\u201cIt was just awesome,\u201d he told the Herald. \u201cIt sadly ended with me breaking my collarbone on the day I found out my friend and colleague Eddie Jordan\u2019s life had come to its end. I was upset by that, got distracted, fell off and broke a collarbone I\u2019d broken twice before.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe days before that, I was in awe of the scenery, the reception that we received as we went through different towns.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of it, and I don\u2019t want to take anything away from New Zealand, reminded me of the southwest of Scotland, where I\u2019m from. The rolling hills, beaches, farmland.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt felt like a long way from home, but it felt like I was at home. I\u2019m delighted that we\u2019re going to be there … [on] March 9, we\u2019re going to be in Auckland.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to bring my fiancee down, we\u2019ll spend a couple of days on either side, then we\u2019re going to continue on our tour. She\u2019s going to get an express visit on her first time to New Zealand, but it won\u2019t be her last.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those lucky enough to attend Coulthard and H\u00e4kkinen\u2019s speaking tour will be able to hear about the rivalry the duo shared in their six seasons together at McLaren.<\/p>\n
Motorsport is unique in the fact that a driver\u2019s biggest target is always on his or her teammate, given that the shared machinery leaves teams able to easily compare who has the upper hand.<\/p>\n
And while McLaren won the 1998 title, Coulthard had to watch as H\u00e4kkinen lifted the drivers\u2019 championship that same year, and defended it a year later.<\/p>\n
Now, approaching 30 years on, things are slightly different. Formula One\u2019s class of 2026 don\u2019t necessarily share the same hatred for one another as the drivers of the 1990s.<\/p>\n
Seeing drivers boarding each other\u2019s private jets isn\u2019t uncommon, with rivalries on-track contrasted by friendships off it. And in Coulthard and H\u00e4kkinen\u2019s cases, time heals all wounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the thing I\u2019ve loved,\u201d Coulthard explained. \u201cAs soon as we stopped being teammates, and especially since I stopped racing \u2026 we just started being at more and more events together.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen him go through every emotion. I\u2019ve seen him with tears of joy, I\u2019ve seen him with tears of disappointment, and vice versa.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019re teammates, he\u2019s your biggest rival. You don\u2019t wish them well \u2013 you wish them all the bad luck the racing gods can deliver.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019ve realised, and what Mika realised, is that we know each other better than some members of our families.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re buddies, we\u2019re mates. He knows where he\u2019s better than I am, in racing terms. I know where I\u2019m better in life. We don\u2019t need to prove anything to each other any more, we just enjoy the company.\u201d<\/p>\n
On the pair\u2019s tour, Auckland will be the first date after the first grand prix of the 2026 season, in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
This year, Formula One is introducing the most drastic regulation changes in living memory. <\/p>\n
And after 2025 was one of the closest seasons in history, won by McLaren\u2019s Lando Norris, Coulthard\u2019s predictions over who\u2019ll lift the trophy in Abu Dhabi later this year might not please his former teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cLucky dip, I\u2019ll go with the previous engine manufacturer and say it\u2019ll be a Mercedes-powered car,\u201d he predicts. \u201cMercedes, the team as opposed to McLaren with a Mercedes engine, haven\u2019t had a lot of success recently.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got to believe they\u2019ve been on this programme of the new regulations for longer, while McLaren had to keep developing their car to fend off Max [Verstappen] and Red Bull.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to say Mercedes and George Russell.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mika H\u00e4kkinen & David Coulthard are in Auckland as part of their speaking tour on Monday March 9.<\/p>\n