F1 News, Reports and Race Results

Mika Hakkinen and Nico Rosberg go for a drive in the country!

What happens when two former Formula 1 world champions spend the day together? Naturally, they go for a drive. In one of the most exclusive and expensive supercars ever made!

Former McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen happens to own a McLaren P1 Coupe, a special experimental version of the car of which only 11 were ever made.

Nico Rosberg has never had the chance to sit in a regular P1, let alone drive it - but Hakkinen is gracious enough to hand over the keys, and the pair engage in some motor journalism.

"This is fascinating, how the car rides the bumps and kerbs," Mika notes. "I don't know exactly what you like in terms of balance of the car. Do you like a bit of understeer in a car, or oversteer in a car?

"When I see you driving here - admittedly this is a road car - but when you're driving here do you feel like you have a front end that you need?"

"The rear feels very loose," Nico responds. "But of course because you just have so much power. But the rear feels like it's dancing all the time- it's really impressive."

Naturally the pair can't keep away from the topic of Formula 1 for long. Mika recounts the story of his conversation with Ayrton Senna after demolishing him in qualifying. And Nico talks about the costs of winning a world title.

"In my experience, what it took to win in the end was getting rid of everything else in life and really focus on just two things: family, and winning the next race.

"Even in the last year for example, I deleted Facebook. I didn't read news anymore. I didn't do anything, except trying to win the next race. So even when I was at home, how can I recover the best? How can I train the best to prepare again for the next race whilst being as fresh as possible?

"Nutrition. Study how to sleep with a jet lag doctor. Absolutely everything," he added. "I think that really helped me then, in the last year especially - 2016. That helped me get to my very, very best level. I don't think I could ever be better than that.

"That's really something I learned a lot. It's to simplify life, and really find the focus in life."

There's lots more to come, plus some great driving around Monaco. The full video from Nico Rosberg's YouTube TV channel is well worth ten minutes of your time!

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.

Recent Posts

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton continues on top in second practice

Lewis Hamilton put Mercedes on top of the timesheets for the second time in Las…

1 hour ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 2 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 2 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix at Las Vegas,…

1 hour ago

Leclerc confident Ferrari ‘has a shot’ at F1 Constructors’ title

Charles Leclerc believes that Ferrari has a genuine “shot” at beating rival McLaren to Formula…

2 hours ago

Komatsu: F1 teams united against Audi 2026 cost-cap offset

Haas team principal Ayao Komatsu has revealed that nine Formula 1 teams stand in opposition…

3 hours ago

Las Vegas GP: Hamilton leads Mercedes 1-2 in trouble-free FP1

Lewis Hamilton and George Russell led the field in a chilly but trouble-free first practice…

4 hours ago

2024 Las Vegas Grand Prix Free Practice 1 - Results

Full results from Free Practice 1 for the Las Vegas Grand Prix in the United…

4 hours ago