For 2001, Häkkinen pledged to make a challenge for the World Championship, citing inspiration from the birth of his son Hugo.
He also added that he was under less pressure to compete, saying that results over the previous year increased his desire to win.
The season started badly for Häkkinen: He was forced into retirement in the opening round held in Australia due to a failure with his car's suspension resulting in his car spinning violently into a tyre barrier.
The McLaren cars were off the pace in Malaysia, with Häkkinen managing to end at the 6th place.
He retired from the following race in Brazil when his car stalled on the starting grid, Further points came at the San Marino Grand Prix.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, Häkkinen looked on course to win his first victory of the season, until the final lap of the race, when his car was hampered with a clutch failure and was classified ninth.

He suffered further consecutive retirements in Austria where he stalled his car on the starting grid, and Monaco where his car's steering failed after fifteen laps of the race.
At the following race held in Canada, Häkkinen took his first podium of the season with a third-place finish.
He finished sixth at the European Grand Prix, and was unable to start the French Grand Prix as his car developed a gearbox problem.
However, this marked a brief turning point for Häkkinen as he gained a victory in the British Grand Prix.
He was forced into another retirement in Germany when his engine failed, later managing fifth position in Hungary and fourth place in Belgium.

Before the Italian Grand Prix, Häkkinen announced that he would be on a sabbatical for the 2002 season, citing the reason to spend more time with his family.
His seat was taken by fellow countryman Kimi Räikkönen in 2002.
Häkkinen later stated that fear after crashes during practice for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix and the 2001 Australian Grand Prix as well as a loss of a desire to compete for race victories were factors.
He was forced into another retirement during the race due to a gearbox issue.
He raced to his final victory of his career in the United States despite incurring a grid penalty, and ended the season with a fourth-place finish in Japan.
Häkkinen finished the season fifth in the Drivers' Championship, with 37 points.
For 2001, Häkkinen pledged to make a challenge for the World Championship, citing inspiration from the birth of his son Hugo. He also added that he was under less pressure to compete, saying that results over the previous year increased his desire to win. The season started badly for Häkkinen: He was forced into retirement in the opening round held in Australia due to a failure with his car's suspension resulting in his car spinning violently into a tyre barrier. The McLaren cars were off the pace in Malaysia, with Häkkinen managing to end at the 6th place. He retired from the following race in Brazil when his car stalled on the starting grid, Further points came at the San Marino Grand Prix. At the Spanish Grand Prix, Häkkinen looked on course to win his first victory of the season, until the final lap of the race, when his car was hampered with a clutch failure and was classified ninth.
He suffered further consecutive retirements in Austria where he stalled his car on the starting grid, and Monaco where his car's steering failed after fifteen laps of the race. At the following race held in Canada, Häkkinen took his first podium of the season with a third-place finish. He finished sixth at the European Grand Prix, and was unable to start the French Grand Prix as his car developed a gearbox problem. However, this marked a brief turning point for Häkkinen as he gained a victory in the British Grand Prix. He was forced into another retirement in Germany when his engine failed, later managing fifth position in Hungary and fourth place in Belgium.
Before the Italian Grand Prix, Häkkinen announced that he would be on a sabbatical for the 2002 season, citing the reason to spend more time with his family. His seat was taken by fellow countryman Kimi Räikkönen in 2002. Häkkinen later stated that fear after crashes during practice for the 1995 Australian Grand Prix and the 2001 Australian Grand Prix as well as a loss of a desire to compete for race victories were factors. He was forced into another retirement during the race due to a gearbox issue. He raced to his final victory of his career in the United States despite incurring a grid penalty, and ended the season with a fourth-place finish in Japan. Häkkinen finished the season fifth in the Drivers' Championship, with 37 points.
Mika Häkkinen