blue8
11-06-2007, 12:41 PM
Double Formula One world champion Mika Hakkinen announced on Saturday he has finished his German Touring Car Championships (DTM) career after three largely disappointing seasons.
"Now is a good time for me to finish," said the 39-year-old at a press conference in Stuttgart.
"For you, it is undoubtedly bad news, but for my adversaries, it is good news," Hakkinen said.
The Finn is very popular in Germany and was used to advertise the DTM having competed in 31 races, claiming three victories including two this year.
He finished eighth this year, behind Swedish winner Mattias Ekstrom, in the drivers championship and is expected to continue working for Mercedes in an undisclosed capacity.
News actually came out days ago. I was just thinking whether he would return to F1. McLaren has a seat available anyway and I think it's more cost-efficient for the team than to get someone like Rosberg or Kovalainen. Of course, they could opt for De la Rosa or Paffet but... :roll:
"Now is a good time for me to finish," said the 39-year-old at a press conference in Stuttgart.
"For you, it is undoubtedly bad news, but for my adversaries, it is good news," Hakkinen said.
The Finn is very popular in Germany and was used to advertise the DTM having competed in 31 races, claiming three victories including two this year.
He finished eighth this year, behind Swedish winner Mattias Ekstrom, in the drivers championship and is expected to continue working for Mercedes in an undisclosed capacity.
News actually came out days ago. I was just thinking whether he would return to F1. McLaren has a seat available anyway and I think it's more cost-efficient for the team than to get someone like Rosberg or Kovalainen. Of course, they could opt for De la Rosa or Paffet but... :roll: