Leo Kinnunen
| Born |
5 August 1943 Tampere, Finland |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 Finnish |
| Active years | 1974 |
| Teams | AAW Racing Team (non-works Surtees) |
| Entries | 6 (1 start) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1974 Belgian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1974 Italian Grand Prix |
Leo Juhani "Leksa" Kinnunen (born 5 August 1943 in Tampere) is a Finnish former car racer, the first Formula One driver from his country. He is also remembered for his success in sportscar racing and rallying.
Kinnunen won the Nordic Challenge Cup in 1969, the Interserie from 1971–1973, and helped Porsche to take the World Sportscar Championship for manufacturers in 1970 (drivers championships were not awarded until 1981). In 1974, he switched to Formula One, but in addition to the problems with the underpowered Surtees TS16, his team soon ran into financial problems. He was the last driver to compete in Formula One using an open-face helmet.
Kinnunen started his racing career on motorcycles, but switched to four wheels after receiving his driver's license in the early 1960s. He quickly gained success in rallying, and ice racing. He finished runner-up in the Finnish Rally Championship and matched the points total of the winner Simo Lampinen. Kinnunen also participated in the Finnish F3 Championship with an outdated Brabham in 1967, and a Titan which he drove to several victories in 1968, including one at Ahvenisto Race Circuit in which he managed to beat Swedish future Formula One star Ronnie Peterson.
In 1969, Kinnunen had made a complete switch to circuit racing and won the Nordic Challenge Cup, predecessor of the popular Interserie, with two wins and a second place at Keimola Motor Stadium after a close battle with Jochen Rindt. He was then invited to test a Porsche 917 at Österreichring and made such an impression that he was hired to partner Pedro Rodriguez in the World Sportscar Championship. The pair surprised the racing world by winning the first race, 24 Hours of Daytona, and went on to win the overall championship for Porsche. For Kinnunen, however, this was unsatisfying time. The car was built for Rodriguez' measurements and driving style, and after Kinnunen managed to quickly outpace him with his own set-ups, he wasn't allowed to modify the car to suit his style anymore. His chance to shine finally came at Targa Florio as Rodriguez was ill on the race day with the new Porsche 908/03. On the final lap of the race, Kinnunen set a time of 33'36min, breaking the old lap record by 1½ minutes. This is still the fastest ever time recorded for the track.
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