ELLA HAKKINEN Lands Major Backing From Billionaire Who Launched Bottas Career

November 19, 2025

• Finnish billionaire Antti Aarnio-Wihuri, who helped launch Valtteri Bottas’ career, has confirmed he’s backing 14-year-old ELLA HAKKINEN as part of his commitment to supporting female drivers. The Wihuri Group owner told Iltalehti that Mika Hakkinen personally approached him for support, and he agreed to help his daughter’s racing career as both a return favor and investment in women’s motorsport.
• Despite receiving over 50 funding requests annually from aspiring “future world champions,” Aarnio-Wihuri is highly selective and backs only a few drivers. His support for ELLA represents “fairly modest” initial funding given her early career stage, but comes from someone with proven track record of identifying talent – having previously supported Bottas to F1 success.
• ELLA has been competing in the Champions Karting Academy series under a Czech licence, though she maintains Finnish connections through language and social media presence. As a McLaren junior driver with multi-national racing background (Czech and Monaco licences reflecting family roots), she’s building a foundation that could benefit from Aarnio-Wihuri’s strategic motorsport investment approach.

champions karting academy, fia karting, finnish motorsport, mclaren