TEAM BEHIND TUUKKA
JUSSI KOHTALA
The owner of Kohtala Sports - Jussi Kohtala - is responsible for all contract agreements in Tuukka. Jussi has 20 years of experience running his own team and his own successful 16-year career behind him.
AARO VAINIO
Aaro acts as Tuukka's mentor both on and off the track. Aaro will tour all the tests and competitions of the 2024 season alongside Tuuka. Driving, racing and working with the team are areas where Aaro supports Tuukka based on his own racing career and working as a race engineer.
CFA academy
CFAcademy, which operates in Seinäjoki Finland, has built an F1 level driving simulator for Tuukka. The chief architect of the simulator, Andy Symonds, is known for his multi-F1 teams driving simulator projects.
FLYING FINN ACADEMY
The Flying Finn Academy national team has been involved in Tuukka's coaching since 2019. Flying Finn Academy's coaching program has included e.g. Kimi Räikkönen, Valtteri Bottas, Heikki Kovalainen, Esapekka Lappi and Teemu Suninen.
FINNISH OLYMPIC COMMITTEE
Tuukka has been one of the athletes supported by the Finnish Olympic Committee's Top Sports Unit since 2023. The Ministry of Education and Culture also awarded Tuukka an athlete grant for the 2023 season.
R-ace GP
Tuukka drives for the French team R-ace GP in the Formula Regional Middle East Championship and Formula Regional European Championship series. The team was founded in 2011 and provides Tuukka with the equipment and team he needs. The team is owned by Thibaut de Merindol and Cyril Comte. Tuukka's race engineer is the experienced Thibaud Labalue. The team is used to success in recent years and F1 drivers such as Ocon, Gasly, Piastri, Sargeant and De Vries have all driven for the team in small formulas.
FERRARI DRIVER ACADEMY
The Ferrari Driver Academy is Scuderia Ferrari F1's young driver training programme, which aims to help and develop the talented young drivers of its own academy to further their careers. So far, four of the academy's former drivers have made it all the way to Formula 1. The most famous of them at the moment is Charles Leclerc. Tuukka Taponen has been a member of the academy since 2023. Other drivers in the academy include F2 driver Oliver Bearman, F3 driver Dino Beganovic and Formula Regional driver Rafael Camara. The academy also includes two girl drivers, Aurelia Nobels and Maya Weug, who will both compete in the F1 Academy series for women.