When Mika learns that his interview will be with Neil Oatley, his face lights up. “Neil? Fantastic,” he beams.

It is the 25th anniversary of Mika Häkkinen’s first Formula 1 World Championship in 1998, and we’re reuniting the Finnish driver with Neil Oatley, the Chief Designer of his first title-winning car, the MP4/13.

Although they don’t speak regularly, the two remain friends and keep in touch through Mika’s work as a McLaren ambassador, but the chance to sit down and reminisce in motorsport doesn’t come around often, if at all.

Mika strides into the room and greets Neil with a warm embrace, but before we can remind the pair of what they’re here to discuss, the conversation is in full flow, recalling years gone by.

“How many cars have you designed now?” Mika asks Neil, partially tongue in cheek. “That’s a difficult question,” Neil laughs. The McLaren stalwart will celebrate 37 years with the team in just two days, and in that time, he has designed some of the most successful cars in the history of F1, including a particularly prolific era from 1989 to 1999.

“The first McLaren you designed, in 1989, that was a beautiful car,” Mika says as the conversation continues. It isn’t long before 1998 comes up, at which point they’re reminded that there’s supposed to be an interview taking place.

“So what’s the story?” Mika asks. “That’s for you two to decide,” we reply. For once, we’re just here to listen in, as one legend interviews another. Neil and Mika have been asked to relive the 1998 Formula 1 World Championship, but where the conversation goes is up to them.

Neil Oatley: Going back to 1997, we had started to improve our performance, and things were getting better. You won your first race in the season finale at Jerez, and things were looking good.

We had designed the MP4/13 ahead of the 1998 season, and the car had some key differences because of the regulations, which included grooved tyres and a reduction of the car's track, making them narrower. Adrian [Newey] had come on board as well, and we were looking at a completely fresh aerodynamic concept. Within the team, it felt like we were going in the right direction to be much more successful. What were your expectations in the winter as we went into the new season?

Mika Häkkinen: Let me tell the story in a long way. One of the issues and biggest problems for a driver is when you keep changing engines all of the time. We were lacking consistency: we had a Lamborghini engine, a Ford engine and a Peugeot engine, before the Mercedes engine, which we used from 1995 onwards. There came a point in ’97 when we started moving in the right direction, so I had high hopes in that winter.

The car still had some performance issues, but it was a solid package. You know that feeling when you make a little change, and it has a big impact? We had that, and it gave me huge confidence that we were going in the right direction. I saw the momentum in the team, so I was confident we were going in the right direction, but I didn’t know how big a step we would take.

In the winter ahead of the ’98 season, I didn’t want to get my hopes up too high because, and this might sound a bit crazy, but I didn’t know what a really good Formula 1 car felt like. I knew what a car that was behind some leading cars - third or fourth position - felt like, but I didn’t really know what it was like [to drive a] really good car. Then I went into 1997/98, and the first time I drove this car, I understood, and I said, ‘this is it.’ 

Neil: Testing… we ran the car at Paul Ricard first, and then we went to Barcelona, and the car was very quick - particularly at Barcelona - compared to the previous car. What was your feeling then?

Mika: I was sitting in the car in the garage at Paul Ricard, the car is brand new, and I went out into the pit-lane, and I thought, ‘what is going on here? The steering is stable, it doesn’t move anywhere... something is right.'

I was then accelerating, but gently at first because it was a brand-new car. The first corner was a very tight right-hander, and I braked into the corner and the car was stable. It stayed straight, it didn't pull anywhere, and I thought, ‘this feels good.’ 

After that, I hit the throttle, and the rear was so stable. I said, ‘holy s***, this is beautiful’. That is when I realised 'this is it'. I went with the curbs and the wheels were moving and vibrating, but the steering was so stable. That meant I could run over the curbs as much as I wanted. I started speeding up, faster and faster, but I was told on the radio to slow down and come into the pits because we needed to put the fuel down.

Neil: The atmosphere in the factory was almost like the team had been reborn. It was a very competitive year with [Michael] Schumacher and Ferrari so close to us for the whole season, but it was a very good, positive atmosphere.

We had all gone several years without winning the championship, and then all of a sudden, we were able to really compete properly again. From a driver’s point of view, could you feel that atmosphere in the team?

Mika: Yeah, I did, completely. The people were calm, nobody panicked, and we had super focus on everything. Everybody knew exactly what they were doing, and energy levels were lifted higher, but in a controlled way.

Neil: Schumacher was your main competitor, and you had experience racing against him, but not in such a competitive way in Formula 1. You had raced against him in Formula 3 many years before, though, and for us as spectators, it was a very compelling battle. Two superb drivers in two really good cars. Did it feel like that as a driver?

Mika: We wanted to win, that's for sure. We wanted to win over Ferrari. Of course, we wanted to beat Michael [Schumacher], but we really wanted to beat Ferrari.

Neil: That battle between us and Ferrari had gone back so many years. It was such an intense, historic battle, and it went right down to the final race.

Mika: It was nerve-racking, I don’t know how we were able to handle that.

Neil: Did you sleep the night before?

Mika: Yes, but then you wake up in the morning, and you know that ‘today is the day. This is what I’ve been working for.’ That was the hardest part, to stay calm and collected, but that is what the team did for me, they gave me such confidence. They were telling me that we had this grand prix - I don’t know if they were bulls******* me to give me more confidence, but it worked. Nerve-racking.

Neil: I was lucky enough to have won some championships before, but it had been six years since we had last won, which is a long time in racing. By the final race of the season in Japan, I was already working on the following year’s car, so I was actually at home in England, not at the race. I got up at 05:00 to watch the race, and communications back then weren’t as good as they are now. I saw what was happening, but I wasn’t fully aware of what was going on. My nerves were completely shaken.

You were leading the race comfortably, but in my head, I was thinking of all the things that could possibly go wrong, even from such a good position. The end result was so important to the driver and the team, so it was an hour and a half of torture… and then much relief.

Mika: Neil, you had been there already before, but for me, it was a completely new experience. It makes you work harder, and the team makes you work harder. You cannot just say, ‘oh, now we’re winning’, you have to raise your power and your performances to win more. Personally, it gave me a massive confidence boost. Even today, I carry that confidence inside of me. If I wasn’t a world champion, I would probably be in Helsinki at the moment!

Neil: When you first joined us, you were the Test Driver in '93, and you did a fantastic job evolving that car with an active ride height and many, many other technical innovations. You’ve got an incredibly good sense of humour, but always at the right time. You could be very serious, but again, always at the right time.

You had a really good balance, which brought everyone in the team together behind you. You never tried to engineer the car, but you had very good feedback on what the car was doing, and you were always very enthusiastic and open to trying new things. That gave us a technical advantage as you were happy to try and adapt to any changes on the car. Things like the left foot braking, hand clutch, brake steer.

Mika: Ahh, I love to hear this. This is so nice of you, thank you.

Neil: If you hadn't been driving for us, it would've taken a lot longer to adapt to those things and make them faster. But, particularly with the brake steer, it made a big difference.

You had a willingness to learn try new things and an understanding of how a technical change could help your driving and help the performance of the car, whereas some drivers are very reluctant to make changes or adapt themselves to suit the car. So that was a real bonus for us during those years.

Mika: That was nice. That was amazing. Neil is a very special personality. I have to say, Neil is really focused on his work and extremely dedicated. You were there because of your soul and your passion, as well as your work. From a driver’s point of view, you would always think, ‘this guy is doing everything flat-out.’ What an incredible experience this was.  

And with that, our time is up. Mika and Neil have places to be, but not before another hug, a slap on the back and a promise to do this again soon.