23 Facts About Mika Salo

Mika Juhani Salo was born on 30 November 1966 and is a Finnish former professional racing driver.

Mika Salo competed in Formula One between 1994 and 2002.

Mika Salo's best ranking was 10th in the world championship in 1999, when he stood in for the injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for six races, scoring two podiums and contributing to Ferrari's constructors' championship win.

Mika Salo won the GT2 class in the 2008 and 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans.

In 1989, Helsinki-born Salo competed in the British Formula 3 Championship, racing for Alan Docking Racing.

Mika Salo raced with the Reynard Alfa Romeo package which was not the season's best.

In 1990, Mika Salo was caught driving under the influence in London.

Mika Salo was kept on for the season's finale in Australia.

Mika Salo was to spend three years with the team, scoring points several times.

BAR's first season was not successful but Mika Salo scored their best result of the year, with a seventh-place finish at San Marino.

Mika Salo was selected as his substitute to partner Eddie Irvine at Ferrari.

Mika Salo was back full-time in 2000 with Sauber, taking 11th in the championship, although he left the team at the end of the season to join the new Toyota team in preparation for its Formula One entry in 2002, and cited a desire to score podiums rather than lower points-scoring positions.

Mika Salo scored two points for Toyota in their first season, becoming the first driver since JJ Lehto at the 1993 South African Grand Prix to score points on a team's debut by finishing sixth at the 2002 Australian Grand Prix.

Mika Salo retired from Formula One at the end of 2002, after getting fired from Toyota.

Mika Salo raced in four CART races for PK Racing during the same year, his best finish being third in Miami in his second series start.

Mika Salo made his FIA GT debut in 2004, narrowly losing the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in a Ferrari 575.

For 2006, Mika Salo returned to racing full-time, signing with AF Corse in the FIA GT to drive the Ferrari F430 and later on in the year with Risi Competizione in the ALMS.

Mika Salo was victorious in class in the 24 Hours of Spa and finished third in the FIA GT2 Drivers' Championship with 61 points, while his efforts in the ALMS contributed to Risi's Teams' Championship cup.

Mika Salo raced again in the ALMS for Risi Competizione in 2008.

Mika Salo set his mind on NASCAR, and had his first test with Michael Waltrip Racing at the half-mile New Smyrna Speedway in November 2009.

Since 2011, Salo has been hosting the Finnish TV-show, Virittajat, along with his former co-host Tomi Tuominen, who is a Finnish journalist, television presenter, sports commentator and former co-driver in the World Rally Championship.

In 2013, Mika Salo featured in Discovery channel's program called Driven to Extremes along with Hollywood actors Tom Hardy and Adrien Brody.

Mika Salo appeared in two episodes, one with Tom Hardy in minus 50 degrees Celsius in Russia, and the other one with Adrien Brody to the Malaysian jungle at the height of the monsoon season.