Interview with Mika Hakkinen

The huge numbers of people camped outside the back of the Ferrari garage all weekend, and the extra level of media interest, is purely because Interlagos will be Michael Schumacher's final Formula One race.

Schumacher has brought plenty of friends and family to his final outing, in a bid to make sure that he enjoys himself one last time. And one surprise visitor who arrived on Saturday morning to join those celebrations was former world champion Mika Hakkinen - the man whom Schumacher has frequently said was his greatest and favourite rival.

Autosport.com heard from Hakkinen about his feelings on Schumacher's retirement, what the future holds for the Ferrari driver and how Kimi Raikkonen will get on at Ferrari.

Q. Is Michael Schumacher the greatest driver in the history of Formula One?

MH: If you take the overall picture then there is no doubt about Michael and what he has done in his career in F1. He has won more championships than anyone else. It has been a great achievement what he has done, but unfortunately I cannot give you the rating of how good Michael is - from one to 10 for example.

I cannot give you the number. It is complicated, but certainly what he has achieved is something remarkable. I don't think there will be a driver in the future who can beat that achievement for a long time, or maybe ever.

Q. What is your best memory of Michael?

MH: I have a lot of memories - especially those of when I overtook him. So I have good memories for example. Obviously with Michael I had great races in the past and I think Spa (2000) was one of the races that we can mention. It was certainly very challenging and tough competitions - particularly 1998, 1999 and 2000. There were serious challenges on the race track and very, very tough.

I think every time, like you have seen in the past history, we never really had any collision. I would not call it gentleman racing, but it was racing when both drivers were respecting each other in a situation where the cars and the drivers were on the limit. So we never did any nasty tricks with each, so they were great memories for me racing with Michael.

And for me the reason why this collision never happened was that my mentality and attitude was that we were an example for the young drivers, in go kart racing, on the public roads, and whatever we do on the race track we are an example for the young guys. I always tried to make the racing very exciting and challenging with Michael, but never the way that we would shunt together and have a nasty accident.

Q. But was Spa 2000 close to the limit?

MH: Oh yeah, absolutely! Very much on the limit.

Q. On the limit or over the limit?

MH: I think every time when your car is crossing the white line and you go on the grass, then you are crossing the limit. So I think Spa was very much on the limit, but still the outcome was good and spectacular in my opinion.

Q. Can you tell us now what you said to Michael after the race?

MH: Well, actually if I would tell you that they maybe I would tell you a lie. I cannot remember exactly any more what I said, so it is better if I don't say it.

Q. Has Michael made the right decision in retiring?

MH: Well, it is a very personal thing. It is a very, very personal decision that you make when you choose to stop racing. And normally there are quite a few reasons for making the decision. If you are asking me about if this was the right moment for Michael to stop, then it is only Michael who can answer that.

Certainly he has been in Formula One for a long time, racing for many years, racing under pressure for many years, so naturally you come to the point where he had enough. If you feel good enough inside to tell yourself, your public and your fans that it is the time to stop, then it is the time to stop.

Q. Do you think Ferrari's decision to sign Kimi Raikkonen had anything to do with his decision?

MH: I don't think so, no. I think Michael is a fighter and he doesn't think whoever is his teammate he will be going on the limit. So if Kimi would have come to Ferrari at the same time that Michael was there, I don't think that had anything to do with Michael's decision. That is my opinion.

Q. You talk about it being the right time for Michael to stop, was it the right time for you to stop when you retired?

MH: Yeah it was, definitely. I had a lot of reasons for me to stop racing and I made the right decision. The racing is the world, and if you are a winner inside then you have to be ready for winning. If you are not ready for winning then you have to stop.

Q. After a few years you decided to come back to the DTM. Do you think that Michael will have an idea to come back to racing?

MH: I had a few years off after F1 and I recharged my batteries. And I had a great time. Time with family, time with friends, time to travel the world without the pressure of going to races. Then it came the time when I started missing racing again and I put myself in order, focusing on the racing, and went to the DTM. You are asking me whether Michael will come back to racing?

My opinion is that racing is in our blood. We know we are good at racing and if we are physically and psychologically fit then we can do racing. I feel inside myself that I don't think I could be without racing because it is a great passion and a great thing that I have. In my opinion Michael will come back to racing, but which category and when I don't know. You will have to ask him. My opinion is simply that he will one day.

Q. It has been suggested that Michael might take a management role at Ferrari in the next few years. Can you see yourself doing the same thing?

MH: Obviously I can say that I have a lot of knowledge and a lot of experience in a lot of different areas in racing. So I could definitely influence in many ways some decisions and analysing people in different positions. But at the moment my answer is that I haven't really thought about it.

Q. Is Ferrari the right choice for Kimi right now? Can he escape the shadow of Michael inside the team?

MH: Well, I personally decided to stay at McLaren when we were racing, even when we had some bad years. I was racing for many, many years without the victory. With McLaren we raced many years together, changing different engine manufacturers until we ended up with Mercedes-Benz. There was lots of fighting, sometimes not results, but with a lot of patience and a lot of inside commitment towards the team. It was worth it.

We won the world championship twice, we did great results and made great history. Even if it was easy to look at the other side of the fence to see where the cars were more greener. It happens very easily.

So I thought a long time ago that I made the right decision to continue with McLaren and I achieved the victories because I understood the potential of the team, I understood the financial package of the team, I understood the technology of what the team was capable to do. There was a lot of argument about why I decided to stay with McLaren.

The question is whether Kimi decided to do the right thing. The easiest answer for me would be to say: let's wait and see. But obviously you do have to look at the regulation changes, people who are staying and who are going, and you have to go very deep inside an operation to understand what is logical and what is not logical.

So when you are changing teams in a situation, big teams like McLaren and Ferrari, then you have to go very deep inside to analyse and understand. You need very professional people around you to analyse and understand what is right or wrong. That is for the long term, not today and not tomorrow. I think I am still going to say the last words: let's wait and see.

Q. What do you miss the least about F1?

MH: I think at the end of the day when I look back at the history and the past I only think of good things. That is the positive person inside of me. I think if you are mentally tired, physically tired then nothing is fun. I think after all, there are a lot of things I did in the last years of F1 where I was quite tired.

The enjoyment was lacking and when you don't enjoy something then it is not worth doing it. It is not good for yourself and not good for the others. You have to love what you do.

Q. What about Fernando Alonso in McLaren?

MH: With Fernando I don't know him at all. I only know him from listening to interviews. I have seen his races and what he has done. I think Fernando's move to McLaren is a very strong move. It is a long term commitment that he was thinking and I think it was a very clever move. All the best for him.

Q. You know Kimi quite well and there are many rumours about his private life. Do you think he is strong enough to be champion?

MH: In F1 you have to be very strong, strong minded. Of course you can take a certain amount of people talking about you, which is negative. If there is a lot of negative talking around you then it starts affecting you psychologically, of course. I think Kimi is a very strong guy mentally. And yes there is some negative writing about his private life, but the reality is, is it correct or not?

What is important is to stand up, speak openly and fix the problems. When you are in F1 you spend most of the time in the paddock, speaking to the press, and performing on the race track. And if you don't work hand by hand in this operation with all the areas then you end up being psychologically affected and you are not going to end up very far. Kimi is a strong guy, but to answer the question 100 percent is very difficult to be honest.

Q. Is he determined enough? Frank Williams said recently that he does not make enough effort and that is a tragic waste of his talent?

MH: I tell you what. When I started F1 I was very selfish and I was just thinking about myself. You need an extremely good package around you who can give you the right directions in different areas when you are performing. Whether it is marketing, talking to the press, racing on the track, working with the team.

It is a very complicated, complex package and you need to have the right team around you who can give you directions. Not necessarily to tell you what to do, but give you directions. Then you learn to build your own style and you can be successful. You need a good team around you.

Q. What about Heikki Kovalainen?

MH: I know Heikki from many years ago, and I haven't been in contact with him for many years. So he has changed enormously as a human being and as a racing driver. I cannot comment too much on him, but the team chose him to race in the future, they are confident that he has the talent to perform at the level the team requires.