30/11/2006
NEWS STORY
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Mika Hakkinen made a cautious return to the F1 cockpit today, gradually improving his times until, although slowest of the 18 drivers on duty, his best time (1:19.336), was only 3s off the pace. Not bad for a man who hasn't driven an F1 car in anger for exactly five years.
"It has been an exciting day for me," he said, "and I have really enjoyed the opportunity to drive a Formula 1 car after a five year break, made even more special as it was with Team McLaren Mercedes that I won my two World Championships.
"I spent the morning acclimatising to the environment of the cockpit again and just getting to grips with driving a 2006 car, I didn't expect to be quick straight away, and Barcelona is of course a hard track on both the car and driver. It took several laps before I was up to speed, but we were always expecting this to be the case.
"Although it was great fun today I also had to do some serious work for the team, as any feedback I could give them from today's experience will help them with their preparations for the 2007 season. As a result I was really pushing to try and do the best job that I could to assist them in any way possible. We have done some good work today and got some great results and I am really grateful to the team for this opportunity and the mechanics for working so hard for me."