In Melbourne the world's media scrutinised Mika Hakkinen for any sign of weaknesses as he returned to Formula One. Mark Skewis reports that they didn't find many. knocked some of the romance out of him. Here’s a thread that i found in the article 🧵

Mika daily fun fact 01 During his early McLaren years, Mika owned a pet parrot that he taught or learned)to swear in Finnish especially during races he’d watch on TV. The bird supposedly yelled out Finnish curse words when things didn’t go well on track.

Daily Mika fun Fact 02 Mika was known for insisting on room temperature apple juice before races. no ice,no cold.When McLaren's nutritionist tried to change it, Mika politely refused and said it was “his way of focusing.”

Daily Mika fun fact 04 During a heatwave weekend, Mika sneaked up behind teammate David Coulthard and dumped a whole cup of ice down his fire suit. Coulthard swore on live TV minutes later. Mika just shrugged and said, “He needed cooling.”

Daily Mika fun Fact 05 During a quiet test session at Silverstone in the mid-’90s, a duck wandered onto the track during one of Mika’s runs. He reportedly stopped the car, got out, and gently shooed it away before continuing.