Mika Hakkinen Driving a Le Mans-Winning McLaren F1 GTR is Peak ’90s Racing Glory
Peep this onboard footage of the two-time F1 world champion driving McLaren’s dominant endurance racer around Laguna Seca.
Monterey Car Week brings heaps of the greatest racing cars in history to beautiful Californian wine country year after year, all while being celebrated by motorsport's greatest heroes and celebrities alike. During the event, whether it be at The Quail or Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, it's not uncommon to see world champion drivers mingling with the crowd and reminiscing of their greatest feats achieved behind the wheel. However, the best-in-show display comes when these aforementioned motorists climb into the machinery and put their mettle to action.
Mikka Hakkinen, a two-time Formula 1 champ, settled into the ever-famous McLaren F1 GTR to run the Laguna Seca course and was captured by the crew over at Racer.com. Onboard footage shows the Flying Finn's trip around the historic circuit, featuring the instant-classic howl delivered courtesy of the midship-mounted, BMW-sourced V12 that originally propelled the race car to Le Mans victory in 1995.
The F1 GTR's single-seat cockpit is one of its most prominent character traits which allows the driver to focus in as a fighter pilot would in the seat of his jet. Rowing the six-speed manual gearbox, Hakkinen throws it back to a time when the Gordon Murray-designed car was dominating La Sarthe in its first running there. The cumulative being that is this particular Macca makes for a complete package that consists of every gearhead's ideal components, and for that, we'll be forever grateful that the Monterey Motorsport Reunion exists to bring cars like this back to life.
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