She is only 14 years old
Racing team brings daughter of Formula 1 icon
Updated 11/17/2025 – 5:38 p.mReading time: 1 min.
The name Häkkinen returns to the McLaren cosmos. The British racing team gives Mika’s daughter a chance.
Ella Häkkinen, the 14-year-old daughter of two-time world champion Mika Häkkinen, will be in the McLaren next year. From 2026 she will take part in the team’s driver development program. According to the announcement, McLaren will use a second car in the F1 Academy women’s series in the future.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown said: “I hope this signals to all the incredibly talented female karters, racers, engineers, mechanics, marketers and accountants out there that our sport is open to everyone.” They want to maintain the “incredible momentum of the last few years” in their commitment to the women’s sector.
Ella Häkkinen has both Czech and Finnish citizenship. Her father Mika became world champion in 1998 and 1999 – both with McLaren. Ella comes from the Finn’s second marriage to the Czech Marketa Kromatova. The young driver has already achieved her first successes in karting. Last year she won a race in the Champions of the Future series in Cremona, Italy.