Hakkinen to test drive for McLaren

Tweet

From CNN"Double world champion Mika Hakkinen will drive a Formula One car for the first time in more than five years when he tests for McLaren in Barcelona on Thursday. The Mercedes-powered team said in a statement on Wednesday that the 38-year-old Finn had sought an opportunity to 're-familiarize' himself with a Formula One car."A driver of Mika's caliber and experience can only bring added value to our testing program and his feedback after Thursday's running will be valuable to the team in our preparations for the 2007 season," said team boss Ron Dennis. Dennis added that there were no plans 'at this stage' for the Finn to participate in any further tests. Hakkinen's last race, at the wheel of a McLaren, was the Japanese Grand Prix of 2001. He is four months older than Ferrari's Michael Schumacher, the seven times world champion who retired last month. The Finn returned to racing in 2005 with Mercedes in the German DTM touring car series, which he is expected to continue with next season. Hakkinen has toyed with the idea of returning to Formula One since he departed, initially on a one-year sabbatical. He revealed last year that he had turned down an offer from Williams in 2004." -- I dont see him ever returning back to Formula One and 5 years out.