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Simo Laaksonen is the first driver to be confirmed as part of MP Motorsport’s 2019 line-up. Last season, the young racer from Finland finished his debut GP3 season on a high by claiming his first podium in the sprint race in Abu Dhabi. It was the culmination of an upward spiral that saw him take a string of points finishes in the previous two GP3 meetings at Monza and Sochi. The Finn now switches to MP Motorsport for the 2019 FIA Formula 3 season as he aims to continue his strong late-year form of 2018.
“I’m really happy to be joining MP for my first season in FIA F3”, said Laaksonen. “They were often the surprise package in GP3 last year, and I’m sure that together we are able to spring some more surprises in 2019. With the new F3 cars, it’s a level playing field for everyone again, so in our pre-season build-up we will be working hard to develop a front-running car.”
“We’ve kept an eye on Simo since he was among our opponents in the 2015 SMP NEZ F4 series”, said Sander Dorsman, MP’s team manager. “He’s developed strongly ever since. Last year, it was good to see him grow into a front-runner in the second part of the season, and we are looking forward to using that momentum and extracting the maximum from his capabilities.”
After stepping up from karts, Laaksonen opened his single-seater career with three seasons of Formula 4, resulting in a win, three podiums and a fastest lap in the 2015 French F4 championship, and a win and two podiums in the 2016 ADAC F4 series. Switching to Euroformula Open in 2017 resulted in two podium finishes and 6th in the final standings, before the Finn stepped up to GP3 in 2018.