CLARK AND NASIR DUST OFF THEIR CAMPING CHAIRS AND SIT DOWN FOR A CHAT ABOUT THE HUNGARIAN GRAND PRIX RESULTS AND THE F1W FAMILIA VACATION PLANS. WE ALSO WANT TO POINT OUT THAT MIKA HAKKINEN WILL BE AT MAZDA RACEWAY LAGUNA SECA RIGHT HERE IN F1W’S BACK YARD!!

Mika Häkkinen To Drive Iconic McLaren M23 at Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion

 McLaren ambassador Mika Häkkinen will delight fans when he gets behind the wheel of Emerson Fittipaldi’s 1974 world championship-winning McLaren M23 at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion on August 17-20. Häkkinen is filling in for Jenson Button, who was originally slated to drive the McLaren M23.

“The Flying Finn,” 48, drove 130 Grands Prix for the McLaren team between 1993 and 2001, winning 20 of them, and taking two Drivers’ World Championship titles (1998 and 1999). Häkkinen’s on-track battles against Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher have become part of Formula 1 folklore, and Häkkinen therefore endures as one of the sport’s most iconic, ironic, laconic and popular superstars.

The event, held at the similarly iconic Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, represents all that is good and glorious about classic motorsport, with more than 550 historic entries on the race card for the weekend. Häkkinen is scheduled to make a pair of 15-minute exhibitions each day that will begin on Friday, August 18, at 12:50 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. and Saturday, August 19 at 12:30 p.m. and 3:50 p.m.

“Though we were looking forward to having Jenson Button at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, we are delighted that a driver of Mika’s caliber is able to take his place,” said Gill Campbell, Senior Vice President of Event Operations at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. “Formula 1 is the pinnacle of racing advancement, and Mika will be able to showcase a car with great racing history during his spirited exhibition laps. Fans will surely enjoy the link between past and present during the exhibitions and throughout the event. Thank you to McLaren for making this happen.”

[audio:http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/mp3.f1weekly.com/podcasts/08-10-17f1weekly733.mp3]

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