Chennai: The lines on his face are more prominent now, but Mika Hakkinen still hasn’t lost his charming smile. Nor has he lost the dry sense of humour which made him a fan favourite back in his racing days.

Making a short pitstop here on the way to Singapore for this weekend’s Grand Prix, the two-time Formula 1 world champion, who was acknowledged by the legendary Michael Schumacher as his greatest rival, inaugurated the 1.2km long, international karting commission (CIK) approved Madras International Karting Arena (MIKA) on Thursday in the company of India’s only two former Formula 1 drivers, Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok.

HT caught up with the 55-year-old ‘Flying Finn’ to discuss the current F1 season, his old team McLaren being on top after more than a decade and mentee Kush Maini’s future in formula racing. Excerpts:

Unlike the last couple of seasons where Max Verstappen and Red Bull dominated F1, 2024 has been quite unpredictable.

I have to say it has been a brilliant season with good drivers coming in who have showed their potential. Formula 1 has had many different winners with different teams winning races. That has been very exciting, particularly from the point of view of the fans.

How pleasing is it to see McLaren, with whom you won both world titles, finally winning races and leading the constructors’ world championship after more than a decade?

Red Bull is not dominating any more. Of course, they are not happy, but it is great for the sport. Being a McLaren brand ambassador I am very happy to see how the team has been developing, not just this year but the last 5-6 years because it is so hard to come out from the position when you are losing, to keep the spirit up in the whole team that ‘yes, we will do it’. When there are logical steps in what you can prove, that way they will go better in the future. It’s amazing what McLaren has done. It’s been brilliant.

With 59 points behind and seven races to go, do you think Lando Norris can beat Verstappen in the championship?

Mathematically, Lando has a chance to win the world championship which is great. The team is giving him a chance to achieve the goal. They are leading the constructors’ championship and there’s still a chance to win the drivers’ world championship. They are being really smart.

Your thoughts on Oscar Piastri’s rise of late and the rivalry with teammate Norris?

It’s perfect. What McLaren is doing at the moment is perfect. There are fans of Lando and there are fans of Piastri. And I understand the challenge. But having been a racing driver myself, I’ve been in a position when I needed support from my teammate. I really didn’t get it till the very last minute. This year has been unbelievable. It will motivate them to win the championships.

You’ve been a mentor to Formula 2 racer Kush Maini. Your thoughts on his current season. Could he end India’s wait for a third F1 driver?

100 percent yes. He has got karting background. He is still young and becoming a great racing driver. I am confident he can reach F1. But the current season could have been better. There have been situations which are very unknown as to why his speed disappeared. I understand when drivers start losing one or two tenths. They can then work on what’s going on. But in his case, sometimes it was one or two seconds and that in motor racing is not acceptable.

You drove around the new MIKA. Your initial impressions?

I like MIKA because it is my name too! I don’t normally drive go-karts so it had to be a proper one. It has been a long time. So, when you jump in one of those, you realise it is a very fast car. The way the circuit is designed, it is great for overtaking. There are many good places to overtake. You need to be quite brave in some corners to be able to get a good lap time. And it is a good, fun track. If you want people to continue in the footsteps of Narain and Karun into F1, it is absolutely ultimate – you need go-kart tracks.