Surviving 3 Laps In A 2-Seat McLaren F-1 Car, Courtesy Of Mika Hakkinen

As a hobby, I regularly give 170-mph stock car thrill rides at Daytona International Speedway to customers of the NASCAR Racing Experience. The oval track is 2.5-miles around and banked at a daunting 31 degrees. We get around it in less than a minute per lap, pulling about 3 G’s, or three times one’s body weight, in the corners. What I most enjoy about giving the rides are the stunned looks and smiles on the faces of the participants at the conclusion of each three-lap run. They get to experience at a fairly representative level the forces that real racers endure regularly in competition.

But right now, I am not at Daytona, and I’m not on an oval and I’m not giving rides. Rather, I’m about to become a passenger in a two-seat McLaren Racing Formula 1 car, the MP4/98T, the only one of its kind on the planet. My chauffeur will be none other than Mika Hakkinen, the two-time F-1 World Driving Champion. The “Flying Finn,” as he is called, will take me for three hot laps around the twisting Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, a road course, near Monterey, California, as part of a weekend for historic auto enthusiasts called the Velocity Invitational. During my run, I will be whipsawed back and forth, pulling more than 6 G’s, twice what I pull at Daytona, through 11 distinct corners with sharp breaking and acceleration. 

The ride is in an ancient 1998 McLaren, with old-school technology. McLaren is no stranger to Hakkinen, and Hakkinen no stranger to McLaren Racing. In 1998 and 1999, he won his two F-1 championships for the prestigious British automotive company. Since 2017, he has been a celebrity ambassador for the company.

I’m nervous, to say the least. The cramped backseat of the open-wheel machine is incredibly claustrophobic. Every part of the cockpit is utilized, and not just to conserve weight. With the G’s we are about to pull, an inch or two of give either way will slam my head and torso into the inner sides of the car, bruising me, or worse, potentially breaking a bone.

Before I even sat in the car the day before, when they measured me in the garage, I had to sign my life away on a two-page waiver indemnifying McLaren should anything distressing happen. It didn’t really bother me. As an extreme adventure journalist, I regularly sign such things. That said, it always gives me pause when I ink the date and my John Hancock on the solid black lines at the end of the onerous forms.

Dawning a helmet, white fire-proof Nomex long underwear and a fitted McLaren outer black suit (hint: slimming), I’m belted in by the McLaren pit crew. Hakkinen, also clad in his black racing outfit, enters the garage and makes his way toward the two-seater. He is hounded by fans and autograph seekers, being the superstar that he is. But he is gentle with me, smiling with a handshake and fist bump to put me at ease. 

After Hakkinen is belted in, directly in front of me, we slowly exit onto pit road. Again, hoards of people, including photographers, ogle the car from behind the concrete pit wall. I know they are there to catch a glimpse of Hakkinen, not me, and probably wonder who the hell I am to get such a coveted experience. After all, rare past rides have gone to actors like Michael Douglas, and foreign dignitaries including Juan Carlos, former King of Spain. 

The mass of bodies only serves to heighten my apprehension as we wait to fire the 700-plus-horsepower engine and head onto the main track. I had been told earlier that Mexican IndyCar racer Pato O’Ward was surprised by the violence of the ride when Hakkinen tested the car the day before with him in the backseat. That guy is used to huge G-forces and high speeds racing professionally. How was an amateur like me supposed to cope?

Suddenly, the crew removed the electric tire heaters, and off we screamed out of pit lane. I thought Hakkinen would take a lap to work up to speed, but evidently not. When we went into the fourth turn, we were already cooking, the 15,000-rpm engine dentist’s drill vibrations reverberating through my lower extremities.

As a rider, I had no control of the car, of course. Some people can’t handle that, but I was okay. I knew that my driver was as expert as they come. For once, I wouldn’t have to worry about finessing a car around the track. I could just enjoy the scenery as it flashed by. 

But quickly I learned that, given how tight I was crammed into the car, my head couldn’t move much. It was my eyes that darted left and right as we meandered through the sharp turns. I could even feel Hakkinen’s arms rubbing against my legs as he steered the car. That’s how close we were. My biggest fear became nausea. As a driver, motion sickness never really bothers me. But it’s entirely different as a rider. Hold it together, Jim. It’s only three laps. Don’t want to lose your lunch in front of all those curious spectators.

One area of the track I was initially worried about was the infamous cork-screw turn, 8A, where the car quickly climbs up a few stories, only to dart over a blind crest and drop precipitously. Every time one encounters it, there’s a pucker factor – and the hope that no one has crashed below. Even though I knew we were the only car on track at the time, it still got my attention each lap. 

When we finally pulled back into pit lane after three exhilarating laps, the crowd was enthusiastic, some even clapping. I exited the car, tore off my helmet and fire-proof balaclava and vigorously shook Hakkinen’s hand. I was to interview him later, so we only exchanged a few words, but they were joyous. What a bucket-list experience!

But given the violence – akin only to my bobsled run with the Olympic team a few years back at Lake Placid – would I try it again? If I were lucky enough to be asked, you bet. But next time, maybe I could be driver, Hakkinen passenger. Um, sure, in my dreams.

(Editor’s Note: Two more Laguna Seca stories will follow this one: An exclusive interview with Mika Hakkinen, and a profile of the Velocity Invitational historic car race weekend. Stay tuned to the Forbes Lifestyle channel.)