Mika Hakkinen's Chilling Description of His 1995 Crash

You'll never hear a more moving account of what happens after a major F1 collision.

In 1995, at the Adelaide Grand Prix, Mika Hakkinen was almost killed.

His life was saved by the efforts of the circuit medical team which included doctors from the Royal Adelaide Hospital, one of whom performed an emergency trackside cricothyroidotomy.

This snippet of a longer interview is one of the most intense Formula One videos we have ever seen.

[renorailfanning]

" Cracking the skull...it's not fun" Gotta love his deadpan responses.

[formatique_arschloch]

"Helped me to slow down."
Won two championships after waking up from a coma.

[lipsy]

I was a 10 year old boy when this crashed happened less than 50m away from me, I honestly have never forgotten the sound of the thud as he hit the barriers right in front of us, still such a vivid memory

[The_ZeroLine]

I had always thought Sid did the tracheotomy, but:

“A fortune for Hakkinen was the fact that there were two doctors standing right at that bend. They were intensive care specialist Jerome Cockings and neurologist Stephen Lewis. These two doctors were on the spot within seconds of the accident. It would prove to be the rescue of Mika Hakkinen. Although Sid Watkins, the 'house doctor' of Formula 1, was still on his way to the accident at that time, both doctors proved extremely competent and placed a Tracheotomy in the neck of the Finn when it was found that he had no air intake. Because of the serious injuries to the face of Hakkinen, the blood that ran out of his mouth that became increasingly grey and both doctors decided to place this incision on the spot. Watkins then arrived on the spot and decided not to interfere with the course of events.”

[martinadrianarcenas]

this explains a little bit more why its hard for mika to talk about schumi's condition..not negating the respect and history they have together.

[natashagoode]

I worked for AusHealth Medical Services who cared for him at the RAH as well as his family. It happened a couple of years before I started working for them, I remember the crash well. I was told of a story where he was cranky one day in hospital because a staff member couldn't locate the brand of Finnish orange juice he wanted. She even went to the central markets to get the freshest possible - the Riverland (couple of hours outside of Adelaide) has some of the best quality oranges in the world. But when you're that ill, you're going to crave things you can't have and your fuse is going to be short.
The Marshalls were all volunteers, and it was a real kick to be able to in to watch the race for free however which way you could get it. It just so happened that the Medical Marshalls at that corner were some of the best in the world, and specialised in the injuries he sustained. Pure stroke of luck. Mika should be dead. He came back some years later and opened the Helipad on the top of the RAH (which has since been rebuilt in another location). Everyone was really touched. :)

[SpeckmannLIVE]

God bless you Mika. Biggest Gentleman in F1 History.

[ouruhuru]

The battles this man had with Schumacher are some of the greatest memories of watching F1 back in the day. Every win really meant something.

[TheGojaofficial]

I always liked this gentleman... Since I started to watch F1 his humble and his way of driving was perfect combination to make him as a biggest driver in my eyes!

[tvicic]

no, cracking the skull is no fun at all. Finnish sense of humor :o)

[fidanfast]

"it helped me to slow down"... Jesus Mika, how much faster could have you been in 1998 to 2000?

[GaryLaaks]

The only F1 driver that Schumacher feared. In my 55 years of following F1 - Prost, Hakkinen and Raikkonen are my favorite of all time.

[lauroneto]

Cracking the skull..it's not fun because...

You don't have to justify that bro.

[torifgirl]

Still love him. Always have, always will. Made me fall in love with F1.

[geckobeats]

After all of this, after a story about something that nearly cost his life..

"I got a mission here, I've been doing this sport all my life, let's try to win"
What a fucking legend.. One of the rare, Mika Häkkinen...

[mrfertilebus]

“Cracking the skull, is not fun”

i mean you wouldn’t have thought, fucking love this guy

[TheBrass]

I was always shocked how exposed the driver's neck and head were in that era, even lil
of the shoulders were visible from the side of the cockpit! I mean, c'mon FIA, you don't have to a genius to know in any accident, the neck and head is gonna be seriously injured if you don't have any support.

[GhsTPro]

5:48 I'm here to win. Let's continue until that happens.

[Toffeeabi]

I was a big fan a fan a Mika I remember his accident as much as I remember senna and ratzenburgers fatal accidents. I was so worried for him. Homes seems like such lovely guy.

[outhdare]

I very much like how he does not want to introduce himself as a hero who survived something bad, or to gain sympathy, he gives no cheep or pathetic speech, just real emotions and thoughts of a man who survived an awful accident. Something to really congratulate in these days when fake sentiments and PR talk took over some drivers.