Interview
Tuukka Taponen on F3 learning curve, his desire to win and to show what he is capable of
Tuukka Taponen has mixed feelings about his 2025 season with ART Grand Prix, as while there have been positives, he admits he had hoped for more. However, he is still very confident in his goal of winning a Feature Race before the year’s end.
Through seven rounds, the Finnish rookie has had some impressive moments, which include two Sprint Race podiums in Sakhir and Monte Carlo.
In total, Taponen he has finished in the points on seven occasions, but he has also gone without scoring in the other seven races. This leaves him ninth in the Drivers’ Championship with 52 points, and speaking in Spielberg last month, he assessed his season so far.
“So far, it's been alright,” Taponen says. “It could be better, but I feel like I have done quite a good job and I am happy with the things that I have been doing so far.
“So far the results could have been a little bit better, but if I keep doing the same things, they will be really good at the end of the season.”
TAPONEN AND ART’S ISSUES
While Taponen says ART’s problems have not been because of one particular issue, he revealed that he and his teammates James Wharton and Laurens van Hoepen have struggled in the long runs.
Tyre degradation is something he admitted affected him in the Sakhir and Imola Feature Races, where he finished fourth in both, but struggled to stay close to the top three.
The 18-year-old is however happy with the improvements they have made in Qualifying.
“It was a bit similar in Bahrain and in Imola, I could not really stay with the others,” he explains. “But we have improved it, as well as the Qualifying performances. In Barcelona, we were quite fast in the qualifying.
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“Maybe we haven't shown our full potential in qualifying, but we have been improving. We are not aiming to do a mega step, instead we want little steps, because if we try to go from zero to hero, it can wrong quite quickly.”
HIS OWN LEARNING EXPERIENCE
Taponen is very clear in his goals, he wants to win races, so while the performances this year have not been what he wanted, he does not see it as purely a team issue, as he also put the blame on himself.
“It would obviously be nice for all of us to get a win, so we definitely need to find something as a team."
The Finn says he also has to continue improving if he and ART are to take that last step of competing for pole and in the Feature Races. He already feels he has learned quickly how to get up to speed on a Friday, but that there is still one more step missing.
“The amount of practice time we have, the number of laps we get is really limited,” says Taponen. “So that's where I have had to improve, to be on it straight away, to not take five or six laps to be there, but to be there on the second lap.
“All you have to do before that is prepare well for the weekend and know exactly what you have to do. That's the biggest thing I've learned since stepping up.
“But even with that, we are definitely missing that last step, and we need to get there. I want to get there because it's important for the future to get those Sunday podiums, even wins.
“It would obviously be nice for all of us to get a win, so we definitely need to find something as a team, even myself. I'm not saying I am doing a more than brilliant job, so we need to find this last little bit.
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“Qualifying at the front will be important to fight for those front positions on Sunday. If you qualify P10 and P9 you are up there in the Sprint, but not in the Feature.”
PROVING HIMSELF FOR FORMULA 3
Taponen is very experienced in all that motorsport has to offer, helped by the fact that he grew up in the environment with his father, who bought him his first kart at two years old, a rallycross driver.
The now 18-year-old says his father is not around the track giving him advice as he was back in his karting days when he would give him tips and also serve as a mechanic.
The ART rookie is thankful for those times especially as he went on to have a successful karting career, one that he is very proud of.
“Being in the top three three years in a row at the World Championships in karting is not easy,” says Taponen. “Finishing second, first, second is a result not many can do, and I can be proud of that.”
The Finn is also happy that he has carried that form over to single seater racing, proving to be competitive in every category he has entered, including the 2023 Formula Regional Middle East Championship, which he won.
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Taponen has not yet finished outside the top five in any junior formula Championship, and it is another statistic he wears as a badge of honour.
“I have been up there every season, in every Championship,” continues Taponen. “My lowest result in a championship is fifth, my highest is first. I kind of kept the same momentum from karting, doing good results.
"I want to show what I am capable off. I want to win a Feature Race, that's the main target, or at least get to the podium”
“Obviously, the goal is to win every championship but that's super difficult to do, I don't know if anyone has been able to do that. It's not easy, but I think if you look at the overall picture of my career, karting and formula, it's quite good.
“Winning Championships would help me a bit more, to be more in the picture or in the big paddock but I am doing the best I can every time.”
FERRARI BACKING AND 2025 GOALS
Through all of that success Taponen has had the support of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy (SFDA). He talked a lot about how they have helped him on and off the track, especially on a race weekend, where he can pick their brains.
The ART driver spoke about how the advice he has received from Jock Clear – Head of Ferrari’s Driver Academy – has helped him give him a “different picture” on things this season.
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Taponen also spoke about how much he enjoys working at Maranello, on both physical and mental aspects, and it is that hard work he is hopeful will give him the chance to achieve his goals in the final three rounds.
“I want to show what I am capable off. I want to win a Feature Race, that's the main target, or at least get to the podium,” he says. “It's really important to be there now, and everything will be down to the preparation for the weekend.
“Qualifying at the front will be important for that. I have been up there, twice I’ve been fourth, but I am not happy with that. Sometimes you need to accept that everyone cannot get up there, but we have a chance right now and we need to use it.”