Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen or Lewis Hamilton - who was a better McLaren driver?

McLaren-Mercedes, the brainchild of Bruce McLaren, has had its share of ups and downs during their 50 years in Formula One. While the team is trying hard to get out of its current set of woes, it’s been a driver’s dream to race for one of the most successful teams in Formula One history.

After all, it has had a long list of Formula One legends and stalwarts as its racing drivers: the numero uno Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, Niki Lauda, Keijo “Keke” Rosberg, Emerson Fittipaldi, Nigel Mansell, and Bruce McLaren himself.

But in the recent past (20 years), there have been three drivers who have driven for the celebrated team and stood out from the bunch. Mika Hakkinen, Kimi Raikkonen and Lewis Hamilton have their own pages in the history books of McLaren’s history. Here’s a look at the three great drivers to decide who the best among them is.

The New Flying Finn – Mika Hakkinen

Mika Hakkinen

Known for his rivalry with Michael Schumacher, the Finn was by far one of the finest drivers for McLaren and Formula One in the 90s era. Two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen carried forward the legacy of Finland, succeeding the original Flying Finn – Keke Rosberg, who incidentally was also his manager for a long time.

Hakkinen joined McLaren-Mercedes as a test driver in 1993. He was chosen to replace Ayrton Senna, who moved to Williams in 1994. As destiny would have it, after having miraculously survived a life threatening crash at Adelaide due to a tyre burst in qualifying, he came back to finish fifth in the ‘96 Championship. The first win for him finally came in the last race at Jerez, Spain in the ’97 season.

The word that defines him and his driving was commitment. He never backed out without giving more than a 110%. The 1998 season saw him winning an emphatic eight out of the 16 races and the Driver’s Championship after a ferociously fought battle with Michael Schumacher. It was a treat for Formula One fans to watch them race wheel to wheel. The silent and shy Finn had managed to reach ultimate glory in Formula One thanks to his steely nerves, and with David Coulthard’s support, helped McLaren with their last Constructor’s Championship.

The Finn then went on to win the 1999 Drivers’ title in the final race of the year at Suzuka. This time it was Eddie Irvine in Ferrari who lost out to Mika. Though generally an inexpressive and introverted driver, one incident of his emotions comes to mind when at Monza, Italy he crashed due to a wrong gear selection and was seen crying after stepping out of the car.

The rivalry between him and Schumacher lasted till Mika’s retirement in 2001. There were numerous instances of brilliant overtaking ((the most famous one at Spa in 2000). Though both the drivers fought hard on the track, they had mutual respect for each other off it. His true spirit of motorsport was admired by Schumacher, and that said a lot about the character of the ever consistent Finn. With Mika’s decision to hang up his driving boots, a long partnership at McLaren and an equally satisfying career at Formula One came to an abrupt end.

Iceman- The Flying Finn Rises – Kimi Raikkonen

Kimi Raikkonen

Mika Hakkinen passed on the Finnish legacy in Formula One to Kimi Raikkonen. His vacant seat at McLaren was filled by young countryman Raikkonen in 2002. With just one year in Formula One, the young driver had to shoulder a big enough responsibility and he did that brilliantly with utmost calm. His ability to withstand pressure and come out triumphant from many a race situations got him the tag of ‘Iceman’ in no time.

Despite finishing sixth in the McLaren in his first year, he, in a peculiarly similar fashion like Mika, gave Schumacher a run for his money in 2003. He won his first race at the Malaysian GP, and followed it up with remarkable podium finishes before losing to Michael at Suzuka, Japan by just one point.

The 2004 season wasn’t the best, with the McLaren struggling to survive races, and Kimi finished a disappointing seventh. The 2005 season saw another determined effort to win the drivers’ title but this time, Fernando Alonso in the Renault was his bête noire. Kimi put up a brave fight in the McLaren by winning 7 races. The 2006 season proved disappointing thanks to a non-competitive car, and a fifth place in the points table prompted him to move to Ferrari, where he won his first World Drivers’ Championship in 2007.

One word that describes Kimi for me is attitude. “I am what I am, take it or leave it” is what defines Kimi. Add to that the unrelenting hunger to succeed no matter what the situation. Unlike Mika, Kimi spoke his mind off the track but whilst on it, he never backed away from muscling the McLaren and was seemingly consistent with podiums and scoring points.

The Rising Star – Lewis Hamilton

Lewis Hamilton

Kimi’s departure for Ferrari saw another promising young talent take his place in the McLaren. Lewis Hamilton, the British driver, realized his childhood dream of driving for McLaren in 2007. The talented driver had driven remarkably in his debut season, winning four races and 12 podium finishes.

After a hard fought season (having led the championship for some time in the year), which saw a three-way race for the title, he and then team-mate Fernando Alonso lost to Kimi in the final race of 2007 by just one point. But by the end of it all, McLaren had realised that they had invested their resources in the right candidate, and the results spoke for themselves.

Having missed out in 2007 by the minimum possible margin, the Brit was determined to start afresh in 2008 and achieved what he had set out for. The single point came into the picture again at the final race of the season in Brazil. Hamilton, having won five races and finished on the podium ten times, had to finish no less than fifth to clinch the title, while rival Felipe Massa driving for Ferrari had to win to his home Grand Prix to win the Championship. Massa won the race but Lewis won the title on the final lap, meters before the finish line by overtaking Timo Glock in the struggling Toyota, to finish fifth. He thus became the youngest Drivers’ champion back then.

The McLaren wasn’t the best car in the years that followed, though Hamilton tried his best to turn the fortunes around. The young protégé finally announced his move to Mercedes for the 2013 season, which ended a 14 year relationship with McLaren.

Statistics of Races with McLaren-Mercedes

The Verdict

Mika’s committed drive in his McLaren helped him achieve two championships, Kimi’s never say die attitude and his remarkable consistency at podiums was astonishing (my heart feels he is better), but probably it was Hamilton who had an edge over the Finnish drivers.

Having said that, both Mika and Kimi were remarkable in their own ways, and had produced exciting and memorable moments in Formula One race after race, year after year in their McLarens. But Hamilton was consistently on pole positions, won races , finished on the podiums and is probably what one can say closer to a complete driver (I might be putting my foot in my mouth here). His achievements speak for himself and they came at a very young age, that would help him to achieve more in his Formula One career.

Whatever said and done, there’s no doubt that all three of them have been inspirational and exciting to watch. So while people may have their opinions on who might be the best among them, the one thing that united them was the passion for the sport of Formula One.