Hakkinen praises Verstappen: 'Being world champion requires more than that'
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Mika Hakkinen has a lot of respect for Max Verstappen's achievements. The two-time Formula One world champion stresses that, besides pure talent, it takes a lot of mental strength to win four world titles. The former McLaren driver also discusses Lando Norris 's chances of winning his first world title this year.
Hakkinen praises Verstappen's mental strength
Stressing that Verstappen's mental attitude is crucial to his success, Hakkinen praised the Red Bull driver for his ability to become world champion four years in a row. “You can be talented and a fantastic racing driver but becoming the level of being world champion requires more than that. It requires hard work with the team.” he said in conversation with PA.
"Max has won the world championship four times. I won it twice and that was mega hard work! Winning four times, that kind of achievement does not just happen without incredible psychological power inside of you and huge preparation all the way through your childhood," the former F1 driver added.
Hakkinen believes in Norris for world title
Hakkinen is convinced that Norris has everything it takes to become world champion in 2025. "Absolutely, yes," the Finn replied when asked that question. "I experienced so many years of racing in F1 without the success. Why I did not get the success, it was partly because of my development to become a good racing driver and also that the car was not good enough. You keep developing and pushing to become a good driver and that means you are taking risks and risks mean that you are putting yourself in positions to make mistakes."
"I think that Lando has reached all these elements in his career. He has been taking risks, he has been critical of himself, he has been pushing flat out. When I have been studying and looking around, people say, ‘Is he ready, can he mentally take this kind of pressure’?" When you are not world champion and you are working towards that goal it requires a lot of mistakes. I believe Lando is ready, he is flat out ready to achieve his goal and he can become a world champion," he concluded.
This article was written in collaboration with Jenny Garnett
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