Mika Salo

Quick Facts

Full Name	Mika Salo
Occupation	Formula One Driver
Date Of Birth	Nov 30, 1966(1966-11-30)
Age	58
Birthplace	Helsinki
Country	Finland
Birth City	Uusimaa
Horoscope	Scorpio

Mika Salo Biography

Mika Salo is one of the most popular and richest Formula One Driver who was born on November 30, 1966 in Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland. Mika Juhani Salao, born 30 November 1966, is a former Finnish professional racing driver. Between 1994 and 2002, he competed in Formula One. His highest ranking was 10th in 1999’s world championship. He was in substitute for Michael Schumacher at Ferrari and raced six races, scoring two podiums. He won the GT2 class at the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.

After Ricardo Zonta was injured in a crash at the 1999 British Grand Prix, Salo took Ricardo’s place for three races while Zonta recovered. A greater opportunity presented itself when Michael Schumacher, who had broken his leg in a crash at the 1999 British Grand Prix, offered Salo a better chance. Salo was chosen to replace Eddie Irvine at Ferrari. Salo was the leader for part of the 1999 German Grand Prix race in Ferrari. He would have won a Grand Prix victory, but team orders required that he hand the lead over to Irvine. At the time, Mika Hakkinen was fighting for the title. As a gesture to show his gratitude, Irvine presented Salo with the victory trophy. He finished third at Monza ahead of Irvine. These podium finishes were crucial in Ferrari’s first Constructors title since 1983.

His first post-Formula One race came at the 2003 12 Hours of Sebring, driving the UK-entered Audi R8, the same car he was due to race at the 24 Hours of Le Mans if it had not run out of fuel already after the first hour. He raced in four CART races for PK Racing during the same year, his best finish being third in Miami in his second series start.

Because of his strong links with Ferrari he was picked up to be part of the development program of the Maserati MC12 GT racer. He made his FIA GT debut in 2004, narrowly losing the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in a Ferrari 575. After that he entered the last four races of the season in the Maserati, winning two races and finishing second once.

After racing in Japan for a few years, he was able to make his first Formula One race at the penultimate round in 1994. This was the final round in Japan for the ailing Lotus Team. For the final round of the season in Australia, he was retained. After the season ended, Salo moved to Tyrrell in 1995. He would spend three years with the team and score points many times. He finished the 1997 Monaco Grand Prix without stopping to refuel, and was fifth ahead of Giancarlo fisichella, who was faster. He did not have a full-time driver in 1999 despite a promising 1998 with Arrows.

Mika Salo Net Worth

Mika Salo is one of the richest Formula One Driver from Finland. According to our analysis, Wikipedia, Forbes & Business Insider, Mika Salo 's net worth $5 Million. (Last Update: December 11, 2023)

Helsinki-born Salo raced for Alan Docking Racing in the British Formula 3 Championship in 1989. Reynard Alfa Romeo was his package, but it wasn’t the best. He stayed with Alan Docking Racing until 1990, but he switched to a more competitive Ralt car and raced against Mika Hakkinen, his countryman and fierce rival, in Formula Three. He finished second to him. Salo was arrested in London for driving under the influence in 1990.

Salo traveled to Japan in 1991 to compete in the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship (now called Super Formula). Although his initial goal was to race in Europe’s Formula 3000, he didn’t receive enough funding. To drive in Europe, Salo would need a budget of between PS200,000 and PS500,000. He had already collected just a fraction more than PS200,000 so it was not enough to keep him competitive. Salo was able to secure a seat in Japan and also got paid for driving in AD Racing’s single-car team. Johnny Herbert, who raced in F1 in 1989 and raised the standard of the championship by driving in Japan at the same time as Salo, gave the Japanese Formula 3000 Championship in 1991 an increased status.

Salo was back full-time in 2000 with Sauber, taking 11th in the championship, although he left the team at the end of the season to join the new Toyota team in preparation for its Formula One entry in 2002, and also cited a desire to score podiums rather than lower points-scoring positions. He scored two points for Toyota in their first season, becoming the first driver since JJ Lehto at the 1993 South African Grand Prix to score points on a team’s debut by finishing sixth at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix. He retired from Formula One at the end of 2002, after surprisingly getting fired from Toyota (though it was later revealed that he was not on good terms with the team due to his deemed poor performance).

Height, Weight & Body Measurements

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Who is Mika Salo Dating?

According to our records, Mika Salo is possibily single & has not been previously engaged. As of December 1, 2023, Mika Salo’s is not dating anyone.

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In 2009, he joined the Risi Ferrari team at the blue-riband races only, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Petit Le Mans event, winning all three of them. Having won these enduro races all more than once, Salo felt he was ready for a new challenge. He set his mind on NASCAR, and had his first test with Michael Waltrip Racing at the half-mile New Smyrna Speedway in November 2009.

Facts & Trivia

Mika Ranked on the list of most popular Formula One Driver. Also ranked in the elit list of famous people born in Finland. Mika Salo celebrates birthday on November 30 of every year.

Since 2011, Salo has been hosting the Finnish TV-show, Virittäjät (‘Test Drive by Mika Salo’), along with his former co-host Tomi Tuominen, who is a Finnish journalist, television presenter, sports commentator and former co-driver in the WRC. At first, Salo tests the two cars built by the cars owners, on the Finnish Ahvenisto Race Circuit and present his initial thoughts of the vehicle. He would then proceed to make a quick time attack lap around the track and afterwards give feedback of the car to its owner. At the end of the show, Salo reviews the car with his co-host, Tomi Tuominen. In 2013, the shows format was changed a little for the third season. Now, instead of two cars per episode, Salo drives and reviews only one car, then races the car on the Alastaro Circuit to set a time which the car owner would have to beat. In the last episode of each season, Salo selects a winner out of all the competing cars and shortly explains why he believes that the car and its owner in question deserved to win. The show continues to follow this format to this day and the fifth season of the show was aired on TV, in 2015 and the 6th in 2016.