Matias Laine (born 25 April 1990 in

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. T ...

) is a Finnish racing driver.

Career

Karting

Laine began his

motorsport Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

career in karting in 2003, finishing as runner-up in the Finnish Raket Cup Championship. In 2005 he won the Finnish Championship for the ICA Junior class.

Formula Renault

Laine began his formula racing career in the 2008 Formula Renault 2.0 UK Winter Cup season with CR Scuderia. He finished ninth in the championship with 50 points. He also completed two races of 2008 Portugal Winter Series FR2.0 at

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has ...

. Laine finished third and thirteenth in those races. The following season, Laine competed in both the Formula Renault 2.0 UK and Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 championships for

CRS Racing CRS Racing is a British auto racing team founded by British driver Andrew Kirkaldy and Canadian-Greek driver and entrepreneur Chris Niarchos. The team was founded in 2007, but is based on the former team of Kirkaldy known as Team AKA which comp ...

and Motopark Academy respectively. He finished fourteenth in the UK standings, scoring points in each of the twelve races, before injury curtailed his season at Snetterton. In the Eurocup, he took 22nd place in the championship with six points that were earned in the second race at

Silverstone Circuit Silverstone Circuit is a motor racing circuit in England, near the Northamptonshire villages of Towcester, Silverstone and Whittlebury. It is the home of the British Grand Prix, which it first hosted as the 1948 British Grand Prix. The 19 ...

Formula Three

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The 2010 eruptions of Eyjafjallajökull, Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A ...

will see Laine move to the

Formula 3 Euro Series The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched (in its current form) in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The ...

, competing for Motopark Academy. He joined fellow Formula Renault graduates António Félix da Costa and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs at the team. He earned his first point finishing ninth at

Hockenheim Hockenheim () is a town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about 20 km south of Mannheim and 10 km west of Walldorf. It is located in the Upper Rhine valley on the tourist theme routes "Baden Asparagus Route" () and Bertha Be ...

round because

Esteban Gutiérrez Esteban Manuel Gutiérrez Gutiérrez (; born 5 August 1991) is a Mexican racing driver currently representing Mercedes in Formula One, Formula E and esports and Inter Europol Competition in World Endurance Championship. Previously from 2013 ...

who finished sixth was guest driver and was ineligible to scoring points.

GP3

Laine contested for the Marussia Manor Racing team in 2011 and eventually finished 31st. He was signed to MW Arden for the 2012 season where he scored his first points and then his first podium finish in the Spanish round. He won his first GP3 race at Spa Francorchamps, along with a final podium at

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of Mon ...

. He ended the season fifth and earned a drive for the

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

Formula Renault 3.5 season with

P1 Motorsport P1 Motorsport is a British racing team based in Norfolk, England. They currently compete in the World Series by Renault. For 2013 the team was purchased by Strakka Racing owner-driver Nick Leventis and was renamed P1 by Strakka Racing. British ...

Racing record

Career summary

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

( key)

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)

References

External links

Official websiteLaine career statistics
at Driver Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Laine, Matias Finnish racing drivers 1990 births People from Joensuu Living people British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula Renault Eurocup drivers Portuguese Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Formula 3 Euro Series drivers Finnish GP3 Series drivers World Series Formula V8 3.5 drivers Manor Motorsport drivers Arden International drivers Sportspeople from North Karelia CRS Racing drivers P1 Motorsport drivers Motopark Academy drivers Strakka Racing drivers