Even without a Finnish driver on the Formula 1 grid for the first time in nearly five decades, Finnish fans can rest assured that they will still enjoy dedicated coverage of the sport.
With Valtteri Bottas ousted by Audi-Sauber, 2025 will mark the first full F1 season without Finnish representation since 1977. This ends an impressive run for a small nation that has produced stars like Keke Rosberg, Mika Hakkinen, and Kimi Raikkonen.
Despite this historic absence, Finnish broadcaster Viaplay will continue to deliver specialised Formula 1 coverage.
"F1 is experiencing an international renaissance, and the coming season will be exceptional in its starting points," Jussi Ranta, Viaplay Finland's head of sport, told Ilta Sanomat newspaper.
"Lewis Hamilton's transfer to Ferrari alone was one of the sport's biggest contract news stories ever, which raises the appeal of the upcoming season to a whole new level," Ranta explained.
He added that exciting new rookies, the conclusion of the current regulations era, and the popularity of innovations like sprint racing will keep the sport engaging for fans.
"In other words, the trend that was prevalent from the middle to the end of this season is only getting stronger," Ranta said. "As unfortunate as Bottas not being there is, it does not have a negative effect on the sport's popularity. Remember, Bottas' performance level at Sauber was already very modest."
However, Ranta admitted he hopes speculation linking Bottas to Cadillac for 2026 proves accurate.
"We welcome all interesting speculation, but at the same time we have to remember that there are plenty of rumours in this sport," he said. "But of course we would very much like to see Bottas return in the colours of Cadillac or another team." body check tags ::
