Hakkinen backs Lewis and 'stable' McLaren

Mika Hakkinen believes Lewis Hamilton is on the road to delivering a more harmonious McLaren their first title for nine years. It was in 1999 Hakkinen won the last of McLaren’s Formula One world drivers’ championships before Ferrari and Michael Schumacher began to dominate. Although Hakkinen retired two years later, he has remained close to the team, and occasionally still attends races as their guest. The Finn was on hand on Sunday to congratulate Hamilton following his latest glorious triumph at the German Grand Prix, giving the 23-year-old a big bear hug as he entered the McLaren brand centre. The two men have also built up a relationship of late as they are ambassadors for Johnnie Walker’s ’Responsible Drinking’ campaign, and regularly attend promotional functions together. Compared to last year when McLaren... [read full story]