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W Series Driver Emma Kimiläinen's Incredibly Finnish Podium Celebration Is Too Damn Relatable
W Series Driver Emma Kimiläinen's Incredibly Finnish Podium Celebration Is Too Damn Relatable-May 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:11:08

The just wrapped up its first full season this past weekend with securing the championship at Brands Hatch. That in itself is pretty awesome, but lost in the thrill of the championship weekend was Finnish driver Emma Kimiläinen’s second-place podium celebration. I think I just found my new favorite driver.

While this wasn’t Kimiläinen’s first go on podium—she won the previous W Series race in Assen, after all—it was easily one of her best. In true Finnish style, she was pointedly not interested in all that champagne spraying nonsense. She just wanted to enjoy a tasty beverage after a tough race:

If has taught us anything, it’s that Finns would rather just drink their podium alcohol than spray it—but Kimiläinen took it right to the next level. I cannot stop laughing at her sheer dismissal of Alice Powell, the “go away, I’m thirsty” hand gesture that speaks to my very soul.

I get it, Emma. I understand. I feel you. You’ve just worked your ass off for a satisfying sip of bubbly, and someone wants to come over and ruin your moment. If anything well and truly deserves a “hell no,” it’s that.

I feel like being interrupted from your champagne sip is the obnoxious equivalent of someone poking your stomach while you’re stretching. Why would anyone do that? Can’t you see I’m enjoying myself? Why you gotta go and ruin the moment like that?

Kimiläinen, a 30-year-old driver from Helsinki, has been competing in both single-seater and sportscar racing since 2005. She’s struggled with the ability to fund her racing career in the past, along with several neck injuries—including one that caused her to sit out two of the six W Series races this season. But she is, most of all, my new hero.

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