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Legendary F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen’s daughter makes her racing debut this weekend
The daughter of two-time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen is making her single-seater debut.
Ella Hakkinen, the daughter of two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika, will make her single-seater debut this weekend.
The 15-year-old will contest the Formula 4 Central European Zone Championship with Swiss team Jenzer Motorsport as she makes her foray into single-seater racing in 2026.
Hakkinen will make her debut F4 CEZ debut at the Red Bull Ring in Austria from 10-12 April.
In November, Hakkinen was added to the McLaren driver development programme when she was just 14.
She has secured wins and podium finishes around Europe in karting and is the youngest driver on McLaren’s junior programme.
Her father, Mika, who won back-to-back F1 titles with McLaren in 1998 and 1999, has tipped her to be a future motorsport star.
“Ella is an extremely talented racing driver. I’m not just saying this as a father, but based on my observations as a former top driver,” he told Finnish paper Ilta-Sanomat.
“Her motivation is impressive. She really wants to become a racing driver. In the meantime, she has become a real daredevil. In a few years we will experience a rider again in the premier class, whether it is Ella or another.
“The new generation of Formula 1 fans are made up of 40 percent women, and the sport must reflect that.”
The last woman to compete in an F1 race was Italy’s Lella Lombardi in 1976.
At the time Hakkinen was announced as being part of McLaren’s development programme, CEO Zak Brown said: “While I recognise more remains to be done to increase female representation in motorsport, I’m immensely proud of the progress we’ve made in this space.
“I hope this signals to all the amazingly talented female karters, drivers, engineers, mechanics, marketeers and accountants out there that our sport is open to all and deeply committed to keeping up the incredible momentum we have seen over the past few years.
“There are so many opportunities both at and away from track and I want to thank NEOM for partnering with us in this space to help us open more pathways for women. To now have three talented young female drivers in our Driver Development Programme is really exciting, and I cannot wait to see them hit the track.”
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The daughter of two-time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen is making her single-seater debut.
Ella Hakkinen, the daughter of two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika, will make her single-seater debut this weekend.
The 15-year-old will contest the Formula 4 Central European Zone Championship with Swiss team Jenzer Motorsport as she makes her foray into single-seater racing in 2026.
Hakkinen will make her debut F4 CEZ debut at the Red Bull Ring in Austria from 10-12 April.
In November, Hakkinen was added to the McLaren driver development programme when she was just 14.
She has secured wins and podium finishes around Europe in karting and is the youngest driver on McLaren’s junior programme.
Her father, Mika, who won back-to-back F1 titles with McLaren in 1998 and 1999, has tipped her to be a future motorsport star.
“Ella is an extremely talented racing driver. I’m not just saying this as a father, but based on my observations as a former top driver,” he told Finnish paper Ilta-Sanomat.
“Her motivation is impressive. She really wants to become a racing driver. In the meantime, she has become a real daredevil. In a few years we will experience a rider again in the premier class, whether it is Ella or another.
“The new generation of Formula 1 fans are made up of 40 percent women, and the sport must reflect that.”
The last woman to compete in an F1 race was Italy’s Lella Lombardi in 1976.
At the time Hakkinen was announced as being part of McLaren’s development programme, CEO Zak Brown said: “While I recognise more remains to be done to increase female representation in motorsport, I’m immensely proud of the progress we’ve made in this space.
“I hope this signals to all the amazingly talented female karters, drivers, engineers, mechanics, marketeers and accountants out there that our sport is open to all and deeply committed to keeping up the incredible momentum we have seen over the past few years.
“There are so many opportunities both at and away from track and I want to thank NEOM for partnering with us in this space to help us open more pathways for women. To now have three talented young female drivers in our Driver Development Programme is really exciting, and I cannot wait to see them hit the track.”
Ella Hakkinen, the daughter of two-time Formula 1 world champion Mika, will make her single-seater debut this weekend.
The 15-year-old will contest the Formula 4 Central European Zone Championship with Swiss team Jenzer Motorsport as she makes her foray into single-seater racing in 2026.
Hakkinen will make her debut F4 CEZ debut at the Red Bull Ring in Austria from 10-12 April.
In November, Hakkinen was added to the McLaren driver development programme when she was just 14.
She has secured wins and podium finishes around Europe in karting and is the youngest driver on McLaren’s junior programme.
Her father, Mika, who won back-to-back F1 titles with McLaren in 1998 and 1999, has tipped her to be a future motorsport star.
“Ella is an extremely talented racing driver. I’m not just saying this as a father, but based on my observations as a former top driver,” he told Finnish paper Ilta-Sanomat.
“Her motivation is impressive. She really wants to become a racing driver. In the meantime, she has become a real daredevil. In a few years we will experience a rider again in the premier class, whether it is Ella or another.
“The new generation of Formula 1 fans are made up of 40 percent women, and the sport must reflect that.”
The last woman to compete in an F1 race was Italy’s Lella Lombardi in 1976.
At the time Hakkinen was announced as being part of McLaren’s development programme, CEO Zak Brown said: “While I recognise more remains to be done to increase female representation in motorsport, I’m immensely proud of the progress we’ve made in this space.
“I hope this signals to all the amazingly talented female karters, drivers, engineers, mechanics, marketeers and accountants out there that our sport is open to all and deeply committed to keeping up the incredible momentum we have seen over the past few years.
“There are so many opportunities both at and away from track and I want to thank NEOM for partnering with us in this space to help us open more pathways for women. To now have three talented young female drivers in our Driver Development Programme is really exciting, and I cannot wait to see them hit the track.”
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