F1 legend Mika Hakkinen teams up with rising Indian F2 star Kush Maini

Two-time world champion who mentored Valtteri Bottas aims to take Maini to F1

India’s F1 aspirant Kush Maini will be mentored by two-time World Champion Mika Hakkinen to help the 23-year-old realize his dream of racing in Formula One.

Ranked among the greatest Formula One drivers, Mika Hakkinen is throwing his weight behind the young prodigy Kush Maini, who’s had a sensational year with several top 5 positions in Qualifying and a Podium in Melbourne, stating that their target is very clear: “F1 is our objective.”

Hakkinen’s track record in mentoring young, aspiring F1 drivers is strong, having played a significant role in the development of former Mercedes F1 race winner and current Alfa Romeo Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas. In the current F1 field Mark Webber performs a similar role with Oscar Piastri, who has broken through in the second half of the season with podiums and a sprint race win to his credit.

Having an experienced F1 race winner in your corner means a young driver can focus on the essentials over a race weekend, learn how to win bragging rights within a team and optimise communications. And it can provide powerful business leverage, connecting with sponsors.

Maini was a top four contender in the first half of the F2 season with Campos Racing. With Hakkinen applying his mentoring and management techniques and processes, Maini believes that he can challenge at the front in 2024.

“I think from next year, my approach and that of my team is going to be a lot more structured thanks to Mika,” says Maini. “Having a trainer who's looking after your nutrition at the track and a mind coach looking after anything you're going through on a race weekend will allow me to Focus on Driving. Basically, the way Mika works is you narrow down everything to the point where the driver just has one job.”

Bangalore’s Kush Maini, is the younger brother of Arjun Maini, who raced in F2 and was a development driver for Haas F1 team. He currently drives for Mercedes AMG in Europe. The younger Maini finished runner up in the 2020 British F3 Championship, a series Hakkinen himself won back in 1990. 

“I've watched Mika since I was very young. And I know everything he has achieved in this sport,” says Maini. “So just for him to believe that I could reach Formula One shows that we've done something right in these last 15 years. It’s a massive weapon you have in your arsenal when you have Mika Hakkinen standing behind you!”

Talking about Kush Maini’s prospects of making it to F1 , Hakkinen says, “I have a lot of experience from working with Valtteri Bottas seeing him developing and growing as a driver.” 

“More recently I’ve been following Kush, understanding his abilities, his talent for driving. It’s a very interesting journey together to develop, to be an even more of a professional racing driver. F1 is our objective, not forgetting the current situation (in F2).”

Hakkinen will not be a blow-by-blow driver coach, teaching Maini cornering techniques, “I don't think I have to put my nose into that,” Hakkinen says. 

But he will lend his enormous experience of the life of a top driver; managing time, communicating with a team and above all Hakkinen will do what former McLaren boss Ron Dennis did for him, which is to make sure that everything around him in his life is taken care of so he just has to focus on one job, which is driving and winning. 

Hakkinen defines his role as leveraging the tools of “communication and the network that I have. These assets are very powerful when looking after a young talented driver. I've been an ambassador for Formula One and been part of F1 since 1991. It's an asset and the power that I have to take this young driver into the right places at the right time.” 

“Of course, India is an enormous, powerful country. I’m part of bringing a young driver from India to Formula One, bringing these mega companies, learning to understand the opportunities that Formula One can bring them. And vice versa, of course, what Formula One can experience and create with India. I can only see beautiful success stories.

“India is going to be very powerful. And I want all Indians to know Kush Maini, I want everybody in India cheering him. I want them to feel that he's going to be a winner in Formula One. Of course, it requires very hard work and a lot of sacrifices. Because of my experience in this motor racing world, I do understand (the importance of) timing, being in the right team, having the right partners, working with the right people is crucial.”

Additionally, Guillaume le Goff will be Kush’s manager taking care of all the requirements for Kush, allowing him to once again focus on driving and winning.

Hakkinen says that other announcements about Maini’s next steps will follow shortly. Although this F2 season is not yet over, Maini is already preparing for next year. “Having Mika behind me, my whole team being created now and not having to stress about racing, I think it's a very exciting time for myself, and I definitely feel I haven't showed anywhere near what I am capable of in the car,” he says. “I’m very excited to hopefully show it next year.”