Jesse Salmenautio

Jesse Salmenautio (born 11 August 2001) is a Finnish racing driver who competes in the Italian GT Championship Endurance Cup for VSR.

Career Salmenautio began his single-seater career in 2017, competing for Kart in Club Driving Academy in Formula STCC Nordic. After finishing seventh in points with a best result of fourth, as well as making his Spanish F4 debut, Salmenautio remained with the team for a dual campaign in Formula Academy Finland and the SMP F4 Championship in 2018. In the former, Salmenautio won both races at Kemora to secure runner-up honours behind Michael Belov, whereas in the latter, he scored a best result of second at Moscow and Ahvenisto to end the year fifth overall. Towards the end of the year, Salmenautio also raced for the team in select rounds of ADAC F4, as well as competing in the Italian F4 finale for AS Motorsport.

In 2019, Salmenautio moved to DRZ Benelli to compete full-time in the Italian F4 Championship. In his first full-time season in the series, Salmenautio took a surprise podium at the Red Bull Ring in race two, en route to an 18th-place points finish at season's end. Moving to Bhaitech for the 2020 season, Salmenautio took a best result of sixth at both Misano and Imola to move up to 14th in the overall standings. Towards the end of the year, Salmenautio tested Formula Regional machinery for KIC Motorsport.

Salmenautio drove a Duqueine LMP3 for Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport in Prototype Cup Germany in 2022.

Despite taking part in pre-season testing for the 2021 International GT Open with Madpanda Motorsport, Salmenautio made his sportscar debut in 2022, driving for Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport in the LMP3 class of the Asian Le Mans Series. For the rest of the year, Salmenautio continued with the team to race in Prototype Cup Germany alongside Sebastian Arenram, taking a best result of fourth at the Hockenheimring to end the year 12th in points. Switching to GT3 machinery for 2023, Salmenautio reunited with Madpanda and team owner Ezequiel Pérez Companc to compete in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup. Driving a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo, Salmenautio scored seven Silver Cup podiums to clinch third in the class standings, as well as making his 24 Hours of Spa debut.

In 2024, Salmenautio moved to Iron Lynx to enter Lamborghini Super Trofeo Europe, as a member of the Lamborghini Junior Driver roster. Racing alongside Giorgio Amati in the Pro class, Salmenautio scored podiums at Spa and the Nürburgring to take eighth in points. In 2025, Salmenautio joined Corvette-fielding Steller Motorsport to compete in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup alongside Matisse Lismont. After contesting the first two rounds, Salmenautio wasn't featured on the entry list for Misano, and the team withdrew from the rest of the season over contractual issues with Lismont. Salmenautio then moved to Lamborghini-affiliated VSR to enter the Italian GT Championship Endurance Cup in 2026, as a member of the marque's GT3 Junior Driver roster.

Karting record Karting career summary

Racing record Racing career summary

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

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 KNU1 KNU2 ALA1 ALA2 RUD1 RUD2 FAL1 FAL2 KAR1 KAR2 AND1 AND2 MAN1 MAN2 7th 85

Complete SMP 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 Pos Points 2018 Kart in Club Driving Academy SMO1 SMO2 SMO3 NRG1 NRG2 NRG3 MSC1 MSC2 MSC3 ADM1 ADM2 ADM3 AHV1 AHV2 AHV3 ALA1 ALA2 ALA3 ASS1 ASS2 ASS3 5th 188

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 AS Motorsport ADR1 ADR2 ADR3 LEC1 LEC2 LEC3 MNZ1 MNZ2 MNZ3 MIS1 MIS2 MIS3 IMO1 IMO2 IMO3 VLL1 VLL2 VLL3 MUG1 MUG2 MUG3 40th 02019 DRZ Benelli VLL1 VLL2 VLL3 MIS1 MIS2 MIS3 HUN1 HUN2 HUN3 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 IMO1 IMO2 IMO3 IMO4 MUG1 MUG2 MUG318th20 Bhai Tech Racing MNZ1 MNZ2 MNZ3 2020 Bhaitech MIS1 MIS2 MIS3 IMO11 IMO12 IMO13 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 MUG1 MUG2 MUG3 MNZ1 MNZ2 MNZ3 IMO21 IMO22 IMO23 VLL1 VLL2 VLL3 14th 40

Complete Asian Le Mans Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) + Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 Pos. Points 2022 Koiranen Kemppi Motorsport LMP3 Duqueine M30 - D08 Nissan VK50VE 5.0 L V8 DUB1 DUB2 ABU1 ABU2 10th 16

Complete Prototype Cup Germany results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete GT World Challenge results GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Points 2023 Madpanda Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Silver BRH1 BRH2 MIS1 MIS2 HOC1 HOC2 VAL1 VAL2 ZAN1 ZAN23rd92 2025 Steller Motorsport Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R Silver BRH1 BRH2 ZAN1 ZAN2 MIS1 MIS2 MAG1 MAG2 VAL1 VAL2 14th 6

GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup