Who is Ella Hakkinen? All about Mika Hakkinen's daughter who has just signed with McLaren

Two-time F1 champion Mika Hakkinen's daughter, Ella Hakkinen, has signed on with the McLaren Driver Development Programme to gear up for her imminent single-seater debut. She is the Flying Finn's third child.

Hakkinen, in his first wedlock with Erja Honkanen, had two children. His first child was a son, Hugo Ronan, who was born during his second championship-winning season, while his first daughter, Aina Julia, was born five years later.

However, in 2008, the couple separated, and Hakkinen soon began dating Marketa Remesova. They then had their sole child, Ella, on November 30, 2010, and decided to get married in 2016.

Having the vast heritage of her father behind him and the racing instincts baked into her, she began karting at a young age. With her climbing up the racing ladder, she won her first major international race at the 2024 Champions of the Future Academy in Cremona.

Ella then managed to get herself into the F1 Academy Discover Your Drive Program this year and continued racing in COTFA, where she has found further success. This laid down the foundation for her partnership with McLaren, as the Woking-based squad would aid the 14-year-old in her pursuit of moving up the racing field and test open-wheel machinery in preparation for her 2027 campaign.

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Mika Hakkinen was happy with McLaren signing Ella for its driver development programme

Former F1 champion Mika Hakkinen at the 2025 Grand Prix of Great Britain race weekend - Source: Getty

Mika Hakkinen and McLaren have had cordial relations over the past decades, owing to their world championship victories in 1998 and 1999. So, this might have played a role in Ella joining the British squad.

Moreover, he was also happy for Ella joining the McLaren driver development programme, as Mika captioned a story on his Instagram:

"Congrats, good luck on your journey @ella.hakkinen_racing!❤️ (translated from Finnish)"

Mika Hakkinen's Instagram story on November 17 | Source: Instagram/@f1mikahakkinen

However, her results would have been enough to warrant her a possible entry into a team's driver development program in F1, as her father had often talked highly of the young racer.

The two-time F1 champion had said (via The Sun):

"Ella is an extremely talented racing driver. I’m not just saying this as a father, but based on my observations as a former top driver. The direction is completely right. Her motivation is simply incomprehensible. She wants to be a racing driver. At this point, she’s a real badass."

"Female drivers will rise to the highest level by 2030 – whether it’s Ella or someone else. This new generation of fans is 40 per cent female, and the sport needs to reflect that."

Meanwhile, no timeline has been fixed for Ella Hakkinen's debut single-seater campaign by McLaren. The team would aid her in testing junior single-seaters while guiding her through the intricate world of F1.