Tuukka Taponen: ‘I’ve never been more motivated’ as 2026 season approaches

Tuukka Taponen is keeping busy over the winter break as he undertakes preparations for the upcoming FIA Formula 3 season.

The Finn ended up ninth in the Drivers’ Championship last year but is targeting much more as he switches to MP Motorsport for 2026.

Speaking ahead of winter testing, Taponen explained why his motivation has never been higher following an unorthodox off season.

“I haven't been with MP so much over the winter, to be honest, because I've been in Finland doing military service with the Army.

“So, I started in October, and I'm still doing it until end of March, so I've been quite busy here.

“But, this weekend I will go to MP to start to prepare the season and the pre-season test, and to come back to the basics.”

READ MORE

• 2026 FIA Formula 3 Season: Everything you need to know about Calendar, Drivers and Teams
• Bridging the gap: MP Motorsport Season Preview

Whilst he has been undertaking his military service, physical preparation has been covered off but the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy member says it’s the mental aspect of it that has been hugely impacted.

Already going into 2026 with a renewed sense of optimism and drive, Taponen says the off-season has helped motivate him to achieve even greater results as he chases his maiden F3 victory, something he’s confident of accomplishing this time around.

“I've been doing a lot of things, which I need to do. Okay, it's quite hard mentally and physically as well, so I feel like I'm very well prepared for the season.

“I've never been so motivated as I am now, because things we do in the army is not so fun, it is tough. So when I get out of there in the car, I will enjoy it a lot more than usual.

“Last year wasn't so easy. It was quite tough for me. I managed to finish second, third, even fourth. But yeah, trying to get that first win this year will be very important. And I think I have a high chance of that this season.”

Taponen will be travelling to MP to begin his preparations ahead of the pre-season testing and he’s raring to get going again with optimism about how he and the team are shaping up for the campaign.

“I have my seat fit coming up, just to make sure I’m all comfortable in the car and then I have some sim with the team.

“Post-season testing went quite well. We were testing a lot of things, because basically the basics are very good, and MP didn’t need to focus too much to find the basics. So we were trying different things, and I felt quite comfortable with them.

“Looking at some lap times, which is not so relevant in the testing, it still looked very good. Every time we were on track, we were quite good, compared to other teams.

“As I said, I'm very highly motivated right now. The last few months have taught me a lot of new things, and I'm more than ready to start the season.”