Tuukka Taponen is the new hope for Finnish motorsport fans, and so far the 17-year-old driver has generally lived up to their expectations. Today he won the first race of the weekend in the Middle East Formula Regional series from pole position – this is his first achievement of its kind.
Taponen competes for the French team R-ace GP together with the Norwegian Martinius Stenshorn, who took 2nd place and lost more than 4 seconds to his teammate. In previous races of this winter series, Tuukka finished 2nd, 4th and 6th. He studies at the Ferrari Racing Academy and took second place in the F4 UAE driver standings last year.
While Taponen sits in second place in the individual standings, just three points behind Stenshorn, the second leg of the series continues with two more races starting this weekend at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. And in February there are three more stages, each consisting of three races.
The new Finnish talent is financially supported by billionaire Antti Aarnio-Vihuri, one of the richest people in Finland, who once helped Valtteri Bottas.
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
