Mika Hakkinen has been one of the best drivers in Formula 1, having won the championship two times. Among all the legends who raced in the 1990s, Finn was able to carve out a name for himself. But one of the most iconic moments that certainly shot him into the spotlight was his McLaren debut itself, where he outperformed his teammate and three-time legendary champion, Ayrton Senna.

Hakkinen drove for McLaren as he replaced the departing Michael Andretti. And, despite not driving for the entire 1993 season until the final round in Portugal, he finished third in qualifying, ahead of Senna! While some drivers may react harshly or spitefully to their rookie teammate, Hakkinen recalls Senna as mature but not funny and humorous, just like how most of them aren’t but probably should be.

Speaking with Motorsport magazine, Hakkinen recalls his first chat with Senna after the outstanding performance. He said, “As a three-times world champion he was very mature, very confident, so he asked me, ‘Mika, what did you do?’ And I said, ‘Ayrton, it’s b*lls,’ and he went berserk, got really upset with me.”

“I was shocked, tried to explain to him that it was a joke, and that of course I respected him for everything that he had achieved but also that we needed some humour,” highlighting a sense of forever seriousness around one of the most sophisticated sports.

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Senna was the boss in that McLaren. Senna’s skills and attitude toward learning such as this probably made him a champion. But as per this incident, the Brazilian could surely have used more humor.

How Ayrton Senna and the team reacted after the qualification

Though Senna was cordial about his teammate outperforming him, he wasn’t really comfortable with it, and through his conversation with the magazine, Hakkinen indicates that the Brazilian was indeed insecure and not willing to risk anything. According to Hakkinen, the Brazilian had a hard time understanding what was going on.

In the following two races, after Senna and Hakkinen both registered DNFs in Portugal, the three-time champion won them both, and Hakkinen was on the podium in Japan in the one race he finished. According to him, “His engineers had started working really hard – they knew I was a threat, they didn’t give a damn about me. They didn’t share or speak about anything.”

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And looking back in hindsight, Senna rightfully sensed Hakkinen’s threat. He recognized the talent, and thus the threat, early on, since the Finn stayed at McLaren for the rest of his F1 career and also won two consecutive championships.