Today's era of Formula One has been largely dominated by the Mercedes-AMG F1 team, thanks to their mastery of the V6 turbo hybrid engine that gave them a lasting advantage. However, with rule changes set to reshuffle the field in 2022, it should not come as a surprise if the Mercedes dynasty would come to an end. If you have been a long time Formula One fan, different teams throughout the years have had their fair share of winning the coveted crown.

The late 90s to the early 2000s era were best remembered for Ferrari and Michael Schumacher's dominance of the sport. However, one man stood in his way. The one who never talked much during media interviews, and just let his driving do the talking. He was known as the only driver that Schumi has ever feared, and his name is Mika Hakkinen. Here are some fast facts about the 'Flying Finn'.

10 Born In 1968

Mika Pauli Hakkinen was born on September 28, 1968 in Vantaa, Finland. In a country most notably known for producing the world's best rally drivers, Mika learned to race as early as five years old by driving go-karts.

Hakkinen's early beginnings showed his potential and raw speed on sealed surfaces. However, later on in his career, he also embarked in doing races in loose surfaces, as he has done a couple of rallies, particularly in the Arctic Lapland Rally in his native Finland.

RELATED : 20 F1 Drivers And Their Cars

9 Only Finnish Driver To Win Multiple F1 Titles

In Formula One's 70-year history, a lot of Finns have participated in the sport, but only three have won the drivers' championship, with Keke Rosberg being the first to do so in 1982.

Mika Hakkinen won back to back drivers' championships in 1998 and 1999 with the West McLaren-Mercedes F1 team, and is the only Finnish driver to have multiple F1 titles. The closest who could match the Flying Finn's feat is Kimi Raikkonen, who has won in 2007, but is in the twilight of his F1 career.

RELATED : These Are The Most-Winning Formula 1 Drivers Of All Time

8 Out-Qualified Senna At His Debut

Hakkinen drove for Lotus as a rookie and stayed there for two years before being signed by the McLaren team in 1993 as a test driver. However, the fallout between the Woking team and regular driver Michael Andretti in the latter part of the season gave way to Hakkinen being promoted to a race seat to partner the legendary Ayrton Senna.

Senna was a proven qualifying expert with 65 career pole positions in his career, but he was showed up by the young Finn at his maiden qualifying session for McLaren at the 1993 Portuguese Grand Prix in Estoril, when Hakkinen qualified 3rd and the Brazilian legend 4th, proving that the Finn was someone to watch out for in the future.

RELATED : These Are The Best (And Worst) F1 Liveries Of All Time

7 Nearly Killed In A Crash

Formula One has come a long way in improving drivers' safety throughout the years, as evidenced by Romain Grosjean walking away from a horrific crash in the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix. Back in the 90s, the Flying Finn was also involved in a freak accident that could have killed him.

Hakkinen's car suffered a left-rear puncture during the qualifying session of the 1995 Australian Grand Prix that sent the car airborne and sideways into the barriers at high speed. He sustained a skull fracture and a blockage of his airway. Luckily, an emergency trackside tracheotomy enabled him to breathe and regain consciousness, and the hospital that saved his life was just 200 meters away from the crash site.

6 Twenty Formula One Victories

Mika Hakkinen held the record for having the most wins by a Finnish driver in Formula One, until his successor, Kimi Raikkonen, surpassed the record in 2018 with 21 wins.

Whether it's pure coincidence or not, both Finnish drivers have had their last Formula One wins in the United States Grand Prix, with Hakkinen winning his 20th race in 2001 in Indianapolis, and Raikkonen had his latest win in the Circuit of the Americas.

5 Multiple Kart Champion

Early on in his career, Mika Hakkinen proved he had the speed and talent to become one of the greatest of all time, as he has held multiple championships in go-karts.

Hakkinen won his first major karting title in 1981 by taking the 85cc class title of the Finnish Karting Championship, and by 1986, he already won three consecutive Formula Nordic 100cc karting championships.

4 Multiple Junior Formula Series Champion

Hakkinen took the next step and transitioned into car racing by 1987, and immediately found success by winning the Finnish, Swedish and Nordic Formula Ford Championships as a rookie.

His success in the junior ranks was further boosted when he became a member of the Marlboro World Championship Team, an initiative similar to today's young driver programs like the Ferrari Driver Academy, which enabled him to win the 1990 British Formula 3 Championship while driving for West Surrey Racing.

3 DTM Race Winner

Hakkinen took a sabbatical from Formula One at the end of the 2001 season, and became a permanent retirement in 2002. However, he returned to racing in 2005 when he entered the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters or the DTM Championship in a C-Class Mercedes.

He competed in the DTM from 2005 to 2007, with a best finish of 5th in the drivers' championship in his rookie year. Furthermore, he garnered three victories in 31 races during his tin-top career, and announced his retirement from competitive motorsport at the end of the 2007 season.

2 Oversteer-Biased Driver

Seeing a prime Mika Hakkinen tear up the track in a McLaren was a joy to watch, as you could clearly see the speed of the car, particularly in medium to high speed corners. Mika liked cars that were tail-happy, enabling him to rotate the car quickly and use the rears of the car to steer his way around the corner in spectacular fashion.

It wasn't as flashy as Gilles Villeneuve's style, but the way Hakkinen positions his car and use oversteer to maximize a corner is simply a sight to behold. Oftentimes, he'd almost drop the outside wheel to the grass in making the corner as wide as possible to retain corner speed. The style proved effective in that era of Formula One, as he garnered 26 pole positions in his career.

1 Johnnie Walker Ambassador

Hakkinen remained involved in motorsport long after he retired from Grand Prix racing, as he currently works in driver management and a brand ambassador, notably in Johnnie Walker's "Don't drink and drive" campaign.

He led Johnnie Walker's Join The Pact campaign to spread commitments in preventing drunk driving. Furthermore, he's a brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz and UBS, often participating in road shows and giving demos in various high performance vehicles.