Mika Häkkinen

He’s just too good for you

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By TJ13 Courtroom Reporter & Crime Analyst: Adam Macdonald. Winning is one thing, dominating is another This season had seen Wilfried Zaha, of Crystal Palace; frighten defenders in the Npower Championship (UK football league below the Premiership).  So much so that the chant “he’s just too good for you” echoes around Selhurst Park and other grounds throughout … Read more

Is The Art Of Overtaking Lost Forever?

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Contributor: Courtroom Reporter & Crime Analyst: James Parker DRS, it is a controversial device which has divided opinion to the very core. Since its introduction in 2011, the FIA have constantly tinkered with the gimmick to ensure it creates the correct blend of opportunity, without detracting away from the skill of achieving a successful overtake. It begs … Read more

On This Day in F1: 29 March

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On this day in F1 – 29 March, brought to you by TheJudge13 chronicler Bart De Pauw – 1998: Braking systems controversy in Brazil Following an overwhelming McLaren dominance in the season-opening Australian Grand Prix where Häkkinen and Coulthard sealed a commanding one-two and lapped the entire field, Ferrari in the build up to the … Read more

On This Day in F1: 08 March

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On this day in F1 08 March, is brought to you by TheJudge13 chronicler: Bart De Pauw

– 1998: Yet again McLaren team orders in favor of Häkkinen

1998: After two seasons of Williams-Renault supremacy, McLaren drivers Mika Häkkinen and David Couthard lived up to their pre-season favorite role by overwhelmingly dominating the 1998 season-opening Australian Grand Prix. Häkkinen took pole with only a four-hundredths of a second advantage over Coulthard, with Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari a distant third at more than seven tenths. As it turned out victory was decided at the first corner when Häkkinen made the better start to lead his Scottish teammate into the 58 laps around Melbourne’s Albert Park circuit. Both McLarens pulled away from the field at a staggering rate of three seconds per lap on an afternoon that would see them double all other cars. But despite all this dominance the inevitable McLaren win was not free from controversy.

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McLaren-Mercedes divorce and Cosworth need a new partner.

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Even though the driver line up’s are mostly sorted for next year, I suspect there are a few exciting news stories yet to break. One of which I believe will be the split between Mercedes and McLaren.

History of the partnership

Having been out of F1 since 1954, Mercedes returned as an engine supplier in 1994, partnering with Sauber and then a year later began their 17 year relationship with McLaren. Since parting company with Honda in 1992, McLaren tried working with both Ford and Peugeot for 2 years with limited success. The 5 year relationship with Honda had delivered both WDC and WCC championships in 4 of those years – 8 titles in all and in just 5 years – 52 pole positions and 44 wins. In stark contrast Mercedes partnership with McLaren has delivered a mere 1 WCC (1998) and 3 WDC titles (Hakkinen 98,99 – Hamilton 08).

In 1999 Daimler-Chrysler (owner of Mercedes-Benz) bought 40% of the McLaren F1 team with Ron Dennis and Mansour Ojjeh each retaining 30% and there was a shareholders agreements which locked Dennis and Ojjeh’s holding together so they could not be sold independently of one another. The arrangement followed a decision by DaimlerChrysler and McLaren Cars to jointly develop and produce the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren super sports car which was launched at the Frankfurt Motorshow in 2003 and was manufactured at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking and at the company’s second production factory in Portsmouth, where the SLR carbon fibre bodyshells are built. The programme was planned for 7 years and around 3500 cars and the last cars were completed by December 2009, although McLaren produced 25 limited edition run of cars in 2011 called the ‘McLaren Edition’.

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