William Alatalo

William Alatalo
William Alatalo
	Alatalo at the Red Bull Ring in 2022
Nationality	Finnish
Born	19 April 2002 (age 22); Ilmajoki, Finland
FIA Formula 3 Championship career
Debut season	2022
Racing licence	FIA Silver
Former teams	Jenzer Motorsport
Starts	18 (18 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	18th in 2022
Previous series
2021; 2020; 2018-19; 2017	FR European Championship; Formula Renault Eurocup; Italian F4 Championship; Formula STCC Nordic

William Alatalo (born 19 April 2002) is a Finnish-Ethiopian^[1] racing driver from Ilmajoki currently competing in the Italian GT Championship with Lazarus Corse. He most recently raced for Jenzer Motorsport in the FIA Formula 3 Championship.^[2]

Career

Karting

Alatalo started karting in 2009. He had a successful karting career winning the Finnish championship in Cadet (2010), Raket (2014) and OKJ classes (2016).

Formula STCC Nordic

In 2017, Alatalo made his single-seater debut in Formula STCC Nordic with Kart In Club Driving Academy. Alatalo won one race at Anderstorp and finished the season 5th with 142 points.

Italian F4 Championship

Alatalo moved to the Italian F4 Championship for 2018 where he spent two years driving for Mücke Motorsport.^[3] The two seasons in Italy netted him one win and another podium finish in 42 races.

Formula Renault Eurocup

In 2020 Alatalo contested the Formula Renault Eurocup driving for JD Motorsport.^[4] He achieved two podiums and a pole position during the season and finished 8th in the standings with 92 points.

Formula Regional European Championship

2021

Alatalo racing in the 2021 Formula Regional European Championship

The following year, Alatalo moved to Arden Motorsport, partnering Alex Quinn and Nicola Marinangeli in the Formula Regional European Championship.^[5] His campaign proved to be consistent, with Alatalo finishing every race and being outside of the top ten on only seven occasions. The Finn's best result would end up being a third place at the Circuit Paul Ricard, and he finished the season in eleventh place, two positions behind Quinn.

2022

Alatalo was called up to replace Santiago Ramos at the season finale in Mugello with KIC Motorsport, a month after the final round of Alatalo's F3 season.^[6]

FIA Formula 3 Championship

Alatalo driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2022 Spielberg Formula 3 round

In 2022 Alatalo made the step-up to the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Jenzer Motorsport, having taken part in a number of test days with the Swiss team in the winter. Upon the announcement of his signing, Alatalo commented that this move brought him "one step closer to [his] dream".^[7] He managed to score a points in the first feature race at Bahrain, and followed that up with another point in the next feature race in Imola, benefiting from a penalty for Ollie Bearman. The Finnish driver then went on a points-scoring drought lasting five races, until he managed to collect four points in tricky weather conditions at the Red Bull Ring. Two point-less races in Budapest would come before a fruitful weekend at Spa: there, Alatalo took points in both races, ending up sixth on Saturday and seventh in the feature race. Despite this, a mistake at the restart of the sprint race, where he went into the gravel and lost four positions, cost him a chance at a higher position, which Alatalo took full blame for and described as having been "quite rubbish".^[8] A disappointing round at Zandvoort followed, where the Finn caused a premature end to qualifying after a crash in turn 3, but he would score a best qualifying result of seventh in the final round at Monza, which he called "a good way to end the last qualifying of the season".^[9] Alatalo had more points than either his teammates Ido (2 pts) or Malvestiti (0 pts), scoring 24 points and thus finishing 18th in the standings.

Personal life

Alatalo goes to school at Kuortaneen urheilulukio.^[4]

Alatalo was born to a Finnish father, Markku, and an Ethiopian mother, Mini. He has a younger brother, Daniel.^[10]

Karting record

Karting career summary

Season	Series	Team	Position
2013	Finnish Cup — Raket		5th
2014	Rotax Max Challenge Finland — Mini Max		26th
2014	Finnish Junior Championship — Raket		1st
2015	South Garda Winter Cup — KFJ	Mad-Croc Karting	DNF
	Göteborgs Stora Pris — KF3		7th
	Finnish Cup Championship — KFJ		7th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — KFJ		46th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — KFJ		28th
2016	WSK Champions Cup — OKJ	Mad-Croc Karting	32nd
	South Garda Winter Cup — OKJ		NC
	X30 Challenge Europa — X30 Junior		23rd
	Finnish Championship — OKJ		1st
	German Karting Championship — OKJ		46th
	WSK Super Master Series — OKJ	Mad-Croc Karting	35th
	CIK-FIA European Championship — OKJ	RB Racing	27th
	WSK Final Cup — OKJ		18th
	CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ		33rd
2017	WSK Champions Cup — OK	CRG SpA	14th
2017	South Garda Winter Cup — OK		31st

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

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

Year	Team	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	DC	Points
2015	Mad-Croc Karting	KFJ	PRT QH 44	SAR R DNQ	PFI QH 45	PFI R DNQ	KRI QH 35	KRI R DNQ							46th	0
2016	RB Racing	OKJ	ZUE QH 25	ZUE PF 10	ZUE R 31	ADR QH 35	ADR PF 17	ADR R 13	PRT QH 23	PRT PF 16	PRT R 33	GEN QH 31	GEN PF 9	GEN R 17	27th	23

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2017	Formula STCC Nordic	Kart in Club Driving Academy	13	1	0	1	4	142	5th
2017–18	Formula 4 UAE Championship	Mücke Motorsport	8	2	0	0	4	104	9th
2018	Italian F4 Championship	BWT Mücke Motorsport	21	1	0	0	2	108	8th
2019	Italian F4 Championship	BWT Mücke Motorsport	21	0	0	2	0	118	9th
	ADAC Formula 4 Championship	ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg	3	0	0	0	2	43	16th
	FIA Motorsport Games Formula 4 Cup	Team Finland	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	3rd
2020	Formula Renault Eurocup	JD Motorsport	20	0	1	0	2	92	8th
2021	Formula Regional European Championship	Arden Motorsport	20	0	0	0	1	91	11th
2022	FIA Formula 3 Championship	Jenzer Motorsport	18	0	0	0	0	24	18th
2022	Formula Regional European Championship	KIC Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2023	Italian GT Sprint Championship - GT3	AKM Motorsport	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2024	Italian GT Sprint Championship - GT3 Pro-Am	Lazarus Corse	8	0	1	0	2	64	4th
2024	Italian GT Endurance Championship - GT3 Pro-Am	Lazarus Corse	0	0	0	0	0	14*	12th*

^† As Alatalo was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula STCC Nordic results

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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Pos	Points
2017	Kart in Club Driving Academy	KNU 1 8	KNU 2 9	ALA 1 4	ALA 2 DNS	RUD 1 3	RUD 2 4	FAL 1 5	FAL 2 Ret	KAR 1 2	KAR 2 5	AND 1 6	AND 2 1	MAN 1 5	MAN 2 3	5th	142

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	Pos	Points
2018	BWT Mücke Motorsport	ADR 1 9	ADR 2 Ret	ADR 3 Ret	LEC 1 26	LEC 2 32	LEC 3 13	MNZ 1 4	MNZ 2 1	MNZ 3 2	MIS 1 12	MIS 2 13	MIS 3 6	IMO 1 8	IMO 2 19	IMO 3 Ret	VLL 1 5	VLL 2 7	VLL 3 6	MUG 1 4	MUG 2 10	MUG 3 12		8th	108
2019	BWT Mücke Motorsport	VLL 1 8	VLL 2 6	VLL 3 Ret	MIS 1 6	MIS 2 9	MIS 3 C	HUN 1 4	HUN 2 13	HUN 3 5	RBR 1 4	RBR 2 5	RBR 3 6	IMO 1 6	IMO 2 Ret	IMO 3 Ret	IMO 4 14	MUG 1 9	MUG 2 7	MUG 3 8	MNZ 1 4	MNZ 2 4	MNZ 3 22	9th	118

Complete FIA Motorsport Games results

Year	Entrant	Cup	Qualifying	Quali Race	Main race
2019	Team Finland	Formula 4	10th	5th	3rd

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results

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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	Pos	Points
2020	JD Motorsport	MNZ 1 Ret	MNZ 2 5	IMO 1 3	IMO 2 2	NÜR 1 5	NÜR 2 Ret	MAG 1 9	MAG 2 8	ZAN 1 11	ZAN 2 10	CAT 1 12	CAT 2 8	SPA 1 9‡	SPA 2 9	IMO 1 8	IMO 2 9	HOC 1 7	HOC 2 9	LEC 1 11	LEC 2 7	8th	92

^‡ Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

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

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	DC	Points
2021	Arden Motorsport	IMO 1 6	IMO 2 5	CAT 1 6	CAT 2 7	MCO 1 8	MCO 2 14	LEC 1 9	LEC 2 3	ZAN 1 12	ZAN 2 4	SPA 1 9	SPA 2 10	RBR 1 8	RBR 2 15	VAL 1 13	VAL 2 13	MUG 1 4	MUG 2 16	MNZ 1 14	MNZ 2 9	11th	91
2022	KIC Motorsport	MNZ 1	MNZ 2	IMO 1	IMO 2	MCO 1	MCO 2	LEC 1	LEC 2	ZAN 1	ZAN 2	HUN 1	HUN 2	SPA 1	SPA 2	RBR 1	RBR 2	CAT 1	CAT 2	MUG 1 22	MUG 2 26	NC†	0

† As Alatalo was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	DC	Points
2022	Jenzer Motorsport	BHR SPR 11	BHR FEA 9	IMO SPR 15	IMO FEA 10	CAT SPR 15	CAT FEA 12	SIL SPR 19	SIL FEA 16	RBR SPR Ret	RBR FEA 8	HUN SPR 16	HUN FEA 16	SPA SPR 6	SPA FEA 7	ZAN SPR 30	ZAN FEA Ret	MNZ SPR 14	MNZ FEA 7	18th	24

Complete Italian GT Championship results

Italian GT Sprint Championship

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

Year	Team	Co-Driver	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Pos.	Points
2023	AKM Motorsport	Lorenzo Ferrari	Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO 2020	MIS1	MIS2	MON1 14	MON2 15	MUG1	MUG2	IMO1	IMO2	NC	0
2024	Lazarus Corse	Mattia di Giusto	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo	MIS1 18	MIS2 12	IMO1 10	IMO2 10	MUG1 5	MUG2 16	MON1 9	MON2 10	15th	13

Italian GT Endurance Championship

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

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	1	2	3	4	Pos.	Points
2024	Lazarus Corse	Jorge Lorenzo Mahaveer Raghunathan (Rd.1-2) Mattia di Giusto (Rd.3)	Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo	VAL 14	MUG 11	IMO Ret	MON	20th	0

^* Season still in progress.

References

^ "William Alatalo interview with etv". YouTube. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
^ "A-MAAJOUKKUE Nuorten A-maajoukkue".
^ "Mücke Motorsport at the Italian F4 Championship Powered by Abarth with three drivers". Tkart. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Formulalupaus William Alatalo siirtyy Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup -sarjaan". Moottoriurheilu.tv (in Finnish). 18 December 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
^ Koivunen, Tommi (11 April 2021). "Suomalaislupaus William Alatalo, 18, kisaa ensi kertaa F1-viikonloppuna – "Onhan se nyt ihan törkeän siistiä"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 February 2022.
^ Wood, Ida (20 October 2022). "F3 racer Alatalo joins FREC finale, Bortoleto tops testing". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
^ "Jenzer Motorsport sign rookie Alatalo for 2022". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
^ "Alatalo frustrated at losing out after restart error despite best-ever F3 result". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
^ Series, F1 Feeder (2022-09-10). "Martí and Alatalo score best qualifying results at Monza: 'It's a good way to end'". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 2022-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ Tiusanen, Pia (2022-05-23). "Karting vei William Alatalon maailmalle jo 12-vuotiaana – Nyt elää unelma formuloista: "Ensin pitäisi päästä F1-tallin kuljettaja-akatemiaan"". Seura.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-08-26.

External links

Official website
William Alatalo career summary at DriverDB.com

[1] "William Alatalo interview with etv". YouTube. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 4 December 2021.

[2] "A-MAAJOUKKUE Nuorten A-maajoukkue".

[3] "Mücke Motorsport at the Italian F4 Championship Powered by Abarth with three drivers". Tkart. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

[moottoriurheilu-4] "Formulalupaus William Alatalo siirtyy Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup -sarjaan". Moottoriurheilu.tv (in Finnish). 18 December 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2020.

[5] Koivunen, Tommi (11 April 2021). "Suomalaislupaus William Alatalo, 18, kisaa ensi kertaa F1-viikonloppuna – "Onhan se nyt ihan törkeän siistiä"". Ilta-Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 February 2022.

[6] Wood, Ida (20 October 2022). "F3 racer Alatalo joins FREC finale, Bortoleto tops testing". Formula Scout. Retrieved 21 October 2022.

[7] "Jenzer Motorsport sign rookie Alatalo for 2022". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 2022-02-12.

[8] "Alatalo frustrated at losing out after restart error despite best-ever F3 result". FIAFormula3 - The Official F3 Website. Retrieved 2022-08-28.

[9] Series, F1 Feeder (2022-09-10). "Martí and Alatalo score best qualifying results at Monza: 'It's a good way to end'". F1 Feeder Series. Retrieved 2022-09-10.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[10] Tiusanen, Pia (2022-05-23). "Karting vei William Alatalon maailmalle jo 12-vuotiaana – Nyt elää unelma formuloista: "Ensin pitäisi päästä F1-tallin kuljettaja-akatemiaan"". Seura.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2024-08-26.

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