Mika Salo
This article contains paid contributions. It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia's content policies, particularly neutral point of view. |
Mika Juhani Salo (born 30 November 1966) is a Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One between 1994 and 2002. His best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for six races, scoring two podiums and contributing to Ferrari's constructors' championship win. He also won the GT2 class in the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Salo in 2009 | |
| Born | 30 November 1966 Helsinki, Finland |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality | Finnish |
| Active years | 1994–2000, 2002 |
| Teams | Lotus, Tyrrell, Arrows, BAR, Ferrari, Sauber, Toyota |
| Entries | 111 (109 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 2 |
| Career points | 33 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1994 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2002 Japanese Grand Prix |
Career edit
Formula Three and Japanese racing edit
In 1989, Helsinki-born Salo competed in the British Formula 3 Championship, racing for Alan Docking Racing. He raced with the Reynard Alfa Romeo package which was not the season's best. Staying with Alan Docking Racing for 1990 and moving to a more competitive Ralt chassis, he raced against countryman and fierce rival Mika Häkkinen in Formula Three, finishing second to him. In 1990, Salo was caught driving under the influence in London.[1]
Formula One edit
1994–1998: Lotus, Tyrrell and Arrows edit
"I think it was six days before the race they said, 'Do you think you can drive it next weekend with no testing'. I'd never driven a Formula One car before in my life; that's what I've always wanted, so I said yes. I know the circuit so I don't think it's a problem. The next two nights I lay in my bed smiling, so happy it was happening."
Salo commenting on his first race for Lotus.[2]
After a few years racing in Japan he made his first Formula One start at the penultimate round of the 1994 season in Japan for the ailing Lotus team. He was kept on for the season's finale in Australia. Following the collapse of Lotus following the end of the season, Salo moved to Tyrrell for 1995. He was to spend three years with the team, scoring points several times. In the 1997 Monaco Grand Prix he completed the whole (rain-shortened and -slowed) race without refuelling, taking fifth place ahead of the faster Giancarlo Fisichella as a result.[3] Despite a promising 1998 with Arrows, he had no full-time drive in 1999.
1999: British American Racing and Ferrari edit
Following an injury to BAR driver Ricardo Zonta, Salo took his place for three races whilst the Brazilian recovered. BAR's first season was not successful but Salo scored their best result of the year, with a seventh-place finish at San Marino.[4] However a greater opportunity arose when Michael Schumacher broke his leg in a crash during the 1999 British Grand Prix. Salo was selected as his substitute to partner Eddie Irvine at Ferrari. In his second race in Ferrari at the 1999 German Grand Prix Salo led for part of the race and would have scored a Grand Prix win but team orders demanded that he give the lead to Irvine, who at the time was fighting for the championship with Mika Häkkinen.[5] Following the race, Irvine handed his victory trophy over to Salo as a gesture of gratitude. He also finished third at Monza, ahead of Irvine. These podium finishes were critical in helping Ferrari win their first Constructors' title since 1983.
2000–2002: Sauber and Toyota edit
Salo was back full-time in 2000 with Sauber, taking 11th in the championship, although he left the team at the end of the season to join the new Toyota team in preparation for its Formula One entry in 2002, and also cited a desire to score podiums rather than lower points-scoring positions. He scored two points for Toyota in their first season, becoming the first driver since JJ Lehto at the 1993 South African Grand Prix to score points on a team's debut by finishing sixth at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. He retired from Formula One at the end of 2002, after getting fired from Toyota. Though the news was initially met with general surprise, it was later revealed that Salo was not on good terms with the team, who heavily criticized his deemed poor performance.
During his Formula One career, he achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 33 championship points.
Post-Formula One edit
His first post-Formula One race came at the 2003 12 Hours of Sebring, driving the UK-entered Audi R8, the same car he was due to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans if it had not run out of fuel already after the first hour. He raced in four CART races for PK Racing during the same year, his best finish being third in Miami in his second series start.
Because of his strong links with Ferrari he was picked up to be part of the development program of the Maserati MC12 GT racer. He made his FIA GT debut in 2004, narrowly losing the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in a Ferrari 575. After that he entered the last four races of the season in the Maserati, winning two races and finishing second once.[citation needed]
2005 was a year somewhat lost in the doldrums with only two participations with the Maserati MC12 in the ALMS GTS-class, a competition where the car turned out to be not even half as competitive as in the FIA GT series.
For 2006, Salo returned to racing full-time, signing with AF Corse in the FIA GT to drive the Ferrari F430 and later on in the year with Risi Competizione in the ALMS. He was victorious in class in the 24 Hours of Spa and finished third in the FIA GT2 Drivers' Championship with 61 points, while his efforts in the ALMS contributed to Risi's Teams' Championship cup. In the following year he continued with Risi Competizione in the ALMS and took the GT2 class honours in the 12 Hours of Sebring and the championship along with teammate Jaime Melo. They won a total of eight races out of twelve in the class. In addition, he won the RAC Tourist Trophy with Thomas Biagi when substituting for Michael Bartels, driving a Maserati MC12 once more.
Salo and Melo with Risi Competizione earned the first team At-Large honours on the 2007 All-American Racing Team, as voted for by the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters (AARWBA).[6] Salo raced again in the ALMS for Risi Competizione in 2008. Although he was not successful in defending his previous year's titles, he won the GT2 class in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, coming in 18th overall.
In 2009, he joined the Risi Ferrari team at the blue-riband races only, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans event, winning all three of them. Having won these enduro races all more than once, Salo felt he was ready for a new challenge. He set his mind on NASCAR, and had his first test with Michael Waltrip Racing at the half-mile New Smyrna Speedway in November 2009.[7]
In 2010–12, Salo competed in the Gold Coast 600, an endurance event for the V8 Supercars. In 2010, he partnered with Walkinshaw Racing's Andrew Thompson and retired from both races. For 2011–12 he raced with Will Davison and the Ford Performance Racing team, finishing 2nd in the 1st race of 2011 and winning the 2nd race in 2012.
In 2014, driving for Maranello Motorsport, Salo co-drove a Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 to victory at the Bathurst 12 Hour alongside Australian motor racing legends Craig Lowndes and John Bowe, and another local Australian driver Peter Edwards.
Personal edit
Salo lives in Estonia,[8] and has a son[citation needed] and a daughter with his wife Noriko.[9] His godson Jesse Krohn competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. Like fellow Finns Keke Rosberg and JJ Lehto, both former Formula One drivers, Salo has commentated on several F1 races on MTV3 and the pay-channel C More MAX since 2005.[10] Since 2011, Salo has been hosting the Finnish TV-show, Virittäjät ('Test Drive by Mika Salo'), along with his former co-host Tomi Tuominen, who is a Finnish journalist, television presenter, sports commentator and former co-driver in the World Rally Championship.[11]
In 2013, Salo featured in Discovery channel's program called Driven to Extremes along with Hollywood actors Tom Hardy and Adrien Brody. Salo appeared in two episodes, one with Tom Hardy in minus 50 degrees Celsius in Russia, and the other one with Adrien Brody to the Malaysian jungle at the height of the monsoon season.[12]
Helmet edit
Salo's helmet was originally dark blue with a white halo on the top (with a red line inside), two white stripes (with a red line inside) going from the rear going down diagonally to the sides of the helmet and a white trapezoidal shape on the chin area (with blue outline), slightly based on Prost's helmet. When he raced in Formula One, he changed the helmet from dark blue to sky blue with the rest of the elements intact.
Racing record edit
Career summary edit
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (December 2021) |
† Not eligible for championship points.
‡ Team standings.
Complete British Formula 3 results edit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Alan Docking Racing | Alfa Romeo | A | THR 7 | SIL 5 | BRH Ret | SIL 10 | BRH 5 | THR 7 | SIL 5 | DON 10 | SIL 6 | SNE Ret | OUL 12 | SIL 11 | BRH 7 | DON 5 | SIL 6 | THR Ret | 14th | 10 | |
| 1990 | Alan Docking Racing | Mugen | A | DON 2 | SIL 1 | THR 2 | BRH 4 | SIL 1 | BRH 1 | THR 1 | SIL 2 | DON 5 | SIL 1 | SNE 7 | OUL 2 | SIL 2 | BRH Ret | DON 3 | THR 1 | SIL Ret | 2nd | 98 |
Complete Japanese Formula 3000 Championship results edit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Ad Racing Team Co. Ltd. | SUZ | AUT 14 | FUJ DNQ | MIN 6 | SUZ DNQ | SUG DNQ | FUJ 18 | SUZ DNQ | FUJ C | SUZ Ret | FUJ Ret | 23rd | 1 |
| 1992 | Ad Racing Team Co. Ltd. | SUZ Ret | FUJ 15 | MIN 4 | SUZ Ret | AUT 10 | SUG Ret | FUJ 18 | FUJ 17 | SUZ 7 | FUJ 15 | SUZ 5 | 15th | 5 |
| 1993 | Ad Racing Team Co. Ltd. | SUZ 13 | FUJ 9 | MIN 7 | SUZ Ret | AUT C | SUG 6 | FUJ C | FUJ DNS | SUZ 17 | FUJ Ret | SUZ Ret | 17th | 1 |
| 1994 | Team 5ZIGEN | SUZ 3 | FUJ 5 | MIN 7 | SUZ 11 | SUG 12 | FUJ Ret | SUZ 8 | FUJ Ret | FUJ | SUZ 10 | 7th | 6 |
Complete Formula One results edit
(key)
Complete CART results edit
(key)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Rank | Points | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | PK Racing | STP | MTY | LBH | BRH | LAU | MIL | LS | POR | CLE | TOR | VAN | ROA | MDO | MTL | DEN 14 | MIA 3 | MXC 5 | SRF 11 | FON C † | 16th | 26 | [13] |
† Cancelled due to California Fires
24 Hours of Le Mans results edit
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Audi Sport UK Arena Motorsport | Frank Biela Perry McCarthy | Audi R8 | LMP900 | 28 | DNF | DNF |
| 2007 | Risi Competizione | Johnny Mowlem Jaime Melo | Ferrari F430 GT2 | GT2 | 223 | DNF | DNF |
| 2008 | Risi Competizione | Gianmaria Bruni Jaime Melo | Ferrari F430 GT2 | GT2 | 326 | 19th | 1st |
| 2009 | Risi Competizione | Jaime Melo Pierre Kaffer | Ferrari F430 GT2 | GT2 | 329 | 18th | 1st |
| 2010 | AF Corse | Luís Pérez Companc Matías Russo | Ferrari F430 GT2 | GT2 | 0 | DNS | DNS |
| 2014 | SMP Racing | Sergey Zlobin Anton Ladygin | Oreca 03R-Nissan | LMP2 | 303 | 37th | 12th |
Complete American Le Mans Series results edit
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Audi Sport UK | LMP900 | Audi R8 | Audi 3.6L Turbo V8 | SEB 6 | ATL | SON | TRO | MOS | RDA | LGA | MIA | PET | 28th | 12 | |||
| 2005 | Risi Competizione | GT1 | Maserati MC12 | Maserati 6.0L V12 | SEB | ATL | MDO | LIM | SON | POR 4 | RDA | MOS | PET | LGA | NC | 0 | ||
| 2006 | Risi Competizione | GT2 | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0L V8 | SEB | REL 3 | MDO 6 | LIM | MIL 1 | POR 1 | RDA | MOS | PET | LGA 1 | 7th | 82 | ||
| 2007 | Risi Competizione | GT2 | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0L V8 | SEB 1 | STP 1 | LBH 1 | REL 1 | MIL 9 | LIM 9 | MDO 2 | RDA 1 | MOS 1 | DET 1 | PET 6 | LGA 1 | 1st | 202 |
| 2008 | Risi Competizione | GT2 | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0L V8 | SEB 12 | STP 10 | LBH 9 | MIL 13 | LIM 3 | MDO 5 | RDA 5 | MOS 1 | DET 3 | PET 1 | LGA 2 | 4th | 121 | |
| 2009 | Risi Competizione | GT2 | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0L V8 | SEB 1 | STP | LBH | MIL | LIM | MDO | RDA | MOS | PET 1 | LGA | 8th | 60 | ||
| 2010 | Risi Competizione | GT | Ferrari F430GT | Ferrari 4.0L V8 | SEB | LBH | LGA | MIL | LIM 4 | MDO | RDA 7 | MOS | PET 7 | 20th | 28 | |||
| 2011 | Risi Competizione | GT | Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 | Ferrari 4.5L V8 | SEB 9 | LBH | LIM | MOS | MDO | RDA | BAL | LGA | PET | 25th | 12 |
Complete GT1 World Championship results edit
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Mad-Croc Racing | Chevrolet Corvette C6.R | ABU QR Ret | ABU CR 15 | SIL QR | SIL CR | BRN QR 19 | BRN CR 12 | PRI QR | PRI CR | SPA QR | SPA CR | NÜR QR 15 | NÜR CR 23 | ALG QR | ALG CR | NAV QR | NAV CR | INT QR | INT CR | SAN QR | SAN CR | 52nd | 0 |
Complete V8 Supercar results edit
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | Final pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Walkinshaw Racing | YMC R1 | YMC R2 | BHR R3 | BHR R4 | ADE R5 | ADE R6 | HAM R7 | HAM R8 | QLD R9 | QLD R10 | WIN R11 | WIN R12 | HID R13 | HID R14 | TOW R15 | TOW R16 | PHI Q | PHI R17 | BAT R18 | SUR R19 Ret | SUR R20 Ret | SYM R21 | SYM R22 | SAN R23 | SAN R24 | SYD R25 | SYD R26 | NC | 0 + | ||||
| 2011 | Ford Performance Racing | YMC R1 | YMC R2 | ADE R3 | ADE R4 | HAM R5 | HAM R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | BAR R9 | WIN R10 | WIN R11 | HID R12 | HID R13 | TOW R14 | TOW R15 | QLD R16 | QLD R17 | QLD R18 | PHI Q | PHI R19 | BAT R20 | SUR R21 2 | SUR R22 14 | SYM R23 | SYM R24 | SAN R25 | SAN R26 | SYD R27 | SYD R28 | 52nd | 201 | ||
| 2012 | Ford Performance Racing | ADE R1 | ADE R2 | SYM R3 | SYM R4 | HAM R5 | HAM R6 | BAR R7 | BAR R8 | BAR R9 | PHI R10 | PHI R11 | HID R12 | HID R13 | TOW R14 | TOW R15 | QLD R16 | QLD R17 | SMP R18 | SMP R19 | SAN Q | SAN R20 | BAT R21 | SUR R22 18 | SUR R23 1 | YMC R24 | YMC R25 | YMC R26 | WIN R27 | WIN R28 | SYD R29 | SYD R30 | NC | 0 † |
† Not Eligible for points
Complete International Superstars Series results edit
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Swiss Team | Maserati Quattroporte | MNZ 1 6 | MNZ 2 16 | IMO 1 | IMO 2 | DON 1 | DON 2 | MUG 1 | MUG 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | SPA 1 5 | SPA 2 3 | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | PER 1 | PER 2 | 19th | 30 |
Bathurst 12 Hour results edit
| Year | Team | Co-drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Maranello Motorsport | John Bowe Peter Edwards Allan Simonsen | Ferrari 458 GT3 | A | 111 | DNF | DNF |
| 2014 | Maranello Motorsport | John Bowe Peter Edwards Craig Lowndes | Ferrari 458 GT3 | A | 296 | 1st | 1st |
| 2015 | Maranello Motorsport | Ben Collins Tony D'Alberto | Ferrari 458 GT3 | A | 0 | DNS | DNS |
| 2016 | Maranello Motorsport | Tony D'Alberto Grant Denyer Toni Vilander | Ferrari 458 GT3 | AP | 63 | DNF | DNF |
Complete European Le Mans Series results edit
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | SMP Racing | GTC | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | SIL | IMO | RBR | HUN | LEC 5 | 12th | 11 |
| 2014 | SMP Racing | GTC | Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 | Ferrari 4.5 L V8 | SIL | IMO 10 | RBR 9 | LEC 11 | HUN 11 | 28th | 4 |
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results edit
References edit
- ^ "Mika Salo saa pitää suomalaisen ajolisenssinsä" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. 6 November 1990. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
- ^ FIA Formula 1 World Championship – 1995 Season Review (VHS). Duke Video. 11 December 1995. Event occurs at 13:00–14:00. EAN-13 5 017559 034955. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
- ^ . F1complete.com. 30 November 1966. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ "SUNDAY CONVERSATION: Mika Salo on missing out on that GP victory in Germany". formula1.com. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
- ^ 1999 German Grand Prix www.grandprix.com Retrieved 21 June 2007
- ^ "NHRA News: AARWBA All-America team includes new champs, Anderson, others (12/8/2007)".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Salo relishing NASCAR chance (17/11/2009)". Autosport.com. 17 November 2009. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ^ "Hyvä ja halpa Viro". Iltalehti. 1 March 2013.
- ^ "Daytonan radalla testaava Mika Salo vahvisti IS:lle avioeronsa". 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ "Mika Salo's LinkedIn profile". Mika Salo. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ "Virittäjät". Elisa. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
- ^ . Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on 23 June 2017. Retrieved 13 June 2017.
- ^ "Mika Salo – 2003 CART Results". Racing-Reference. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. Retrieved 15 August 2023.