MIKA HAKKINEN believes Lewis Hamilton is on the road to delivering a more harmonious McLaren Formula One team their first title for nine years.
It was in 1999 Hakkinen won the last of McLaren's world drivers' championships before Ferrari and Michael Schumacher began to dominate.
Although Hakkinen retired two years later, he has remained close to the team, and occasionally still attends ra
ces as their guest.
The Finn was on hand on Sunday to congratulate Hamilton following his latest triumph at the German Grand Prix, giving the 23-year-old a big bear hug as he entered the McLaren centre.
The two men have also built up a relationship of late as they are ambassadors for Johnnie Walker's "Responsible Drinking" campaign, and regularly attend promotional functions together.
Compared to last year when McLaren were riddled with problems on and off track given the spy scandal and discord between Hamilton and team-mate Fernando Alonso, as an outsider looking in, Hakkinen can see the difference following Alonso's departure and Heikki Kovalainen's appointment.
"What Ron Dennis and Norbert Haug have done is brought together two fantastically talented young drivers," Hakkinen said.
"They are fast, they motivate the whole team, and they are getting better, stronger, more solid, more stable – they deliver the whole package. I can see right now McLaren Mercedes is a solid team, positive in terms of spirit both behind the scenes and on the track."
Asked about Hamilton's title chances, Hakkinen replied: "He has calmed down and is stable, more mature. There is still a way to go this year but I am hopeful this year they can do it."
The full article contains 282 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
