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Tuukka Taponen

Tuukka Taponen (born 26 October 2006) is a Finnish racing driver who is set to compete in the 2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship with ART Grand Prix.[1] He previously competed in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship with R-ace GP, finishing third overall.[2]

Tuukka Taponen
Taponen in 2024
NationalityFinland Finnish
Born (2006-10-26) 26 October 2006 (age 18)
Lohja, Finland
Formula Regional European Championship career
Debut season2024
Current teamR-ace GP
Car number8
Starts20 (20 entries)
Wins4
Podiums7
Poles3
Fastest laps2
Best finish3rd in 2024
Previous series
2024
2023
2023
2023
2021–2022		FR Middle East Championship
Euro 4 Championship
Italian F4 Championship
Formula 4 UAE Championship
Formula Academy Finland
Championship titles
2024
2021		FR Middle East Championship
CIK Karting World Championship

Taponen is the 2024 Formula Regional Middle East champion and finished runner up in the 2023 F4 UAE Championship.[3] He is a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy.[4]

Career

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Karting

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Taponen started karting at the age of two, when his father Marko was a racer of jokkis or folkrace, a Finnish form of low-cost rallycross. As a boy, he watched videos of his father racing jokkis, and other motorsport.[5]

In 2017, he made his competitive karting debut in the native Finland, in the Finnish Junior Championship, in the Raket Class, which he won. He came third in the Finnish Championship OK Junior class the following year, and won the championship in 2019. The Finn also won again the 2020 edition and once more in 2021, in the OK category.[4][6]

Taponen made his CIK debut in the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy and came thirteenth in his class. He also joined Kohtala Sports for the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in the Junior class, and came seventeenth.

He joined Kohtala Sports for the 2019 CIK-FIA European Championship and the 2019 CIK-FIA World Championship in the OKJ classes, and finished fourth and thirty-third in them.

In 2020, Tuukka joined the Tony Kart team in the OK Junior category, and finished third in the CIK-FIA European Championship and runner-up in the CIK-FIA World Championship.[4][7] He made his OK debut in 2021, and in his first weekend in the class, he won the 2021 CIK-FIA World Championship at Campillos.[4] Taponen also won the WSK Open Cup in the same year as well, and at the end of the year he took part in the FDA Scouting World Finals but didn't win, and was instead put under special observation by Ferrari.[7][8][9]

Taponen had a second appearance in the FDA Scouting World Finals in 2022, which secured his place at the Ferrari Driver Academy.[10][11]

Formula 4

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Formula Academy Finland

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Taponen made his single-seater debut in the 2021 Formula Academy Finland for Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport, in a part time campaign, he took a double win at the debut in the Kymi Ring, and in 2022 he did another part time campaign and came sixth in the championship, remaining unbeaten in all the races he competed in.[12][13][14]

Formula 4 UAE Championship

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He made his first full time single-seater debut in the 2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship for Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited.[15] At his first race weekend in the Dubai Autodrome, Taponen got his first podium in the series in his second race, he also achieved another podium in the following race.

The second round in the Kuwait Motor Town only resulted in one third place which came in the second race, as he retired from the third race, but the next round in Kuwait Motor Town, was where he get his first win of the season in the second race.[16] Taponen collected his two maiden poles in the fourth round in Dubai Autodrome, and also got a clean sweep of wins in all three races.[17]

In the final round of the championship in the Yas Marina Circuit, he collected two final second-place finishes, but retired from the final race, as he finished second in the championship with 212 points, 4 wins and 2 pole positions. Although he didn't win the championship title, he won the rookie title instead.[18]

Italian F4 Championship

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Taponen at the Mugello Circuit in 2023.

For his full time Formula 4 campaign, he competed in the 2023 Italian F4 Championship for Prema Racing.[19]

His debut round in the Italian F4 Championship proved to be underwhelming compared to his peers, he struggled to find his footing and ended the first round at Imola with only four points, two ninth-place finishes in the first two races, at the last race he was running in twelfth, but was hit behind the safety car and retired from the damage.[20][21]

Misano was a much better improvement for the Finn, as he took his maiden pole position and was untouchable in the first race as he took his maiden win, and took a fourth and fifth-place finish in the next two races, bagging 47 points and propelling him to 5th place in the drivers' standings.[22] The third race is Spa-Francorchamps was a decrease in form, as Taponen only managed two seventh-place finishes in the first and third race. Monza was highlighted by a lone podium in the first race, as he retired from the second race after a tangle with Alfio Spina.[23]

At Paul Ricard he finished fifth in the first race, and climbed his way up to second place in the next race, he rounded off the final race with a third place.[24][25]

At Mugello, Taponen and fellow Prema Racing drivers struggled with pace, as in the first race Taponen was thought to have jumped the start, but had actually stalled on the grid and dropped to thirteenth. He recovered to ninth but after receiving a 10-second penalty, he dropped out of the points and into fifteenth place. In the next two races he scored consistent top-five finishes, but didn't finish on the podium.[26][27] The final round at Vallelunga was highlighted by a string of podiums, as he finished the season in 5th position with 196 points.

Taponen also contested the inaugural season of the Euro 4 Championship for Prema Racing.[28][29] He was consistent with points, and got his maiden podiums at the final round in Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, he finished the championship in 5th with 102 points.

Formula Regional

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Formula Regional Middle East Championship

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Taponen would make his racing debut in Formula Regional machinery in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship for R-ace GP, partnering Jesse Carrasquedo Jr. and Zachary David. During the season, Taponen would earn 255 points and 5 wins in a title battle with Formula 2 driver Taylor Barnard, and fellow Ferrari Driver Academy junior and FRECA driver Rafael Câmara.[30] He would claim the championship in race 1 of the fifth and final round.[31]

After winning the title, his teammates Jesse Carrasquedo Jr. and Zachary David would earn 0 and 112 points respectively, finishing 24th and 4th, with the latter being 143 points behind Taponen. He would win the rookie cup earning 315 points, 137 more than FRECA driver Ugo Ugochukwu and 143 more than FRECA driver James Wharton. He would also help his team R-ace GP to the team's championship trophy, the team collecting 312 points with the help of his teammates.

Formula Regional European Championship

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Taponen racing at the Hungaroring during the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship

Alongside his 2024 Formula Regional Middle East Championship campaign, Taponen will tackle the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship for his full-time campaign driving for R-ace GP, alongside Enzo Deligny and FRME teammate Zachary David.[2]

FIA Formula 3 Championship

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2024

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Taponen would make his FIA Formula 3 debut with ART Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, the Finn came 14th in the sprint race but retired in the feature.[32]

Taponen was the highest part time driver in the championship and finished 31st in the drivers standings.

2025

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In October 2024, Taponen was again recruited by ART, this time to contest the full 2025 FIA Formula 3 season with the French outfit.[1] He will be joined at the team by FRECA rival James Wharton and returning driver Laurens van Hoepen.

Formula One

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In 2023, Taponen joined the Ferrari Driver Academy after winning the FDA World Scouting Final.[10][11]

Karting record

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Karting career summary

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Season Series Team Position
2017 Finnish Junior Championship — Raket 1st
2018 Finnish Championship — OKJ 3rd
CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy 13th
Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals — Junior Kohtala Sports 17th
2019 Estonian championship — OKJ Hemet Racing 8th
Finnish Championship — OKJ Kohtala Sports 1st
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 23rd
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ 4th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ 33rd
WSK Final Cup — OKJ 18th
2020 Finnish Championship — OKJ Kohtala Sports 1st
WSK Super Master Series — OKJ 13th
WSK Euro Series — OKJ 5th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ Tony Kart Racing Team 3rd
CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ 2nd
WSK Open Cup — OK 4th
2021 Finnish Championship — OK Kohtala Sports 1st
WSK Champions Cup — OK Tony Kart Racing Team 4th
WSK Super Master Series — OK 4th
WSK Euro Series — OK 6th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OK 9th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OK 1st
Champions of the Future — OK 4th
WSK Open Cup — OK 1st
2022 WSK Super Master Series — OK Tony Kart Racing Team 4th
WSK Euro Series — OK 3rd
Champions of the Future - Winter Series — OK 4th
Champions of the Future - Euro Series — OK 12th
CIK-FIA European Championship — OK 11th
CIK-FIA World Championship — OK 2nd
CIK-FIA World Championship — KZ 9th


Racing record

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Racing career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2021 Formula Academy Finland Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport 2 2 ? ? ? ? ?
2022 Formula Academy Finland Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport 5 5 2 4 5 125 6th
2023 Formula 4 UAE Championship Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited 15 4 2 2 10 212 2nd
Italian F4 Championship Prema Racing 21 1 1 0 7 196 5th
Euro 4 Championship 9 0 0 0 2 102 5th
2024 Formula Regional Middle East Championship R-ace GP 15 5 5 7 9 255 1st
Formula Regional European Championship 20 4 3 2 7 198 3rd
Macau Grand Prix
FIA Formula 3 Championship ART Grand Prix 2 0 0 0 0 0 31st
2025 FIA Formula 3 Championship ART Grand Prix

* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Pos Points
2023 Mumbai Falcons Racing Limited DUB1
1
9 		DUB1
2
2 		DUB1
3
2 		KMT1
1
6 		KMT1
2
3 		KMT1
3
Ret 		KMT2
1
3 		KMT2
2
 1 		KMT2
3
34 		DUB2
1
 1 		DUB2
2
1 		DUB2
3
 1 		YMC
1
2 		YMC
2
2 		YMC
3
Ret 		2nd 212

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points
2023 Prema Racing IMO
1
9 		IMO
2
9 		IMO
3 		IMO
4
28† 		MIS
1
1 		MIS
2
4 		MIS
3
5 		SPA
1
7 		SPA
2
18 		SPA
3
7 		MNZ
1
3 		MNZ
2
27† 		MNZ
3
17 		LEC
1
4 		LEC
2
2 		LEC
3
3 		MUG
1
15 		MUG
2
4 		MUG
3
5 		VLL
1
2 		VLL
2
2 		VLL
3
3 		5th 196

Complete Euro 4 Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 DC Points
2023 Prema Racing MUG
1
8 		MUG
2
18 		MUG
3
8 		MNZ
1
Ret 		MNZ
2
6 		MNZ
3
5 		CAT
1
5 		CAT
2
3 		CAT
3
3 		5th 102

Complete Formula Regional Middle East Championship results

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(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 12 13 14 15 DC Points
2024 R-ace GP YMC1
1
2 		YMC1
2
6 		YMC1
3
4 		YMC2
1
1 		YMC2
2
4 		YMC2
3
1 		DUB1
1
2 		DUB1
2
7 		DUB1
3
2 		YMC3
1
2 		YMC3
2
5 		YMC3
3
1 		DUB2
1
1 		DUB2
2
5 		DUB2
3
1 		1st 255

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2024 R-ace GP HOC
1
2 		HOC
2
9 		SPA
1
13 		SPA
2
5 		ZAN
1
1 		ZAN
2
6 		HUN
1
1 		HUN
2
1 		MUG
1
1 		MUG
2
4 		LEC
1
5 		LEC
2
Ret 		IMO
1
2 		IMO
2
Ret 		RBR
1
12 		RBR
2
Ret 		CAT
1
2 		CAT
2
Ret 		MNZ
1
9 		MNZ
2
Ret 		3rd 198


Complete Macau Grand Prix results

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Year Team Car Qualifying Quali Race Main race
2024   R-ace GP Tatuus F3 T318 TBD TBD TBD

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

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(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 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points
2024 ART Grand Prix BHR
SPR
 BHR
FEA
 MEL
SPR
 MEL
FEA
 IMO
SPR
 IMO
FEA
 MON
SPR
 MON
FEA
 CAT
SPR
 CAT
FEA
 RBR
SPR
 RBR
FEA
 SIL
SPR
 SIL
FEA
 HUN
SPR
 HUN
FEA
 SPA
SPR
14 		SPA
FEA
Ret 		MNZ
SPR
 MNZ
FEA
 31st 0
2025 ART Grand Prix BHR
SPR
 BHR
FEA
 MEL
SPR
 MEL
FEA
 IMO
SPR
 IMO
FEA
 MON
SPR
 MON
FEA
 CAT
SPR
 CAT
FEA
 RBR
SPR
 RBR
FEA
 SIL
SPR
 SIL
FEA
 SPA
SPR
 SPA
FEA
 HUN
SPR
 HUN
FEA
 MNZ
SPR
 MNZ
FEA
 TBD TBD
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References

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  1. ^ a b "Tuukka Taponen steps up to Formula 3 with ART Grand Prix for 2025". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 8 October 2024. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  2. ^ a b Wood, Ida (7 December 2023). "Ferrari junior Tuukka Taponen steps up to FRegional with R-ace GP". Formula Scout. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  3. ^ "HOME". Tuukkataponen. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d "Ferrari Driver Academy Driver - Tuukka Taponen".
  5. ^ "Scout Report: Tuukka Taponen". 13 September 2023.
  6. ^ Wood, Ida (26 December 2020). "The top karting stars of 2020". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b Wood, Ida (28 June 2021). "Mercedes junior Antonelli part of Ferrari Driver Academy scouting camp". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  8. ^ Gascoigne, Roger (8 November 2021). "Bearman and Camara signed by Ferrari Driver Academy for 2022". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  9. ^ Wood, Ida (26 December 2021). "The top karting stars of 2021". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  10. ^ a b Wood, Ida (18 October 2022). "Four F4 racers and two karters selected for Ferrari's World Scouting Final". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b Wood, Ida (15 November 2022). "Finnish F4 star Tuukka Taponen joins the Ferrari Driver Academy". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  12. ^ Wood, Ida (12 June 2022). "World Karting champion Tuukka Taponen takes triple win on F4 return". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  13. ^ Wood, Ida (1 January 2023). "The Formula 4 title battles you might have missed in 2022". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  14. ^ Wood, Ida (17 April 2023). "Who to look out for in Italian Formula 4's 10th season". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Red Bull's Lindblad leads cluster of new entries for F4 UAE". 29 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Taponen takes his first F4 UAE win in Kuwait race two". February 2023.
  17. ^ "Taponen earns clean sweep of F4 wins at Dubai". 12 February 2023.
  18. ^ "Wharton wins title in dramatic finale: 4 takeaways from F4 UAE Round 5". 20 February 2023.
  19. ^ Wood, Ida (19 December 2022). "New Ferrari junior Tuukka Taponen joins Prema for Italian F4". Formula Scout. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Italian F4 notes from Imola: Lindblad on top after a spectacular weekend". 4 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Red Bull junior Lindblad takes Italian F4 lead with victory in Imola final". 23 April 2023.
  22. ^ "Italian F4 notes from Misano: Can anyone match Arvid Lindblad?". 25 May 2023.
  23. ^ "Lindblad holds off Sztuka for second straight Italian F4 win at Monza". 25 June 2023.
  24. ^ "Sztuka doubles up at Paul Ricard with Italian F4 race two win". 23 July 2023.
  25. ^ "Last lap fuel drama for Wharton hands Sztuka Italian F4 hat-trick". 23 July 2023.
  26. ^ "Prema's Italian F4 drivers admit to pace struggle at Mugello". 2 October 2023.
  27. ^ "Sztuka gets his fourth Italian F4 win in a row to close in on Lindblad". 30 September 2023.
  28. ^ "New Euro 4 championship to complement Italian Formula 4 season". RACEWEEK. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  29. ^ "R01 Mugello - Euro4 Championship Race Preview". Prema Racing. 6 July 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2023.
  30. ^ Wood, Ida (18 February 2024). "Taponen ends FRegional Middle East season with another win". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  31. ^ Gascoigne, Roger (17 February 2024). "Taponen cruises to FRME title with commanding victory in Dubai". Formula Scout. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  32. ^ Gascoigne, Roger (25 July 2024). "Taponen to make F3 debut at Spa as ART GP's Tsolov stand-in". Formula Scout. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
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