F1: Mika Hakkinen's 10 most memorable moments

The 2-time World Champion
The 2-time World Champion

#9 Out-qualifying Ayrton Senna in Portugal

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Hakkinen and Senna were teammates for a year at McLaren
Hakkinen and Senna were teammates for a year at McLaren

Hakkinen had a disappointing season with Lotus in 1992 as well. He then chose to sign with Williams after the end of the season. But, the contract with Williams fell apart, and Hakkinen decided to go with McLaren instead.

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McLaren had Ayrton Senna and Michael Andretti as their two main drivers, so the Finn was made their new test driver. But due to Andretti's poor form, Hakkinen replaced him as the 2nd driver, partnering up with Senna.

Hakkinen's first race as a McLaren driver came in Portugal, where he finished 3rd in Qualifying, pushing down teammate Senna to a 4th place finish. Both of them failed to finish the race though, with Hakkinen crashing out and Senna suffering an engine failure. Michael Schumacher won the race and Alain Prost and Damon Hill completed the podium.

But, the Finn made such an immediate impact that a McLaren team member said: "I haven't seen Senna being made to work as hard as that since Alain Prost was here."

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Edited by Pratyay Ghosh
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