☕️ mika häkkinen and michael schumacher aka the greatest rivalry ever 🤍✨
alright where do I begin?
firstly, it makes me sad that mika and michael's rivalry is often overlooked by people. its always michael vs alonso, hill or even villeneuve, and that makes me kinda sad because what mika and michael had is truly unique
actually obsessed with these two wild child kids from humble upbringings, mucking around in f3 racing each other; not knowing the legacies they'd leave behind in the sport. mika, a quiet boy from finland who barely spoke any English and didn't even have a place to stay when he was in europe for karting because he would just sleep in his van and would barely speak to his engineers, versus michael who had no qualms about telling you something was wrong with the car
everyone being intimidated by michael's aggressive driving style, being the target on everyone's minds and being the bench mark of the sport. people wanting to knock him off his high horse and beat him, but couldn't. michael playing coy, not saying anything was wrong with his driving, playing innocent. he wouldn't listen to anybody but he listened when mika said 'hey, don't do that.' they have a genuine respect for each other, and michael respected him because he knew mika could blow him out of the water at a moments notice
this sport thrives off of exhausting and cutthroat rivalries. genuine hatred for one another, but what michael and mika had was a quiet, gentle appreciation for one another. mika has said that if the schumacher family asked him to be there, he would drop everything and do it. the respect and love runs deep with them and it's very touching
everybody in the world knows about schumacher winning in the fast red car. but not many people know of the sheer talent and quick thinking mika had to beat him time after time. again, it does make me somewhat sad that there isn't a lot of information on mika and his championships. what I mean is, documentaries on him, biographies, hell, even merchandise is hard to come by. even after all these years, I think mika likes things like that. he has his championships, and his own memories to keep him happy. he knew when to walk away from the sport for his own safety. but a part of me wishes that he stayed longer, to keep that rivalry going. I believe it would achieved the heights of notoriety of schumacher's other great battles with other drivers
and it breaks my heart we can't have the two old dogs together again, being pundits and having a joke with each other
but I think if you asked them both today, after all the glory, wealth and fame they both achieved, they'd both tell you their greatest moments with each other battling, would be on that track in macau, both being young, scruffy and clueless. with their whole lives ahead of them and just their cars underneath them