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Nov.19 (GMM) The billionaire who helped launch Valtteri Bottas’ career has confirmed he is also financing Ella Hakkinen – reinforcing that the 14-year-old McLaren junior has serious backing behind her rise.
Antti Aarnio-Wihuri, 85, told Iltalehti that he agreed earlier this year to support the daughter of two-time world champion Mika Hakkinen.
“Mika recently visited me to ask if it would be possible for me to help,” Aarnio-Wihuri revealed. “We decided that we also need to support female drivers. Mika has helped me before, so this is a kind of return service for him.”
Aarnio-Wihuri owns Wihuri Group, one of Finland’s biggest family-owned conglomerates – a familiar brand inside the F1 paddock.
He said the initial funding was a “fairly modest amount”, given Hakkinen is still at the start of her career, but noted he only backs a very small number of drivers.
The Finnish tycoon said he receives more than 50 funding requests every year from “future world champions”, but selects only a few.
Ella Hakkinen has raced karts under Czech and Monaco licences, reflecting her family roots, although Aarnio-Wihuri says she also speaks Finnish and displays the Finnish flag on her social media.
Her recent campaigns took place in the Champions Karting Academy series with a Czech licence.
