Former West McLaren F1 driver Mika Häkkinen has announced yesterday that he will be racing again with the Mercedes Group in their AMG Mercedes C-Class for the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) beginning next year.

The 36-year old, who retired from Formula One at the end of 2001, was rumoured to return to the sport since last year when the Finn voiced his intentions to race again. Since then, he has been linked to Williams for much of the year and sources close to the Finn said he had been considering an offer for several months.

Despite the rumours however, Mika, who has been working particularly well within the Mercedes Group, was recently offered a test drive by Norbert Haug in one of their DTM challenger. The result, sources say, simply blew them away!

Mika Häkkinen said, “After the end of my Formula One career in 2001, I soon realised that I'm not ready to retire for good. It was just the right moment that Mercedes-Benz offered me to test a DTM car. I saw immediately that I still enjoy racing very much and during the test three weeks ago, my lap times were at the same level as those of the touring car specialists.”

He added, “I know, of course, that I first have to get used to a DTM car to be able to fight with the front runners. The AMG-Mercedes C-Class, however, is a great car and with it I want to be consistently competitive soon. I look forward to an interesting season with exciting battles – against my former Formula One colleagues as well as against the young DTM drivers – and to see again my fans. I'm especially happy about returning to the Mercedes family – I'm back, but I've never been really gone."

One of the most famous and popular racing drivers, Mika’s return to racing will surely be welcomed by his legions of supporters all over the world. During his 10-year career, he won 20 Grands Prix with West McLaren Mercedes, achieved 26 Pole Positions, 25 fastest race laps and scored 420 World Championship points.

In 1998 and 1999 he clinched the Drivers' titles and finished runner-up in 2000. Mika made first experience with a DTM car in 2001, when he drove an AMG-Mercedes-Benz CLK at Brno, Czech Republic on the occasion of a promotion activity. Apart from his successes in the sport he became well known also through his pleasant commercials for the Mercedes-Benz C- and A-Classes.

Norbert Haug, Vice President Mercedes-Benz Motorsport: “We are very happy about Mika's decision to race in the DTM. Our engagement and the Championship will gain a lot from his commitment. Since Mika was driving for us, he was always interested in DTM and we talked a lot about it. Watching the 2004 season on TV Mika has become a real DTM fan, as he told us. During his test he proved that he didn't lose his speed. We look forward to exciting battles next year."