| Henri Karjalainen | |
| Nationality: |  Finnish |
| Birth Date: | 19 February 1986 |
| Birth Place: | Helsinki, Finland |
| Current Series: | GT Finnish Championship |
| First Year: | 2010 |
| Current Team: | Ferrari Team Nurminen |
| Car Number: | 10 |
| Starts: | 1 |
| Wins: | 0 |
| Poles: | 0 |
| Fastest Laps: | 0 |
| Prev Series: | FIA Formula Two Championship Atlantic Championship GP2 Series Asian Formula Three Asian Formula Renault Formula BMW ADAC |
| Prev Series Years: | 2009 2008 2007 2006-07 2006 2004-05 |
Henri Mikael Karjalainen (born February 19, 1986, in Helsinki) is a Finnish racing driver. He raced in the GT Finnish Championship in 2010. Karjalainen is managed by Finnish Sport Management Agency SportElite.[1]
Karjalainen competed in karting from 2000 to 2003.
Karjalainen moved up to German Formula BMW for 2004, and stayed in the same series for 2005. He scored a total of five points from his two years in the series.
Karjalainen moved to Asia for 2006, competing in both the Formula Three and Formula Renault series based in the continent. He achieved greater success, and finished as runner-up in the 2007 Asian F3 standings.
Karjalainen was given the opportunity to compete in the GP2 Series in 2007 by the BCN Competicion team, following a shoulder injury to compatriot Markus Niemelä which prevented him from driving.[2] He made his debut at Istanbul Park, failing to finish in the both races. He was replaced by the recovered Niemelä for the next race meeting.
Karjalainen moved to North America in 2008 to compete in the Atlantic Championship. He raced for Jensen MotorSport finishing 17th in overall standings with 10th position in Grand Prix de Trois-Rivière being his best individual finish.
In 2009, Karjalainen participated in the reformed Formula Two series. He is keen to be the next Finn after Keke Rosberg that promotes from Formula Two to Formula One. He drove the #23 car, finishing fifteenth in the championship.
In 2010, after failing to collect budget large enough to compete in F2, Karjalainen returned to Finland to drive for Ferrari Team Nurminen, which competes in GT Finnish Championship with Ferrari F430 Challenge GT3 Cup. This is the first time Karjalainen has competed in GT-racing.[3]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)