Bottas backer confirms support for Ella Hakkinen
"Mika recently visited me to ask if it would be possible"
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.