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Finland is a nation of less than six million people, and their success in motorsport is extraordinary for such a small nation. The Finns learn how to drive and race as soon as they can see over the steering wheel, so in some ways, it's no surprise that they've produced some of the fastest rally and circuit drivers of all time.
This includes Formula 1, where despite there only being nine men to have competed in Grands Prix, they've had five race winners, with three of those winning the driver's world championship as well. Furthermore, if you were to include Nico Rosberg on this list (as Finns like to do), that would be four world champions in total. If that batting average was translated to the British drivers, there would be over 50 world driving champions from the United Kingdom.
#5 - Heikki Kovalainen
JJ Lehto and Mika Salo were both good drivers in their day, but Heikki Kovalainen just edges them to this spot. Kovalainen began his F1 career for Renault in 2007 and would've been the rookie of the year, had it not been for an incredible debut season by a certain Lewis Hamilton.
Heikki consistently scored points during that campaign, and claimed his first podium at the extremely wet Japanese Grand Prix, resoundingly beating his teammate, the experienced Giancarlo Fisichella, in the driver's championship. Impressive drives like the one in Fuji earned him a seat at McLaren for the following year, with Fernando Alonso going the other way. '08 saw his first pole and win, but this was sadly the peak of his F1 career.
2009 was a fall from grace for McLaren, as their car resembled their current entries much more than the MP4-23 which Hamilton powered to his first title. Kovalainen was stuck in a midfield battle that he couldn't break out of, while Hamilton consistently out-performed the Finn, sealing Heikki's fate. Three years at Caterham/ Lotus provided nothing to write home about, and 2013 saw his final F1 starts, in a cameo role for the other Lotus team. While he was solidly out-driven by Hamilton at McLaren, Kovalainen was a solid driver overall, just not quite as good as some of his compatriots.
#4 - Valtteri Bottas
While Valtteri Bottas had an awful 2018, the Finn has proved himself to be a great driver, and is already back to winning ways in 2019. Bottas' first F1 season, in 2013, didn't produce many positive results, as the Williams that year was a very slow car (some things never change).
However, there were sparks of brilliance, including qualifying in third position for the Canadian Grand Prix and in wet conditions, no less. The regulation changes for 2014 propelled Williams up the grid, and Bottas had an incredible year, finishing on the podium six times, and resoundingly beating Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso and his teammate Felipe Massa in the driver's championship.
2015 and '16 was a continuation of this. Podiums were regular, but the win still eluded Valtteri, although this was about to change. Nico Rosberg's retirement opened the door for a new driver to partner Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes, and Bottas was the man chosen by Toto Wolff.
It took just 4 races driving for the Silver Arrows for the Finn to stand on the top step of the podium, in Russia, and two more wins would follow in what was a solid campaign. 2018 was a year to forget, as bad luck and some poor mistakes put his position at Mercedes under threat, but the new Flying Finn was back with a bang at the previous round in Australia. Perhaps 2019 will bring a fourth Finnish World Champion.
#3 - Keke Rosberg
Keke Rosberg's time in Formula 1 was short, (just nine seasons) but the original Flying Finn left a lasting impact on the sport. Rosberg was just the second Finn to compete in F1 but became the first world champion from the Nordic nation in 1982.
However, his path to a top team wasn't straightforward. Keke began for Theodore, and regularly changed teams, driving for Fittipalid, Wolf and ATS before earning a drive for Williams in '82. The 1982 season was one of the most competitive in the sport's history, featuring 11 winners in 16 races, and Rosberg was the most consistent, claiming his only driver's world title.
Rosberg possessed incredible car control; nobody could recover from a spin as impressively as Keke. Williams would relatively struggle in the following seasons, as their lack of a turbocharged engine hampered their overall race pace. 1985 was a return to Williams' form, but McLaren now had the fastest car, and Rosberg moved to the Woking team for his final season of Grand Prix racing. Sadly, though, an incredible season by Alain Prost, Williams' resurgence and bad luck meant that Rosberg would exit Formula 1 with a whimper, but he had a fine career in the sport.
#2 - Kimi Raikkonen
Leave him alone, he knows what he's doing.
The Iceman is another Finnish world champion, and Raikkonen is still going strong to this day. Kimi is one of the most popular drivers on the grid, as his hilarious radio conversations and his nonchalant attitude towards the media has earned him a lot of fans. On track, though, he's an incredible talent that has been thrilling us for nearly 20 years now.
An excellent debut season for Sauber in 2001 saw him move up the grid to McLaren for the following year. Ferrari were too strong in 2002, but '03 equalised the field and Kimi was just two points off his first driver's title. 2005 would be similar to two years prior -- a great season but not consistent enough to become world champion as Fernando Alonso was in the form of his life at this time.
His time at McLaren was a classic case of close, but no cigar, however, a move to Ferrari in 2007 would bear fruit.
Despite a huge points disadvantage going into the last two rounds of the '07 season, Raikkonen would come out on top in the end and become the first Ferrari champion after Michael Schumacher's retirement. The Scuderia's pace would fade for 2009, and Kimi was ousted in favour of Alonso for 2010.
A two-year hiatus saw him compete in the likes of both NASCAR and rallying, but Raikkonen couldn't stay away from F1 for long. A return to GP racing for Lotus in 2012 saw Kimi get two wins and another 13 podiums, before departing in less than polite terms. 2014 was the year Raikkonen returned to Ferrari, it's amazing how that came full circle! Although, he was comfortably beaten by both Alonso and Sebastian Vettel during his five years there.
Raikkonen's longevity is extremely impressive, if he sees out his contract at Alfa Romeo, he'll become the driver with the most ever F1 starts by the time he retires at the age of 41. Kimi is also one of just five men to have scored over 100 podiums and also has the second-most fastest laps of all-time. No matter what happens in his final years, the Iceman will go down as one of the best drivers of the 21st century.
#1 - Mika Hakkinen
The Finns have a word in their language "Sisu", which roughly translates as stoic determination and grit, a never say "die" attitude. Out of all the Finnish Formula 1 drivers, Mika Hakkinen is the man that probably personifies this term the most. The man was absolutely fearless, the great Michael Schumacher has said that Hakkinen was the only driver that he feared, and this isn't shown any better than the Finn's famous overtake on the German at Spa in the year 2000.
Hakkinen drove for the original Lotus team between 1991 and '92 and would regularly out-perform a struggling car to score points (back in the days when only the top 6 scored). Hakkinen made a move to McLaren for 1993, but he had to wait until late in the season for his racing debut. Mika made an immediate impact, out-qualifying Ayrton Senna on McLaren debut and finishing on the podium in Japan. McLaren would struggle in the coming years, but regulation changes for 1998 gave Adrian Newey the ideal opportunity to design a monster of a car. The MP4-13 was the class of the field and gave Mika the ideal opportunity to win his first title.
Hakkinen had just 1 win before '98, but he'd rack up 19 during his last four seasons in the sport as he won back-to-back titles in 1998 and 99. He's the only Finn to have won two driver's world titles, and one of those came from his direct competition against M Schumacher. Many say that Hakkinen retired too early, and I agree with that, although it's hard to see how he'd have won a third title during Ferrari's most dominant period.
Who do you think is the fastest flying Finn ever? Is it Hakkinen or someone else? Let us know in the comments below!
