Editing Mika Häkkinen (section)

====1997====
[[File:McLaren Mercedes MP4-12 1997.jpg|thumb|left|The [[McLaren MP4/12]], driven by Häkkinen in 1997]]
Häkkinen again remained at McLaren for [[1997 Formula One season|1997]] and Coulthard remained his teammate. Häkkinen's season got off to a good start: In the season-opening race in [[1997 Australian Grand Prix|Australia]], he drove up to the third position and later scored further consecutive finishes inside of the points scoring positions in the next three races.<ref name="MMagBio" /> He suffered his first retirement of the season at the [[1997 Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco Grand Prix]] when he was involved in a collision with Benetton driver [[Jean Alesi]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Grand Prix Results: Monaco GP, 1997|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr602.html|work=GrandPrix.com|publisher=Inside F1, Inc.|date=11 May 1997|access-date=1 November 2014|archive-date=8 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408042130/http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr602.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Häkkinen later took ninth position at the [[1997 Spanish Grand Prix|Spanish Grand Prix]],<ref name="MMagBio" /> but later suffered three consecutive retirements in the next three races—a collision with Ferrari driver [[Eddie Irvine]] in [[1997 Canadian Grand Prix|Canada]] and engine failures in [[1997 French Grand Prix|France]] and [[1997 British Grand Prix|Britain]]. At the latter race, he had seemed set for his first win, but his engine blew while he was holding off eventual winner [[Jacques Villeneuve]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Grand Prix Results: British GP, 1997|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr606.html|work=GrandPrix.com|publisher=Inside F1, Inc.|date=13 July 1997|access-date=30 October 2014|archive-date=13 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813091140/http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr606.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Häkkinen secured another podium finish with third place in [[1997 German Grand Prix|Germany]] and later retired from an hydraulic problem in [[1997 Hungarian Grand Prix|Hungary]]. He later secured third place in the [[1997 Belgian Grand Prix|Belgian Grand Prix]] but was later disqualified when it was discovered that his car used an illegal type of fuel during the event.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sport: Formula 1 Race summaries: 1997 season|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/formula_1/62492.stm#belgium|work=BBC News|publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation|date=5 March 1998|access-date=10 September 2014|archive-date=25 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060525190945/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/formula_1/62492.stm#belgium|url-status=live}}</ref> He secured a ninth-place finish in [[1997 Italian Grand Prix|Italy]] and later suffered from consecutive retirements in the next two races—engine failures in the [[1997 Austrian Grand Prix|Austrian Grand Prix]] and the [[1997 Luxembourg Grand Prix|Luxembourg Grand Prix]] while leading both races.<ref name="atlasf1oct1998">{{cite web|last=Kopu|first=Ville|title=Mika Hakkinen: Count your Blessings and Ask for More|url=http://atlasf1.autosport.com/98/jpn/preview/kopu.html|work=Atlas F1|publisher=Haymarket Publications|date=28 October 1998|access-date=27 September 2014|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212104/http://atlasf1.autosport.com/98/jpn/preview/kopu.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Häkkinen ended the season with a fourth position in the penultimate round in [[1997 Japanese Grand Prix|Japan]] and raced to his first Formula One victory at the season closing [[1997 European Grand Prix|European Grand Prix]].<ref name="MMagBio" /> Häkkinen ended the season sixth in the Drivers' Championship, with 27 points.<ref name="MMagBio" />