Mika Salo could have easily been forgotten among the two Mikas after a hard-fought British Formula 3 championship in 1990, where he closely contested the title against his rival Mika Hakkinen. While the champion was signed by Lotus, Salo, despite his six wins, lacked sufficient backing to secure a ride in European F3000. It must have been disheartening for the unrestrained Salo, who had an impressive track record in karts and FF1600 in Scandinavia. Fortunately, he found a lifeline in Japan, testing and racing for Yokohama. Although his performance in the All-Japan F3000 championship wasn’t spectacular, his four-year stint in the Far East gave him substantial experience.
| Nationality | Finnish |
|---|---|
| Born | Mika Juhani Salo 30 November 1966 Helsinki, Finland |
This experience paid off when he got the opportunity to drive for Lotus in the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix, where he shone in poor weather conditions, finishing tenth without making any errors. This performance revived his career, and when Lotus closed its doors, Salo joined Tyrrell for the 1995 season. He made a sensational debut in Brazil, nearly earning points but for a bout of cramp, and generally outperformed his teammate Katayama throughout the season. Despite rough edges and questionable tactics, he managed three points-scoring finishes in the last six races.
Salo had the speed to climb higher in the Grand Prix ranks, but the 1996 season was challenging due to the fragility of the Yamaha engine. Locked into a three-year deal with Tyrrell, he was joined by Jos Verstappen in 1997. Although they had more reliable Ford engines, they lacked straight-line speed. Salo seized a chance to score points at Monaco, driving a brilliant non-stop race to finish fifth, highlighting his underutilised talent.
In 1998, Salo moved to Arrows to replace Damon Hill, finding himself in a similar situation with reliable but slow machinery. He managed a fourth-place finish at the 1998 Monaco Grand Prix but no other top-six finishes. When Pedro Diniz moved to Sauber with his sponsorship, Salo was replaced by Pedro de la Rosa and Toranosuke Takagi, both backed by substantial sponsorships. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise as Salo replaced Ricardo Zonta at BAR after Zonta’s injury. He finished one of his three races before stepping down, only to be quickly called back by Ferrari where he stood in for six races due to the injured Michael Schumacher.
This was Salo’s big chance, and he made a significant impression at the German Grand Prix, controlling the race before moving aside to let teammate Eddie Irvine win in his championship quest. Salo scored two podiums and contributed to Ferrari’s constructors’ championship win. His drive contributed to securing a seat at Sauber for the 2000 season, but he left after one season to help prepare the new Toyota F1 team, which would eventually debut on the grid in 2002.
He scored two points for Toyota in their debut season, becoming the first driver since JJ Lehto at the 1993 South African Grand Prix to score points in a team’s inaugural race by finishing sixth at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. He retired from Formula 1 at the end of 2002 after being fired by Toyota. Initially, the news was met with surprise, but it was later revealed that Salo had a strained relationship with the team, who criticised his performance as subpar.
During his Formula 1 career, Salo achieved two podiums and scored 33 championship points. Beyond F1, he went on to win the GT2 class in the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Mika Salo Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1994–2000, 2002 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Lotus, Tyrrell, Arrows, BAR, Ferrari, Sauber, Toyota |
| Entries | 111 (109 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 2 |
| Career points | 33 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1994 Japanese Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2002 Japanese Grand Prix |
Sources: Historicracing.com and Wikipedia.com
