Hakkinen: no regrets about McLaren test

Former world champion Mika Hakkinen insists there are no regrets about his return to the Formula One cockpit with McLaren last year - even though he ended his testing comeback at the bottom of the timesheets

The Finn drove a McLaren MP4-21 at Barcelona last November amid speculation that he could be drafted in for a testing and development role with the team.

But after ending his single day of running three seconds off the benchmark time, Hakkinen eventually opted for a return to the DTM championship with Mercedes-Benz.

Speaking in an interview with this week's Autosport magazine, Hakkinen has said that he recalls his test as a 'fantastic' experience - and that there was more to gauging its success than pure lap times.

"It was great to feel welcomed by the team and it was very interesting," he said. "It was the first time on Bridgestone tyres, so it was very much on settings that didn't suit the car in the best way."

Hakkinen said he was impressed by McLaren's attitude to the test, as he briefly renewed his working relationship with engineer Mark Slade.

"They (McLaren) took the test really seriously. I'm a double world champion, so you'd expect that, but you could also expect it from the other way and for them to say, 'What the hell is this guy doing here? He's not driven an F1 car for five years!"

"It gave more motivation for me to give it my best shot and give them the benefit of my experience from my past in F1...It was just a shame I didn't break the lap record, but maybe next time!"

When asked whether he was interested in testing again, he said: "What a question...of course! But let's concentrate on the DTM now. Let's try and win it."