Aaro Vainio (born 2 October 1993) is a Finnish former racing driver who last competed in the 2019 GT World Challenge Europe. He previously competed in

GP3 Series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...

between 2011 and 2013. He currently acts as a mentor towards

Formula 3 Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

driver

Tuukka Taponen Tuukka Taponen (born 26 October 2006) is a Finnish racing driver who competes in the FIA Formula 3 Championship with ART Grand Prix. He previously competed in the 2024 Formula Regional European Championship with R-ace GP, finishing third overa ...

Career

Karting

Vainio enjoyed a successful

karting Kart racing or karting is a motorsport discipline using open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on full-size motor ...

career. He won the Finnish championship in 2007, and in 2008 he won the European KF3 Championship and the

Junior Monaco Kart Cup The CIK-FIA Monaco Kart Cup was a kart racing competition organised by the Automobile Club de Monaco, ACM and sanctioned by the CIK-FIA, taking place at the Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo. Founded in 1995, the event was contested until 2010 by ...

. In 2009 he was runner-up in the

CIK-FIA The Commission Internationale de Karting (CIK; English: International Karting Commission), also known as the CIK-FIA, is the primary governing body for international kart racing. Founded in 1962, it is one of seven World Championship commission ...

Karting World Championship The FIA Karting World Championship, officially known as the Mondokart.com FIA Karting World Championship for sponsorship reasons, is a kart racing competition organised by the CIK-FIA. Hosted annually since 1964, it is widely regarded as the ...

and was the European

KF1 KF1 was the top level of karting. It is open to drivers aged 15 and up. This class used to be called Formula A and has changed since January 2007 when CIK- FIA decided to replace the 100 cc water-cooled two-stroke engines with 125 cc Tou ...

Champion.

Formula Renault

In 2010, Vainio stepped up to

single-seater An open-wheel car is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

racing, driving for

Tech 1 Racing Tech 1 Racing is a racing team based in Toulouse, France. Founded in 2000 by racing driver Simon Abadie and his sister Sarah, it has garnered success in the World Series by Renault, the Eurocup Mégane Trophy and the GP3 Series, most notably ...

in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. He had been expected to be part of the

SG Formula SG Formula is a French auto racing team which participated in the junior categories of open wheel racing: Formula Renault and Formula Three. The team was founded in 2004 by Frenchman Stephane Guerin. History After its foundation in 2004, SG Form ...

team, but the team shut down. His manager was Nicolas Todt, son of FIA president

Jean Todt Jean Henri Todt (; born 25 February 1946) is a French motor racing executive and former rally co-driver. He was previously director of Peugeot Talbot Sport and then Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 team principal, before being appointed chief executi ...

and manager of

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

driver

Felipe Massa Felipe Massa (; born 25 April 1981) is a Brazilian racing driver, who competes in the Stock Car Pro Series for TMG Racing, TMG and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Riley Technologies, Riley. Massa competed in Formula One from to , and w ...

who had set a goal to get Vainio to Formula One in 2014. Vainio was also a candidate for the Ferrari Young Driver Academy, but was unsuccessful. During the season, he took five podium finishes in the last eight races and placed fourth in the standings. In the same year, he also competed in one round of the Formula Renault 2.0 UK Championship, where he finished ninth in race two. In 2012, he returned to Formula Renault machinery to contest three rounds of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, replacing the underperforming

Anton Nebylitskiy Anton Nikitovich Nebylitskiy ( rus, Анто́н Ники́тович Небыли́цкий, p=ɐnˈton nʲɪˈkʲitəvʲɪtɕ nʲɛbɨˈlʲitskʲɪj; born 11 October 1989, in Moscow) is a professional racing driver from Russia. Career Formula ...

. Despite a slow start where he qualified in last place and retired from race one in his first round, he took a podium in the final race of the season.

GP3 Series

For the 2011 racing season, Vainio moved into the

GP3 series The GP3 Series, or GP3 for short, was a single-seater motor racing series launched in 2010 as a feeder series for the GP2 Series, introduced by GP2 organiser Bruno Michel. GP3 followed the entire European leg of the Formula One series and the ...

with

. He achieved a podium finish in his third race but only scored points twice during the remainder of the season, ultimately finishing 15th in the standings. He remained in GP3 for 2012, moving to the Lotus GP team, where he took his maiden series win in the first ever GP3 race in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. He finished the season fourth in the standings, behind

António Félix da Costa António Maria de Mello Breyner Félix da Costa (born 31 August 1991) is a Portugal, Portuguese professional racing driver for the Porsche Formula E Team, TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team and the 2019–20 Formula E Championship, 2019–20 Formul ...

, teammate

Daniel Abt Daniel Johannes Abt (born 3 December 1992) is a German former racing driver. He is most notable for competing and winning races in Formula E with the Audi Sport ABT team. Previously, Abt raced in German Formula Three, GP3, and GP2, as well as ...

and champion

Mitch Evans Mitchell William Evans (born 24 June 1994) is a New Zealand professional racing driver. He currently (since 2016) drives for the Jaguar Racing, Jaguar TCS Racing team in Formula E. In 2012, he won the GP3 Series and he raced in the GP2 Serie ...

. In 2013, Vainio once again competed in GP3, this time for new team

Koiranen GP Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport, formerly also known as Koiranen bros. Motorsport and Koiranen GP, is a Finnish auto racing team based in Lahti, Finland. The team currently fields a one car entry in the LMP3 class of Asian Le Mans Series and Prototype ...

. This season was not as successful; despite winning two races, he left the series one round before the end and finished ninth in the standings.

GT racing

After a hiatus from racing, Vainio entered the 2017 Italian GT Championship in the Super GT Cup, competing for Vincenzo Sospiri Racing alongside compatriot Tuomas Tujula. The pair won their class. Vainio switched to

ADAC GT Masters The ADAC GT Masters is a grand tourer-based auto racing series founded by the international Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and supported by the German ADAC automotive club. Similar to an earlier ADAC GT Cup series in the 1990s, the new GT ...

for 2018, racing for

Team Rosberg Team Rosberg GmbH (currently competing as Rosberg X Racing) is a motor racing organisation that competes in single-seater and touring car disciplines in Europe. It was founded in 1994 by former Formula One world champion Keke Rosberg, of Finland ...

with

Michele Beretta Michele Beretta (born 22 October 1994 in Milan) is a racing driver from Italy. He currently competes in the European Le Mans Series. Career In 2023, Beretta returned to the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, taking part in the Gold Cup cla ...

. They scored points only twice during the campaign, finishing 37th overall and 17th in the Junior Cup. Vainio last competed in the 2019 GT World Challenge Europe season, driving for

R-Motorsport R-Motorsport was a Switzerland, Swiss motor racing team founded in 2015. The team raced Aston Martins as they are affiliated with the dealership in Canton of St. Gallen, Sankt Gallen; the only one in Switzerland. History Founded in late 2015, R-M ...

alongside

Hugo de Sadeleer Hugo de Sadeleer (born 16 July 1997) is a professional racing driver from Switzerland, formerly competing in the LMP2 category of the European Le Mans Series. Career Karting Born in Lausanne, Sadeleer began karting in 2009 at the age of twelve ...

. They finished 15th overall, but were runners-up in the Silver Cup, with two class wins and an additional five class podiums. The pair also entered the

2019 24 Hours of Spa Spa 24 Hours 2019 in Belgian motorsport, Spa 2019 Blancpain GT Series, Spa 2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge, 24 ...

with

Ricky Collard Ricky Collard (born July 30, 1996) is a British racing driver currently competing in the British GT Championship. He is the son of former BTCC driver Rob Collard and the grandson of Hot Rod racer Mick Collard. Early career Collard started his ...

and Ferdinand Habsburg, but they did not finish the race.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP3 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete ADAC GT Masters results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vainio, Aaro 1993 births Living people Sportspeople from Espoo Racing drivers from Uusimaa Finnish racing drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Finnish GP3 Series drivers World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers ART Grand Prix drivers ADAC GT Masters drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers Tech 1 Racing drivers Koiranen GP drivers Euronova Racing drivers Team Rosberg drivers R-Motorsport drivers Karting World Championship drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers