these high kurps for safety reasons so so when I hit that kerp, the car launched in the air and started spinning.

And the tire barrier was only not so wide, basically, not so good. So when when the car was spinning, I didn't see when the barrier was coming. On normaalism kun accidentä, just moment kun barrier, you of jos allia musselsä maximum tension, to hold the steering hard as you can, koska se impact on huyä. So I didn't see the barrier coming and because the car was spinning in the air.

So when he hit the barrier, it just it was a very sudden, it was a surprise. That was the moment when when my head moved very aggressively when I cracked my skull. And uh actual moment when it hit, of course the noise is enormous. And I remember that moment when I was sitting in a car I couldn't lift my arms. Couldn't move my legs and I realized this is serious. Yeah. It was that moment, yeah. I I realized what happened and I just told myself that way.

Just don't do anything. Well, I couldn't even move. For some reason my brain told me just don't move. Stay calm and wait when the people come to help you. And then of course, luckily Then particular at that corner there was an old emergency team, all the doctors, and they were there like in a fifteen twenty seconds, they were there immediately helping me, and then they realized I couldn't breathe. So of course taking me, I don't know, Tracheotomy. It was an emergency tracheotomy, wasn't it?

Exactly. And that was the moment when they did that. I I remember the pain and then I just passed out. So you were conscious until they're not going to be able to do Exactly. Awful. Absolutely awful.

For. There are some scary looking pictures around of you with blood all over yourself. When you see them now. What goes through your mind? What comes to my mind actually when I see that P is that uh the accident happened in Australia and because the time difference of jos in Finland uh was it night or early morning or something Early morning in front of you. Early morning in Finland, and of course my parents knew that I had a big accident, but they didn't know exactly how serious it was.

And when my mother went to the shopping center in the morning, the newspaper had this picture on the front cover. Se on siihen elikoottaa haarettakin. So i it it was a terrible moment, uh, for her and for the parents and for my sister,'cause they didn't know exactly how how I was. Had your family been supportive of you being a racing driver anyway or w was was your mum always a little bit ante because she was worried about something like this happening?

They knew that we motorsport is dangerous. They knew that there is a risk. But they always supported me. I think my father was more scared than my mother. You know, they always told me just make a go flat out. You know just go for absolutely flat out you know so it was my choice of my life and choice of my work what i decided to take so they were supporting they knew my talent

They knew I have a great opportunity in the future to win races and and uh to fulfil my dream. Uh so they were very supportive. We'll come on to that. But can we talk about the recuperation now? Okay. You you say the last thing you remember is the pain in your throat. When did you next wake up and where were you? I think I woke up probably next day, if I remember korrektlich. I remember det old of körs all the pips and all this in my wrists and in my arms.

Of course I was in a heavy medication, of course. Awful. You know beking blood and uh when I woke up, very unpleasant feeling but didn't really feel any pain. But that was just because they gave me such a heavy medication. And then what happened was who came to see me was uh Ron Dennis and and Lisa Dennis. And when I saw Lisa, blonde haired woman, I thought they said she was an angel. That's it, I'm in heaven. You know? And it it it was it was a shocking moment. Uh

Tha that's what I remember. I see the face of Ron, I see the face of Lisa Dennis. How shocked they were, because they knew that you know uh this is mega serious. And I was just in a completely in heavy medication. How many operations did you have? That was one of the most challenging thing. It the whole time when I was in a hospital, I don't know, one and a half, two months.

Most of the time spending time in a hospital was in Australia. Then I think in England I was in a hospital at least a week. Maybe even two weeks. Because when you have an accident and you you get the bang in your head, in your brain, the hospitals need to do all kinds of different tests. That way everything functions in your brain. That was one of the challenging things that way

All your sugar levels they're testing with the different fluids your sugar levels that way your body functions normally. Other side of my face was paralysed. So they're testing that if the nerves are completely broken or are they just brood? So they put the needles through your skin and your face to check your nerves. Mika, can you feel this? Can you feel Oh my god, because if the nerve is of course broken, of course you don't feel nothing.

But luckily they were bruised. But when they put the needles through your skin and your nerve I mean, it was like Mike Taiser would be puncing your head, you know. So it was terrible experience seen MRI skans of your head jaä How serious it is. There's more from Micah in a moment. And there's more for you to listen to from Formula One. Our official race review podcast, F1 Nation, previews and reviews every Grand Prix.

The latest episode features me, IndyCar race winner James Hinchcliffe, and former F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez. We're looking back at a chaotic Mexico City Grand Prix. And F1 Explains is the podcast which answers your questions about how F1 works. This week's episode is all about data, how drivers and teams use it to go faster. Featuring Jolian Palmer and Oscar Piastri's race engineer, Tom Stallard. So check out F1 Nation and F1 Explains right after more from MICA.

How quickly did you start to make progress? It vars slow process. It just takes super long time. Only maybe one and a half months later. I'm start understanding what state I am, because they're of course reducing the medication all the time, less and less. And then when they do that then comes the of course the pain.

the headaches what's happening and that that was one of the hardest part to handle the headache because it was just 247 konstantly headachen everybody have experienced headache and you can imagine how unpleasant it is So I I think one and a half months later, two months later I start recovering but even the doctor said that way I'm not allowed to start jogging, you cannot start lifting weights, you're not allowed to put any pressure on your body.

Finnäli, kun cot back to Monako and sitinä in a terras and takin pyruin laitsa in Monako en evening and wandering Is this this is it? Is this this is my life now? And you start asking questions from yourself what do you want from your life? How quickly did you realise you wanted to race again?

I I I didn't wanna even think about it. I really didn't wanna think about it. But that's race where I had an accident uh in Adelaide. That was the last Grand Prix of the Year. So that means I ha I had a time to recover. It was about a couple of months later the McLaurin have to ask me, that's why, Mika, do you wanna come back to racing? Otherwise they had to find the other driver. What did you say? I I of course I spoke to family, I spoke to management, and I was looking all those years back.

what I have done in motor racing started when I was six years old. Little boy. I thought I got so far in my career now. I mean a great team McLaren. And it's no way I can just now give up. I cannot. I cannot give up. I was very confident with my talent, my performance, so I I put the thumbs up to McLaren and said, okay, let's do the test. Let's try to do it. What I gonna feel and how it's gonna go.

What state were you in physically though? I mean, had there been you you've talked about your brain and the headaches. Was there any other physical damage to you as a result of the accident? No, of course I was I lost a lot of weight. Automedication, so my my physical condition has dropped like fifty percent. How heavy were you? What was your fighting weight back then and and how heavy were you by sort of January nineteen ninety six?

I was in in uh when I was racing my weight was probably round maximum round seven. How tall are you? I'm nearly 178. So I'm sure I lost like 7 to 10 kilos. So I was super skinny. Some of the problems losing some hearing of Koros because the accident bones inside in a brain in your ears broke. So they had to build some artificial bones inside in their ears. So I need to have a operations in England, uh in USA and American into two operations.

So all those were part of the journey journey for recovering and and uh i it was quite a challenge. But uh one thing I I really have to say that way what Ron Dennis did, what the McLaren team did. Mansur Oje who is NOT with us. Mansuus Oje family mansuys ja Ron friend Australia. Kiinalla plane to take me to Lemme plain.

before I came back to Europe. And of course, Gehgar Rosberg, the management, how they were able to take care of me and of course my family. It was just amazing what they did for me. They really gave me the peace. the space to recover. It was just mega.

Your then wife, Arya, when you said I want to go back to racing, what reaction did you get from her? ས གས གས གས གས གས གས གས གས གས གས གས གས གས They were all supporting, you know, that Mika if you feel like that and if you decide to do that, we will support you. We all understood the risks of motorsport. Cos I don't know exactly what they felt inside in themselves, but they were like supporting me when I decided to go back to racing.

To go back to even to try to do testing that were what I'm gonna feel. So what they they were supporting, very supportive. L let's talk about that test then, the the comeback test at Paul Ricard. How were you feeling on the eve of that test? How nervous were you? I was nervous of course. I was nervous uh driving with my car to Port Ricard. Heading to the racetrack and and one thing I was really Really uh uh nervous about because of course all my mechanics were there

So they remember Mika what Mika looked like you know the time before the accident, you know. My blonde whatever hair, and of course in the hospital they had to shave. fifty percent of my hair off the other side was still a little bit paralysed. So I saw the mechanic's face when I entered the on on a carrass, they were like they were looking like, oh no, this this guy's not this guy's not gonna make it. So that was for me quite unpleasant of course.

Even I tried to be normal and try to act normal. Uh i it was very difficult. And and but again, you know, then came the time that way, okay, time to put the overalls on. Put the racing shoes on. I was nervous, of course. Automatically nervous. But then going in a car, putting crash helmet on. I was looking at the car, you know, I was absolutely fantastic. Taylor made the quality of what the McLaren does.

You know, and when they're starting an engine again, absolutely amazing. Mercedes engine. Going out of the caras and I felt like, wow, this is beautiful. And I put my foot down. I went flat out straight away and and uh everything was automatic, everything felt good. But that day when I was going to high speed corners I was thinking, what about if something breaks? And then I thought myself that Mika, stop thinking about it. This is now this is this is the test, you know.

Take that out of your mind. Just focus what the driving and it works. It really worked. Why it worked, my opinion, when I when I was thinking about time back, because I wanted to win. I wanted to be a world champion. So I said do not think about that you're gonna have an accident or something breaks. Trust the car, trust the team.

How much of a risk was it for you? I mean, had the doctor said to you, Micah, if you have another big accident, the result might be a bit different? Had you had that kind of conversation? No, I I had a I did speak to doctors and and p already in hospital. I said is is my life gonna be short enough? And am I gonna live, you know, normal life the rest of my life? I said, it's no problem, Mika. You're you're fine. You can live normal life and it's

This accident is not gonna make your life shorter. Okay, if you go back to racing, again something can happen. But if something happens, my condition or i i if I would be even without the accident is no difference. So I was not worried about that. I know you say you were trying to put it out of your mind. Don't think about a car failure in the quick corners. But had the crash changed you in any way and your attitude to risk?

Additive for the risks? N not really. I don't think so. I I think it it just changed me uh in terms of human. You know, I think I started listening to people much more, you know. I was extremely selfish. I was my ego was before my accident extremely high. Confidence was high. And now suddenly after the accident,

I slow down a bit. I start listening more what the people are saying. You know, thinking twice what I was doing. It makes me uh I don't say it make me smarter, but it it it it it teaches me to appreciate the time when I'm living and and appreciate the time with the people. You know, I think that those are the little things and big things, how they changed me.

A wet race day at Spa, you had the same attitude post accident as you did before the accident? Oh yeah, absolutely. I mean absolutely mega. I mean no problem at all. I think only thing what changed uh when I did start winning in Formula One. When I started uh getting pole positions and finally when I managed to become a world champion. That was the time when what changed me.

reach my goal. I have reached my goal becoming a world champion. And then when I start taking risks on a racetrack afterwards when I had a mechanical failures and hitting a wall very hard. That was the moment when I started thinking about it. Do I push my luck now too far? And that's what you were thinking at the end of two thousand and one? Exactly. Then I decided that Mika, you know, you are now two times world champion.

And if I kun an accident like what I had in Adelaine, ain't not gonna vuh näin. Mmyt mä kun. This can be even more serious. So now it's time to. I remember you selling it to us at the time that it was a sabbatical for two thousand and two, but did you know in your mind it was over? Well, Ron knew that losing me from the team is going to lose an important asset for the team in terms of marketing, in terms of performance. the team knew me very well so ron said to me just you know

Think about it. Take one year off. Relax, chill out. But it didn't take too long time. It didn't take too many months when I realized like. It's no way I can go back. My mind is thinking about the danger, my mind is thinking about accidents. And again my accident came back to my mind, what about if it happens again?

And I was just purely thinking about life outside of the motor racing, there's so much the life can life can give me that Formula One is not everything. Because if you wanna be a champion in Formula One, You have to give hundred percent. You know, you cannot have anything else in your life. So I thought um I don't wanna go to that journey anymore. I wanna I wanna explore other things in my life. Can we rewind to Melbourne nineteen ninety six now? You've had the comeback test at Paul Ricard.

You've said already that it felt amazing. What you haven't said is whether you were quick on the comeback test. Were you immediately quick? Yeah, I was quick. I was immediately quick. I mean the car was just incredible and uh I I was able to put myself on edge. Straight away. Yeah, and and I you know, it I don't know, is it maybe I'm so bloody stupid, you know. I just wanted to show the team that way it's we're gonna kick some ass.

Right. And so that evening after the first day of testing, did you say to Ron, I'm here for you. We're going racing. That's it, that's it. I informed the team immediately after test that way, let's go for the fight, let's continue our journey together, you know, and and uh it it was very clear in my mind. And it was it was it was super good. It was really really good I I made that decision and and uh I'm a very aktiv person. You know I love to do things. There's no way I could stop racing.

Did Melbourne ninety six, your first race back, five months to the day since your accident in Adelaide, did that carry extra significance for you, that race? I mean you finished fifth. It was an extraordinary comeback. It was very difficult. Uh physic, no way I was not there. I was not physically there. And I would say the year 96. You know, I remember many of my seasons quite well actually, but ninety six I was my brain was in a in the fold.

You know, I wasn't there a hundred percent. You know, it it was very unpleasant. I need to I need to really push over my limits physically uh and mentally to to go through that year. How mentally draining was a two hour Grand Prix for you in ninety six? You know, I have a young Skottish guy, you know kicking my ass, you know. So uh he he was it was really uh really challenging. So you know that made my life even more harder. You know I was not physically there, I was mentally

Fighting all the time with my confidence. And David Coulthardt was there, young guy, absolutely flat out. Every single time when he went out, is it the testing or race? He was just on a maximum. Focusing with the engineers. And I was Still in recovering mode. So that's why the 96 year was like oh I was all the time physically on egg. You know, so when I came from the Grand Prix, I was exhausted. I tried to recover as quick as I could going back to Monaco.

But it wasn't easy. I was still tired and to try not to think about my accident, you know, try to focus the future and the moment where I was living. And it wasn't easy, so it was taking a lot of energy. When were you back to proper Mika, full fitness? How long did it take? Ninety seven season? Yeah, it would it would it took it took uh at least one year. You know, I think ninety seven, halfway through the season, ninety seven I start feeling like

Then I start feeling that's it. Now I'm strong. Now I'm confident. Now I learn from my mistakes. I'm more experienced than ever. I saw the team is doing great decisions in terms of People who they are hiring, how they are investing money inside the team for the materials. mercedes-benz was getting stronger in their performance so i i saw that this is it i feel good i feel strong And you'd lost none of your speed. The flying fin was as fast after the accident as before. Well uh

Not really. Uh I I think uh year ninety nine, my World Championship year, I don't think I was still yet absolutely on the top. I think ninety nine was the year when I started feeling like this is it. Now I'm

Now I am in the absolutely highest performance ever, you know. Took a really long time to get the a hundred percent so uh When when you do have an accident like this, uh unfortunately it takes it takes years when you come back to your maximum strength, you know, and and because when you are a Formula One driver, you are athletic.

And you have heard the story that when the atletik people they go to competition, if they have a flu, it can take months until they come back to the same level in their performance. Well, I didn't have a flu. It was a bit more serious than that. So it took me a couple of years to come absolutely ultimate performance.

You've spoken about Ron's influence. David Coulthard Always believed that the accident brought you and Ron closer together emotionally. Did you sense that at the time? He felt that Ron favoured you, not him. I was very close to Ron of course. Ron knew me since I was a absolutely still uh amateur in Formula One. Ron saw my development, becoming a man uh getting more confident, more experienced and of course accident like that happens, it just kills everything.

You know. So I'm starting from the zero again. So naturally Ron had a huge trust on me that where I was a very hard working guy and at the same time I was giving the full commitment for the McLaren team. So naturally Thron was supporting me. Ron supporti me more senit. I'm not so sure about that. Mutta entiing i sure koski David Koldhar gonna heita our discussion. I have to say, we never didn't have any team orders.

Look, make a one final one from me. Uh you know Ron was a great support. What about the rest of the Formula One community? What about Your rivals, the shoemakers and people like that. There was definitely like a Michael Schumacher was incredible, I tell you. He was he understood that, you know, we drivers we cannot continue This kind of racing that way we get hurt. We need to really focus on safety. Kehát Berger, same. Absolutely amazing drivers! They were really focusing on safety that way.

We build racing cars, racetracks where we can survive if we have an accident or if we go off. So, in terms of that, very supportive. But end of the day. when we did put the crash helmet on, it was a fight. They didn't give me any mercy, I tell you. There's a hell of a fight. Micah and this has been a hell of a conversation. My last thing is that you've been an inspiration, I think, to so many people, particularly people who have been through a trauma themselves.

For people who are suffering right now, what advice do you give to people? I mean the of course it depends. What kind of trauma or accident. The best thing is just to talk about it. Talk about it. Select the right friends around you and go for it. Never give up. Absolutely keep fighting and and continue your journey, continue your dreams of your life, and that's what you have to do. Never stop. Never stop. And you are a classic case of that. Thank you so much.

Wow. Mika is incredibly articulate about such A life changing moment. So much of this conversation was fascinating. His descriptions of what happened and the recuperation, and the fact it took him until 1999 to be back to his best. And my goodness, he was good that year, beating Eddie Irvine by two points at the final race at Suzuka. Mika, thank you for such an open and frank conversation. You are an inspiration to many.

Now if you enjoyed hearing from Mika and want to hear more stories from F1 Legends, scroll back through our previous episodes to find race winners and world champions from every era of the sport. Well that's it for this episode. I will of course be back next week with another great guest from the world of Formula One. But for now, thanks for listening. F1 Beyond the Grid is produced by Formula One and Audio Boom Studios. Until next time, keep it flat out.