Mika Häkkinen remembered his mistake at the Italian GP in 1999, which almost cost him his second championship, and compared it to Charles Leclerc's crash in France
Charles Leclerc'saccident at the French GP last weekend is still reverberating. This time it was two-time world champion Mika Häkkinen, who found himself in the situation and remembered a famous mistake he made in his career: the accident at the Italian GP in 1999 that almost cost him his second world title.
At that time, the season had only three races left. Häkkinen was leading Eddie Irvine by one point and was closing in on the title with victory in Italy, but he made a solo mistake, ran off the track at Monza, and crashed. Irvine tied for the lead on the way to the final three races. Häkkinen was still champion, but by only two points. That mistake threatened the two-race championship.
Leclerc, on the other hand, was trying to get closer to Max Verstappen, but the mistake when he occupied the lead of the race offered Max another easy win.
"Everybody makes mistakes, but this one was public and very costly. I had that same experience, for example, when I went off the track while leading the 1999 Italian GP," he recalled.
"It's a very difficult experience. You know what you did, that you threw away a victory and you have to accept the responsibility," he spoke.
"Charles is a fantastic driver and he drove perfectly until lap 18. He was under a lot of pressure from Max, but Ferrari was very good in the fast corners, and he was able to leave F1 behind. The close proximity of Red Bull and Ferrari at Paul Ricard was brilliant, but Charles' mistake put an end to the fight," he continued.
"From then on, it was easy for Max. He controlled the race, took care of his tires, and took an important step towards the championship title.
Häkkinen points out that it is now necessary for Leclerc to deal with the mistake.
"The important thing is for Charles to respond to the mistake. As he said after the race, he lost 32 points because of mistakes in Imole and Paul Ricard, and he can't afford to continue like this if he is to beat Max. And Ferrari still had strategy and reliability problems," he continued.
"But what really matters is that he recognizes that he has the talent and the car to win races and he needs to focus on the positives and approach each weekend in the proper way. One race at a time. That's all you can do, concentrate on each race, focus on doing everything right. In this sport, you have to learn all the time, work together with the team, and do whatever you need to do," he finished.
Formula 1 returns next weekend, July 29-31, at the Hungaroring, with the Hungarian Grand Prix, which closes the first part of the championship.