Mika Hakkinen reveals why McLaren rivalry with David Coulthard never boiled over

Two-time Formula 1 champion Mika Hakkinen has opened up about working alongside David Coulthard at McLaren, explaining that a shared belief in the Woking outfit's future success prevented on-track collisions from affecting their working relationship.

Coulthard and Hakkinen reflected on their long stint as McLaren team-mates, which resulted in two drivers' titles for the Finnish driver and a constructors' championship for the team, during the Up To Speed podcast.

While Coulthard mentioned their infamous Austrian Grand Prix collision in 1999 as an example of the occasional friction between them, Hakkinen put it down to being a normal part of life as team-mates. 

Hakkinen had started from pole position with Coulthard in second and Ferrari's Eddie Irvine in third. But Coulthard tapped Hakkinen at the first corner and sent his team-mate into a spin. The Scotsman later apologised and confirmed he misjudged the corner.

Coulthard led the majority of the race, but Irvine ultimately took the win. Coulthard finished second and Hakkinen made an impressive recovery from being sent to the back of the field by the spin to finish third.

"It's part of motor racing. It's part of being team-mates. It's absolutely normal. But for some reason, we both knew that there is a future, and there's a future in which we can succeed together," Hakkinen explained.

"We can do good stuff for the team, so there is no point in carrying that anger for two or three months in your head. Let's sort it out, and let's move on and let's go back to racing.

"Yes, we got some help from the management of the team. But it was OK and, like you mentioned, when you touched me [at the Austrian Grand Prix], it was only a little bit. You didn't break my car, and you didn't break your car. So we were able to continue."

Coulthard related their dynamic at McLaren to the outfit's current driver line-up of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. 

"If you look at the modern drivers, I guess the closest example to us as team-mates could be what we saw with Lando and Oscar," the former driver explained. "There were a few times last year when they almost touched.

"There were a few times when the team were trying to manage the drivers' expectations."

To read more Motorsport.com articles visit our website.