HS Commitment of the Year Many young men would exchange parts with Tuukka Taponen, 15, even if the money came back clogged – “Ferrari keeps an eye on me”

Karting The toughest young drivers in the world compete in the OK Senior class. The series is a typical springboard for teenagers who dream of running one day in the royal class of motorsport, formula one.

In the eyes of young people, there is a fabulous world where cars are fast, flashes are bright and fans are loud.

Adrenaline-filled race weekends, champagne-filled parties and social circles. Private Machines and Pleasure Boats. The life of an F1 driver is great in every way.

However, the same mood of the big world is already being seen in the karting depot. 15-year-old Tuukka Taponen has made its way to the top of the sport with hard work and driving skills, but not everyone’s route has been the same.

Read more: Tuukka Taponen, 15, made Finnish motorsport history and won the World Cup gold go-kart with a superior performance

The reason there is money for this, of course.

“Some people here in the depot fly to the Games with their own jets,” says Taponen.

“Money can show up in clothes and also in behavior. Many different people can walk alongside – the wearer of a helmet, the eater of food and whatever. If there is so much money, it’s like just bringing a group. ”

There are no lavish parents in Taponen’s home who have blamed their son for the fun.

“Our family is not the richest end. We’ve gotten to this point with a small amount of money compared to many, many more here in the depot. My driving skills have also helped. ”

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“There are many different people on the side – the wearer of a helmet, the eater of food and whatever.”

One the taping season costs more than 200,000 euros for Taponen. The exact expenses mainly depend on how many Finns drive formula tests in F4 cars during the year.

“One day of testing abroad can cost 10,000 euros, so it suddenly becomes 100,000 full,” he calculates.

In the best teams in the F4 class, the annual budget is in the order of half a million, and from then on, money is always demanded twice as much. One million euros are needed in F3 and more than two million in F2.

“Delivery of goods, cars, engineers, mechanics, data analysis, tire sets, petrol, track charges, hotels, flights, rental cars … There is so much of everything where money goes,” Taponen lists.

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“Not all companies can even get involved when this is polluting.”

Sponsors finding it during the Korona period has been challenging. One of the reasons why Taponen continues to go karting even after the World Championship is that the background team has a year more time to raise funding for the little formulas.

“I have about 50 sponsors right now, but that’s not enough for anything in the future. More money and big partners are needed in the future, ”he says.

“However, this is motorsports, so not all companies can even get involved when this is polluting.”

At a younger age, Taponen has also gathered his own partners. At the time, he briskly picked up the phone and called numerous companies.

Today, a case manager Jussi Kohtala take care of the contacts because the amounts of money required are already starting to be large and the driver’s time is simply no longer enough.

Not even with money of course you can’t get anywhere. Driving and succeeding in the best teams is a prerequisite for Taponen’s career to progress at all.

The plan of the Finnish promise is to move to larger classes every two years to drive. With that in mind, he will jump into the F4 series in 2023, and at a steady pace, F1 would expect in 2029.

Calm progress helps to accumulate cash, but Taponen also aims to achieve success in every class.

“Many others are trying to move forward with money as quickly as possible. At some point when you’re not ready to drive in the next class, the journey is full, ”he knows.

Taposen the 2022 season kicked off last week with the first tests of the year. He is currently testing his equipment with his team Tony Kart Racing in Italy.

When talking to Taponen on the phone, there is hard work in the background. There is a lot of noise in the stable, as you have not left for a holiday in Italy. Even a warmth is only five degrees.

The young man’s upcoming season consists of 17 competitions. He mainly drives in the OK class, but also competes in the European Championships and the World Championships in the KZ class car. In the F4 car, he plans to drive tests as usual and maybe a couple of races.

Last year, Taponen was on a trip for as many as 270 days a year. Similar readings are likely to be reached again this year.

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“In two weeks, I did all the school chores I had accumulated in a couple of months.”

Competitions and in addition to the tests, Taponen is available to its partners at their own events and at various trade fairs and events. This, too, increases the rush of everyday life.

Taponen, who is in ninth grade, attends Laurentius School in Lohja. There are enough distant days. Reconciling school to the side of travel is a time-consuming challenge.

“It’s hard. Sometimes there are races on consecutive weekends and then Monday is free. Then you should rest, possibly with a little sports and do more school stuff, ”he says.

“Last year, I did so for a couple of months without doing any tasks. When I arrived in Finland at the beginning of December, I did all the school chores that had accumulated in a couple of months in two weeks. They have to be taken care of, but it’s not easy. ”

In the process as the teachers go through the history and mother tongue lessons of the young driver, a large number of motorsport professionals are helping on the track at Taposta.

In addition to Jussi Kohtala, his background is influenced by, among other things Ossi Oikarinen, Tommi Pärmäkoski, Jaakko Ojaniemi and Andy Symonds.

Oikarinen, who is also familiar from Core’s F1 studio, has helped Tapo work with a race engineer, for example, while Pärmäkoski and Ojaniemi have been responsible for developing physical fitness.

Symonds developed a common simulator for Finland’s top young drivers, with which they can practice, for example, F4 tracks before traveling to the race venues. Practicing with a simulator makes sense anyway when the actual test days are so expensive.

In autumn Taponen, who has been crowned world karting champion, has already received offers from F4 stables. In addition, he received an invitation in October to a test camp at the Ferrari Driver Academy.

The place at the academy has not yet been vacated, although Taponen drove well. The choice this time was aimed at 16-year-olds To Oliver Bearman and Rafael Chaves Camaraan.

In any case, the visit left a good mood for Taponen. The decision to continue karting had been made before the Ferrari camp.

“There is a new company again this year. Ferrari is keeping an eye on me this season. Things are still going well, ”says Taponen.

With 2029 years of promise for the F1 debut, it is clear that there will still be many setbacks. Anything can happen in seven years, and complete performance doesn’t necessarily guarantee a place in an F1 car.

Formula access to ones is mathematically unlikely for anyone. Taponen is realistic about the facts, but at the same time confident.

“Yeah Al that sounds pretty crap to me, Looks like it aint for me either. The percentage is very small. At this stage, however, in addition to success, there are already so many knowledgeable people in the background that I still consider it entirely possible, ”he says.

If the F1 dream doesn’t come true, Taponen says GT cars are another option for a racing career. He could also imagine becoming a motorsport coach. Building your own team is not out of the question either.

Soon, however, Taponen finds that he is already listing alternatives that are ultimately completely secondary to him. No steering wheel can be set aside very easily from the driver’s seat.

“However, driving is the number one thing.”