Born: 30th November 1966, Helsinki, Finland Lives in: London Status: Married (Noriko) Children: 1 son (Max) Height: 1.75m Weight: 69kg Sports: Snowboarding, mountain biking Hobbies: Guitar
Born: 30th November 1966, Helsinki, Finland Lives in: London Status: Married (Noriko) Children: 1 son (Max) Height: 1.75m Weight: 69kg Sports: Snowboarding, mountain biking Hobbies: Guitar |
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[Role]
One of the two drivers spending 2001 track-testing Toyota Motorsport's Formula 1 prototypes, concentrating on development work at the team's test base at Paul Ricard and at various GP circuits around the world.
[Fast Facts]
Finnish-born multiple champion through the junior single-seater ranks Spent four years racing in Japan before six seasons of F1 experience Has raced for Lotus, Tyrrell, Arrows, BAR, Ferrari and Sauber Two sensational podium finishes for Ferrari in 1999
[Profile]
Mika Salo relishes a challenge. That is why he jumped at the opportunity to be centrally involved with Toyota in 2001, as an entirely new Formula 1 team was developed over a year's intensive testing. Mika was excited by Toyota's strategy for technical excellence. He moved quickly when offered the chance to contribute his own Formula 1 experience to the project. If it took a while before Mika gained the recognition he deserved in Formula 1, it was because none of the teams for which he had driven before 1999 had offered him a race-winning package. He suddenly proved his tremendous, all-round ability that season, when he stood in for Ferrari's injured Michael Schumacher for six races. Of special importance was his drive at Hockenheim, where he comfortably led the German Grand Prix before moving over to allow his team-mate, Eddie Irvine, who was a title contender, to take the maximum points score. Then, on Ferrari's home ground at Monza, Mika produced another solid drive to earn third place. These were his first podium finishes in Formula 1. Earlier in the same season, Mika had also driven three Grands Prix for British American Racing when Ricardo Zonta had been out through injury. But it was his performances for Ferrari which helped to secure a full-time Formula 1 seat with Sauber in 2000, when he finished in the top 10 in 12 races. Rather than continue for a second season with the Swiss team, however, Mika relished the fresh challenge that was offered by Toyota. Salo had first made his mark on the international racing scene back in 1988, during his successful season in Formula Ford, when he won The European Championship against Michael Schumacher, and later in 1989 when he entered the British Formula 3 Championship (racing against Allan McNish who, 12 years later, would become his team-mate at Toyota). Thefollowing season, he gave his compatriot, Mika Hakkinen, a tough fight for the British Formula 3 Championship title, winning six of their head-to-head encounters. Even at this junior but extremely competitive level, the pace of the two Finns marked them out as Formula 1 candidates. Hakkinen immediately made the leap into Grand Prix racing with Team Lotus, but no opportunity presented itself for Salo, whose career took a different route. Despite his impressive credentials, including strings of successes in karting and Formula Ford before progressing to Formula 3, Mika was unable to raise the sponsorship needed to secure a drive in the FIA Formula 3000 Championship - the single-seater category conceived as the main Formula 1 'feeder series'. Instead, he gained valuable experience in the All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship over the next four years, during which he also undertook a test and race development role with Yokohama tyres. The call to Formula 1 came towards the end of 1994. Mika made his Grand Prix debut in a Lotus in the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. In near-monsoon conditions, he finished a creditable 10th of 28 starters. An electrical fault eliminated him from the Australian Grand Prix that brought the season to a close, but Mika's talent had been spotted by Ken Tyrrell. He began a three-year stint at Tyrrell in 1995 by narrowly missing out on a points-scoring finish in the opening race in Brazil. The rest of his first full season was hampered by mechanical unreliability, although he did gain his first World Championship points at Monza, and followed up with more at Suzuka and in Adelaide. He finished sixth in the opening race of the 1996 season, then making fifth places at Interlagos and Monaco, where he also collected his only points of the 1997 season. The tight street circuit in the Principality is famous for favouring drivers with exceptionally precise car control. It was again a happy hunting ground for Salo in 1998, when he drove an Arrows to fourth place - scoring his only points of the season. Mika parted company with Arrows shortly before the start of the 1999 season, but this proved to be a blessing in disguise. It meant that he was free to do those three races for BAR, and was available when the big opening came from Ferrari. Mika Salo has made 92 Grand Prix starts, scoring 31 World Championship points in 14 top-six finishes.
[Career events]
1972 Karting 1978 Finnish 100 Kart Championship: 1st 1980 Finnish 100 Kart Championship: 1st 1982 Finnish 100 Kart Championship: 1st 1983 Finnish 100 Kart Championship: 1st 1987 Finnish Formula Ford Championship: 2nd (Van Diemen) Scandinavian Formula Ford Championship: 3rd (Van Diemen) 1988 European Formula Ford Championship: 1st (Van Diemen) Scandinavian Formula Ford Championship: 1st (Van Diemen) Finnish Formula Ford Championship: 1st (Van Diemen) 1989 British Formula 3 Championship: 13th (Reynard) 1990 British Formula 3 Championship: 2nd (Ralt) Macau Formula 3 Grand Prix: 2nd (Ralt) 1991 All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship (Lola & Reynard) 1992 All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship: 14th (Reynard) 1993 All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship (Reynard) 1994 All-Japan Formula 3000 Championship (Lola) Formula 1 World Championship (Lotus 2 GPs) 1995 Formula 1 World Championship: 15th (Tyrrell) 1996 Formula 1 World Championship: 13th (Tyrrell) 1997 Formula 1 World Championship: 16th (Tyrrell) 1998 Formula 1 World Championship: 13th (Arrows) 1999 Formula 1 World Championship: 10th (BAR 3 GPs & Ferrari 6 GPs) 2000 Formula 1 World Championship: 11th (Sauber) 2001 FIA Formula 1 World Championship: Test Driver (Toyota)