OBSCURE F1 A-Z: JJ LEHTO

In this 26 part series of posts I will be going through the alphabet and for each letter, a profile piece on an obscure driver - some you may have heard of before some you may never knew even sat in an F1 car let alone raced one. I have chosen a driver for each letter choosing them based on their surnames.

Lehto is one of nine drivers to race in Formula One from Finland - current drivers from Finland include 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen and multiple race winner Valtteri Bottas. Finland as a country has achieved great things within the world of F1 with multiple World Champions including Hakkinen, Keke Rosberg and the for-mentioned Raikkonen. Lehto first made an appearance in F1 in 1989 and raced up until 1994 before moving on to different racing series.

Lehto raced for four teams in the six years he raced in F1 including Onyx, Scuderia Italia, Sauber and Benetton. Making his debut in an Onyx car at the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix a race in which he failed to qualify which meant he was not involved in the race. This was the first of 70 races the Finnish national entered, Lehto started just 62. Lehto's F1 career stats look as follows;

0 Fastest Laps

0 Pole Positions

10 Career Points

1 Podium - 1990 San Marino Grand Prix, 3rd Place

0 Race Wins

Lehto made his final F1 appearance at the 1994 Australian Grand Prix where he finished a respectable 10th place in his Sauber and just two laps down on eventual race winner Nigel Mansell.