And Colossally That's History: Mika Hakkinen - F1's 'luckiest' champion?
The Race F1 Podcast
The Race Media Ltd
4.5 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 May 2025
⏱️ 71 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this week's episode of And Colossally That's History! Richard Williams and Matt Bishop look back on the career of Mika Hakkinen, and in particular how he was able to overcome - thanks to a considerable slice of good luck - the devastating crash in 1995 that so nearly took his life to become a double Formula 1 world champion.
Along the way, Matt and Richard explain what made Hakkinen - widely regarded as one of the quickest drivers of his generation, and a man who often went toe-to-toe with and beat Michael Schumacher in the late 1990s and early 2000s - such a special talent.
They also look back on the dreadful crash in Adelaide in 1995 that would ordinarily have ended Hakkinen's career, if not his life, describing the incredible work done by the medical team on-site, and the remarkable bravery and tenacity show by Hakkinen in the aftermath.
Matt also shares some great anecdotes about the time he spent with Hakkinen in his glory days, post-accident, when Matt was writing about the Finn as a magazine editor. He discusses what Mika told him after that legendary overtake on Schumacher at Spa in 2000, and he describes - in hilarious detail - what happened when Mika took him rally driving on a frozen lake the morning after a heavy night drinking vodka...
Matt and Richard will be bringing members an exclusive Q&A episode at the end of Season 3, where they'll answer questions on each of the topics covered. Join on Patreon today and get 75% off your first month - we even have an F1-only tier!
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Transcript
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| 1:16.6 | Hello, motor racing fans and welcome to |
| 1:26.3 | And colossally that's history, the podcast that re-appraises motor racing fans and welcome to, and Colossily, that's History, the podcast that |
| 1:29.6 | re-appraises motor racing history. I'm Matt Bishop, and for the ninth time in this colossally season, |
| 1:36.8 | I find myself sitting opposite my old friend Richard Williams. How's it going, Richard? |
| 1:42.0 | All fine. Thank you, Matt, and very much looking forward to another chance to swap anecdotes, |
| 1:46.9 | opinions, and of course, anorak facts about motor racing. |
| 1:51.0 | As am I, Richard, as am I, especially as this episode concerns a man I know very well, |
| 1:57.4 | Micah Hackanon. Yes, indeed, the world champion of 1998 and 1999. |
... |
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