Countries have often been converted to Formula One after one of their countrymen has succeeded in the sport. This was certainly the case with Finland, which for decades had been interested only in rallying (a sport of road-based cars racing against the clock, rather than wheel-to-wheel, through forest tracks and closed roads). The Finns became alerted to Formula One’s existence when Keke Rosberg won the 1982 World Championship.
By the time Rosberg’s protégé Mika Hakkinen won his two world titles in 1998 and 1999, the Finns were fervent followers, trailing their national flags to circuits around the world. Since Hakkinen’s retirement they now have a new hero in the form of Kimi Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso has turned Spain onto F1 in a big way and Michael Schumacher’s success transformed F1 in Germany from a minority interest sport to something that virtually every man in the street is aware of.
By the time Rosberg’s protégé Mika Hakkinen won his two world titles in 1998 and 1999, the Finns were fervent followers, trailing their national flags to circuits around the world. Since Hakkinen’s retirement they now have a new hero in the form of Kimi Raikkonen. Fernando Alonso has turned Spain onto F1 in a big way and Michael Schumacher’s success transformed F1 in Germany from a minority interest sport to something that virtually every man in the street is aware of.
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