Finland might have simply 5.6 million inhabitants – simply 0.07% of the world’s inhabitants – but it has immensely contributed to Components 1’s historical past.
The Nordic nation admittedly has by no means hosted grand prix racing, and neither has it had any groups on this planet championship. Nonetheless, amongst its 9 drivers competing in F1, there have been seven podium finishers (together with Mika Salo and Jyrki Jarvilehto, higher often called JJ Lehto), 5 race winners (notably Heikki Kovalainen and Valtteri Bottas) in addition to three champions: Keke Rosberg, Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen. That’s not counting Nico Rosberg, who was topped in 2016 however raced beneath a German licence from his sophomore F3 Euro Collection marketing campaign in 2004 till his shock retirement from F1.
That’s a surprisingly excessive victory fee. In a quote typically wrongly attributed to Raikkonen, well-known Finnish F1 journalist Heikki Kulta attributed this success to the extreme climate within the land of a thousand lakes. “Our roads and lengthy winters,” Kulta informed The Telegraph in 2008. “You actually need to be driver to outlive in Finland. It’s all the time slippery and bumpy.”
A grand prix winner who raced for the likes of Renault, McLaren and Lotus, Kovalainen doesn’t utterly agree.
“We get used to type of powerful, slippery situations from a really younger age,” he tells Autosport. “As soon as we get on the roads, I suppose you might want to have some form of better-than-average ability to outlive and handle to remain on these slippery roads. Many individuals typically point out that, however my feeling is that it’s not as massive a contributor as it might sound.”
As an alternative, Kovalainen views a few elements as extra influential. The primary one is an everlasting ardour for motorsport, in a rustic that has been much more profitable in rallying.
Finns have an excellent higher monitor file in rallying, and near-constant success within the self-discipline means they’re typically within the information – Kovalainen explains – to proceed inspiring future generations
Picture by: Sutton Photos
From Ari Vatanen to Kalle Rovanpera, eight Finns have been world champions on this self-discipline; France is subsequent with three. When Kovalainen was a child, Juha Kankkunen and Tommi Makinen have been dominating the WRC, whereas Hakkinen was making waves in F1. It’s no shock he took an curiosity on this sport, along with his post-F1 resume together with a Tremendous GT crown and back-to-back titles within the All-Japan Rally Championship.
“All these guys, they have been fairly often within the information, so that you couldn’t keep away from seeing them, you simply noticed them in every single place,” Kovalainen explains. “Maybe that affected lots of people like myself – I noticed the information, I noticed the automobiles, I noticed the speeds they have been doing, and that maybe grew the fervour in direction of motorsport.
“Perhaps the opposite purpose is the Finnish individuals’s mentality is sort of impartial,” the 43-year-old provides. “We’re comparatively impartial individuals, we don’t have tremendous highs or tremendous lows in our lives – we have now fairly strange and type of common days. In that form of high-pressure atmosphere, it’s factor.
“You’ve loads of stress, you’re within the highlight with loads of issues to handle. For those who can keep calm and funky naturally, that helps so much. Finns don’t appear to want to work tremendous arduous on that – even when the state of affairs is tight and complex, you keep calm and funky.”
“I used to be shocked, as a result of I assumed if Hulkenberg will get the seat, Valtteri’s performances are not less than pretty much as good as Hulkenberg’s”
Heikki Kovalainen
The factor is, except one of many Mercedes racers will get injured and Bottas stands in, 2025 would be the first F1 season with out a Finnish driver since 1988, the 12 months earlier than Lehto made his debut with Onyx over the last 4 rounds. Bottas, 35, has been unable to retain a seat on the grid after failing to attain a degree aboard a struggling Sauber in 2024, whereas Kovalainen and Raikkonen from the earlier technology are lengthy gone.
The new Mercedes reserve driver clearly prefers to maintain a optimistic outlook forward of the 2026 switch market – “In my thoughts, it’s nonetheless not my final race,” he stated in Abu Dhabi – however for now, that’s a actuality.
“I’ve seen it coming, so I’m not completely shocked,” Kovalainen says. “Definitely, the second half of final 12 months, it was getting much more apparent that even Valtteri was not going to be persevering with as a race driver.
“When Sauber didn’t wish to signal they usually signed Hulkenberg earlier than Valtteri, I used to be shocked, as a result of I assumed if Hulkenberg will get the seat, Valtteri’s performances are not less than pretty much as good as Hulkenberg’s. I suppose there are most likely some advertising causes behind it, however that could be a bit disappointing if it’s a marketing-driven resolution, as a result of normally that form of massive manufacturers – if you wish to grow to be a high crew, you select the drivers based mostly on efficiency, not on advertising causes.
Bottas misplaced his race drive at Sauber for 2025, ending a prolonged streak of F1 having a Finn on the grid
Picture by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Photos
“Having stated that, Hulkenberg has carried out fairly properly, I’m not saying he’s the improper man there. However Valtteri being there for 3 years after which not re-signed, it form of made me really feel that there’s one thing that’s lacking in that relationship – one thing that they don’t like about Valtteri, or they don’t suppose that he’s matching their plans.”
The issue is, no Finnish driver has come near becoming a member of the championship since Bottas’ debut in 2013 with Williams. In reality, the one teenager to race in F1’s primary feeder sequence (F2 or beforehand GP2) within the final fifteen years was Niko Kari, who was a Pink Bull junior from 2016-17 after profitable the SMP F4 sequence.
Kari then took tenth place in his maiden European F3 and GP3 campaigns, which didn’t suffice to retain his spot within the academy. His (unsuccessful) solely foray into F2 got here within the final two rounds of 2018, and he hasn’t finished any substantial racing for the reason that 2020 European Le Mans Collection.
Why have there been so few Finns in junior formulae recently?
“That may be a good query, I most likely don’t have the proper reply to that,” says Kovalainen, who’s open to serving to out younger Finnish drivers in single-seaters or rallying, having himself sought Keke Rosberg’s recommendation as an up-and-coming racer. “It’s a query that we’ve additionally debated within the Components 1 studios right here after I do some TV work. We don’t have a transparent consensus.
“The distinction these days to, for instance, my time, after I was one of many first ones to affix the Renault junior programme and Renault was one of many first ones to really arrange a junior programme – these days, the primary factor that I obtained from that programme was the monetary help. So, they paid all my racing within the junior classes.
“However these days, as I perceive, even if you’re chosen right into a Ferrari, Mercedes or another junior programme, many of the guys nonetheless need to deliver some funds themselves – and that’s fairly a giant impediment, as a result of the budgets are fairly large, and Finland is just not that massive a market, particularly these days when the economic system is struggling. Typically, it’s a tough time for lots of the businesses, for lots of people and households. It’s particularly tough to boost cash for one thing like racing. I feel that’s most likely a part of the explanation.
“The opposite aspect can also be that the superb ones do get picked up. If you’ll be able to present that you’re an excellent expertise and you’re doing one thing particular, these guys are nonetheless picked up. In addition to funds have been tough to boost, on the similar time a number of the junior drivers most likely can look within the mirror and discover a part of the explanation there as properly.
Kovalainen reached F1 because of help from Renault throughout his early profession, however that was no assure of creating it (as Loic Duval and Jose-Maria Lopez found), which solely illustrates the problem for Finns
Picture by: Renault F1
“You actually need to do one thing particular from time to time. I don’t suppose you might want to win essentially all of the junior championships or all of the races that you just go into, however it’s important to do one thing excellent, one thing that folks decide up on. Perhaps that’s additionally one thing that’s been lacking with the fellows who attempt to construct a Components 1 profession.”
Don’t get him improper, Kovalainen doesn’t imply that he had it straightforward.
“It was fairly clear from very early on that so long as I do my job properly sufficient, that they’re completely satisfied, they’ll progress my profession, they’ll take me to the following degree each time,” the previous Renault protege relates. “However on the similar time, there was loads of competitors. There have been [six] of us on the very starting of the Renault junior programme, and I used to be ultimately the one one who made all of it the best way and have become a Renault Components 1 driver.
“I didn’t win each championship that I entered, however yearly I used to be capable of take some pole positions, win some races and lift some eyebrows. They preferred that, and that was the important thing, mainly, to then take me all the best way to F1.”
Crucially, there will probably be a Finn in Components 3 this 12 months: Tuukka Taponen, who has been a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy for 2 years
Extra just lately, French-Finnish teenager Marcus Amand shone in karting by profitable the 2019 CIK-FIA European Championship within the OK-Junior class, however his single-seater profession didn’t take off. Amand took no wins in three years in Components 4 and Components Regional, and switched to Porsche Carrera Cup France final 12 months.
Crucially, there will probably be a Finn in Components 3 this 12 months: Tuukka Taponen, who has been a part of the Ferrari Driver Academy for 2 years. Taponen is a three-time Finnish karting champion and in addition took a world title in 2021. Final 12 months, he received the Components Regional Center East Championship, then got here third within the European sequence behind Rafael Camara and James Wharton, respectively present and former Ferrari juniors.
The 18-year-old from Lohja, 30 miles west of Helsinki, is now tackling F3 with the ART Grand Prix outfit, preserving in thoughts a fellow countryman’s success in that championship (then known as GP3) with the identical squad.
“ART GP is a well-known crew to us Finns. For instance, Valtteri Bottas received the championship with ART GP crew earlier than transferring as much as the Components 1 sequence,” Taponen identified. If he have been to emulate Bottas 14 years later, the teenager would take the F3 title as a rookie earlier than graduating to F1 in 2027…
Can Taponen grow to be Finland’s subsequent massive F1 hope?
Picture by: ART Grand Prix
On this article
Ben Vinel
Components 1
Valtteri Bottas
Heikki Kovalainen
Tuukka Taponen
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