Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Flambeaux

Former McLaren Double World Champion Mika Hakkinen’s French country estate Mhas gone up in flames, according to published reports, the mansion outside the village of Callian, near the town of Grasse, in Provence, broke out in flames early Saturday morning and nearly three fourths of the recently completed house was destroyed in the fire.

Hakkinen wasn’t home during the blaze, but his girlfriend and her friend escaped uninjured, as apparently Mika and ex-wife Erja have indeed split, as one report in the German national daily Bild-Zeitung noted;

"I am very surprised," said German motor sports commentator Hans-Joachim Stuck.

"To me they always seemed like the Finnish version of Michael and Corinna Schumacher -- a perfect couple," he added.


Thus it appears the couple did indeed divorce this past February, having split amicably. I’m assuming the Hakkinen’s two children, Hugo and Aina-Julia Were with Erja.

The fire’s cause was later traced to an electrical short in one of his display cabinet lights, but doesn’t say if any of his prized trophies were in the house at the time of this incident…