Häkkinen remained at Lotus for 1992 and was partnered by Herbert.
At the opening round of the season in South Africa, Häkkinen finished in ninth position, which he followed up with his first points of the season in Mexico.
He took a further finish in Brazil, although he did not qualify for the San Marino Grand Prix and suffered consecutive retirements in the following two races.
At Monaco, Lotus introduced their new car, the Lotus 107.
Häkkinen later gathered further consecutive points in the following two races, before he was forced into retirement at the German Grand Prix due to an engine failure.
A similar pattern followed in the next three races, which was broken when he finished fifth in Portugal and suffered a retirement at the penultimate round of the year in Japan.
Häkkinen concluded the season with a seventh-place finish in Australia.

During the season, Häkkinen became embroiled in a contract dispute.
Häkkinen, who was under contract to Lotus, opted to join Williams.
However, Williams had not submitted their entry for the 1993 season, and Häkkinen was unable to join the team when he learnt that Lotus team principal Peter Collins would veto the Williams team entry if they had signed Häkkinen.
Häkkinen later approached Ligier although his contract contained a clause of which his manager Keke Rosberg disagreed.
He later approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis for a contract with the team, which was drafted at Courchevel Airport.
The dispute eventually went to the Formula One Contract Recognition Board, who ruled in favour of McLaren after two days of deliberation.
Häkkinen remained at Lotus for 1992 and was partnered by Herbert. At the opening round of the season in South Africa, Häkkinen finished in ninth position, which he followed up with his first points of the season in Mexico. He took a further finish in Brazil, although he did not qualify for the San Marino Grand Prix and suffered consecutive retirements in the following two races. At Monaco, Lotus introduced their new car, the Lotus 107. Häkkinen later gathered further consecutive points in the following two races, before he was forced into retirement at the German Grand Prix due to an engine failure. A similar pattern followed in the next three races, which was broken when he finished fifth in Portugal and suffered a retirement at the penultimate round of the year in Japan. Häkkinen concluded the season with a seventh-place finish in Australia.
During the season, Häkkinen became embroiled in a contract dispute. Häkkinen, who was under contract to Lotus, opted to join Williams. However, Williams had not submitted their entry for the 1993 season, and Häkkinen was unable to join the team when he learnt that Lotus team principal Peter Collins would veto the Williams team entry if they had signed Häkkinen. Häkkinen later approached Ligier although his contract contained a clause of which his manager Keke Rosberg disagreed. He later approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis for a contract with the team, which was drafted at Courchevel Airport. The dispute eventually went to the Formula One Contract Recognition Board, who ruled in favour of McLaren after two days of deliberation.
Mika Häkkinen