Joonas Lappalainen

Joonas Lappalainen is a Finnish racing driver with a diverse background in karting and various formula and touring car series. Born on March 1, 1998, in Helsinki, Finland, Lappalainen began his racing journey at a young age, karting since he was three years old and entering his first race around the age of six or seven.. He demonstrated early success, winning the CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy in 2012, a series where drivers from different countries compete with similar equipment, highlighting driver skill.

Lappalainen transitioned to single-seaters, competing in Formula Ford and Formula Renault championships in the Nordic region. In 2014, he secured titles in both the Formula Renault 1.6 Nordic and North European Championship. Moving to touring cars, he entered the Audi Sport TT Cup in Germany in 2015, using the first season to learn the ropes before ultimately winning the championship in 2016. He stood on the podium 11 times out of 14 races in that season.

Following his Audi Sport TT Cup victory, Lappalainen aimed to progress further in his racing career, with aspirations to race in GT series or even DTM. In 2017, he joined Cart In Club Driving Academy to drive an Audi RS 3 LMS in select rounds of the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship (STCC). Throughout his career, Lappalainen has shown adaptability and a consistent drive to improve, making him a notable talent in the racing world. He has 16 wins, 37 podiums and 10 pole positions as of March 2025.