Tuukka Taponen drove on the podium three times during the final weekend of the F4 season.
The first throughout Finland, driving in formula series Tuukka Taponen next season will move up from the F4 series to the tougher Formula Regional (FRECA).
Taponen’s case manager told Sanoma about the matter Jussi Kohtala. Next season’s team is not yet known, but according to Kohtala, F4 will definitely be behind.
“All the top teams in Regional since Prema have been interested in Tuuka. The plan is to be in a successful team next season. I won’t say if there are names on the paper yet, but things will become clear when the teams inform about them,” Kohtala said on Tuesday.
The Italian F4 season ended last weekend in Vallelunga on the outskirts of Rome. The weekend of three starts was a good success for Tapose: two second places and a third place put him fifth in the final points of the series. In the newcomers’ series, Taponen was second straight away from Britain By Arvid Lindblad after.
The championship of the series was won by Poland Kacper Sztukawho won no fewer than eight of the last nine starts of the season.
I kill was on the podium five times in his last nine starts and improved his stock after a rocky start to the season. Although the season’s only victory in the Italian F4 series came in the spring at Misano, the early season as a whole was colored by difficulties.
“The team made mistakes, there were problems with the car and Tuukka also made driving mistakes. Sometimes it was difficult, and Tuukka tried many ways to fix the situation. He also tried to change his natural driving style to suit the car, but that only made things worse. The whole time, Tuukas just felt that the car wasn’t going as fast as it should.”
The self-critical Taponen studied his driving carefully during the difficult moments of the season, and the rest of the season was indeed a march of success.
In the end, the engine of Taponen’s Prema racer was changed before the races run on the Paul Ricard circuit in July. The going improved immediately: two prizes and a fourth place were brought from Le Casellet. The rest of the season went well.
At the same time, Taponen’s shares in the negotiations for next season’s team place improved significantly.
“It’s always easier to negotiate with teams when you don’t have to explain. There is no need to say that the garage was wrong or the car was wrong, Tuukka drove out and so on. The results told about what was already seen last spring-winter in the Middle East series. Tuukka’s speed had not disappeared anywhere.”
I kill excelled at the beginning of the year in the UAE F4 series, where mostly the same teams and drivers competed. He was the second and best newcomer in the overall points – this time clearly ahead of Lindblad.
If and when Taponen’s team’s plan comes to fruition, next season he will drive both the Middle East and European series of Formula Regional – i.e. the same race calendar as in F4. FRECA cars are several seconds faster than F4 cars and technically closer to the F3 class.
Although Kohtala does not agree to reveal Taponen’s team for next season, he says that the team’s competitiveness and Taponen’s position within the team are key factors. Among others, negotiations have also taken place with the Finnish KIC Motorsport, although KIC was not among the leading teams in the series.
Tuukka Taponen’s prize cabinet was already bulging a year ago, when IS visited the Taponen family’s home. There has been a lot of extra stuff on the shelves this year.
KIC drove a girl driver from the Ferrari academy last season Maya Weugia, who, especially in the middle of the season, shone by placing in the top 10 several times. He collected all 27 points of the team during the season.
“Weug was at a great pace and it hurt. KIC rocked a lot during the season. We have not ruled out that the Finnish team would have a Finnish driver”, Kohtala flashes.
In addition to Taponen’s FRECA contract, which will soon be 17 years old, a continuation at Ferrari’s driver academy is also open every year. Kohtala does not agree to undermine his protégé’s situation in the Italian giant’s academy.
“After every race, we go over the good and bad sides of the race with them. Let’s see if Tuukka’s season is enough to continue or not. It will be clear when they publish their own stuff”, Kohtala is content to say.
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