Ella Häkkinen on joining McLaren and taking her first steps

Ella Häkkinen has only been karting for a few years but has already started making waves across the karting landscape, and in November 2025, she was announced as a member of the McLaren Driver Development Programme. Ella, who races under a Czech license, claimed victory in the 2024 Champions of the Future Academy in Cremona, and is now making the next step in her nascent career.

“I'm very proud to be joining the McLaren Driver Development programme,” Ella says. “I think it's such a good opportunity, and I'm very grateful. All the progress that we made last year has really paid off by joining the team, and I'm just really happy in general.”

Ella had been impressing throughout the year, but was still taken aback when she learned that she would become a part of the McLaren family.

“It was a surprise for me,” Ella says. “Last year, there was somebody from McLaren at the track all of the time. He would always come and talk to me after the sessions, which was a little suspicious, I guess, but I didn’t really think that it would lead to me becoming a part of this Programme.

“Then, when we were in Sweden for the Europeans, we got an email saying: ‘it’s been signed’ – I was in shock! My dad started laughing about it, because it was a complete surprise to me – and just such a really happy moment.”

Ella is the third current female member of the Driver Development Programme, joining Ella Lloyd and Ella Stevens, both of whom are competing in F1 Academy in 2026.

“I think it's a really good place, because they support females in motorsport,” Ella says. “But I think, in general, it’s a good team with a lot of good people here. And, obviously, my dad used to drive for this team, so following in his footsteps, for me, is a good thing.”

Yes, that is a passing name drop, and with good reason, considering Ella’s Dad just happens to be two-time Formula 1 World Champion, and 20-time Grand Prix winner, Mika Häkkinen.

Mika remains one of McLaren Racing’s most decorated legends, and while Ella was born a full decade after Mika claimed the second of his two World Championships, her dad gave her an early taste for the motorsport scene.

“My earliest memories were when I was with my dad at the Grand Prix,” Ella says. “When I was around eight or nine, I was going to the Grand Prix with him and just watching the cars go around. I didn't know much about it, but it was fun to be there. I loved the cars driving around the track. I went to a few races, but we would also go to car shows everywhere – I was always really interested in cars.

“I can also remember driving in the Czech Republic with my little brother for the first time. I'll never forget that, it was so fun.”

In any public industry, having a well-known parent can bring undue attention, and even comparisons, but Ella is taking it in her stride, seeing the many positives of her famous surname. Leaning on and learning from her father’s experiences, all while still walking her own path, and becoming her own person with her own style.

“You shouldn’t care what other people think of you,” says Ella, when asked for a piece of advice from her father that has stuck with her. “I am a person who cares what other people think, but my dad really supports me, and he tells me this all of the time, that I shouldn’t care what other people think – that is their problem. He always says, ‘Just focus on you’. And that is the best advice.”

Though when it comes to actual racing experience and personal development, Ella is mindful of soaking up broader advice from a variety of different areas.

“He doesn’t go to all of my races, around three last year, but he gives me good advice,” Ella says. “I also have team managers and people on the data side that I work with. Obviously, my dad knows a lot, but the driving is really different now from when he was racing, and he knows that, and he knows it is better for me to listen to others in my team first. But of course, when he does give me advice, I listen – it’s just more from a different perspective.”

The 15-year-old is tentatively taking her first steps in single-seater competition this year, having recently made her debut in FIA Formula 4 Central European Zone (F4 CEZ) at Spielberg, taking eighth position on her first start, and accruing invaluable experience in the process.

Behind the scenes, Ella will undertake an extensive testing programme while continuing her development within the Driver Development Programme.

“I’m really excited for that F4 step, and then in the long-term, my goal is to reach the highest level of single-seater motorsports,” Ella says, keen to build on a 2025 campaign in which she says she “made so much progress in all the areas we needed to improve. I had really good results throughout the year, developing in every area - speed-wise, race craft-wise, mindset-wise, and physically.”

And what does Ella think it takes to become a great driver? Her answer would suggest that, maybe, the apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

“Calm, for sure,” Ella says. “And independent, but someone who is able to take on board a lot of advice. Then, in general, someone who is organised and has a really good mentality around people.”