Who is Jonas Andersson of the Binh Dinh - Vietnam powerboat racing team?

Not only is Vietnam hosting a leg of the Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship for the first time, it is also fielding a team to compete in the event.

Jonas Andersson (middle) of the Binh Dinh - Vietnam powerboat racing team. Photo: F1H2O

The 2024 Formula 1 Powerboat World Championship (F1H2O) will have 8 races, of which stage 2 will be held in Binh Dinh (Vietnam) at the end of March. This is the first time Vietnam has hosted a stage of the F1 race on water. Not only that, Vietnam also has a participating racing team, even a championship candidate with a racer who has won the world championship twice. That is Jonas Andersson. In stage 1 in Indonesia, this veteran racer and his teammate Stefan Arand helped Team Binh Dinh - Vietnam top the rankings with 38 points. Andersson personally has 22 points, temporarily ranked 3rd on the individual rankings. On June 19, Andersson will turn 50 years old. Andersson was born in Orebro (Sweden) and grew up with a passion for speed and adventure. Before becoming a racer, Andersson competed in motocross. In the late 1990s, he switched to racing. Andersson began his career in 1999, at the age of 25, by participating in the Scandinavian F2000 Championship (ranked 8th). He participated in many other competitions, including winning the F2000 World Championship (2003, 2004), F2000 Scandinavian Championship (2005), F2000 President's Cup (2005). After 7 years, he began competing in the Formula 1 Sailing World Championship. Since 2006, he has mainly competed for Team Sweden. In his first season he entered the Top 5. In 14 years - until 2019, Andersson's best result was 3rd place in the world in 2008. However, in 2 of the last 3 seasons, he won the championship (2021, 2023).

Profile of Jonas Andersson.

In 2022, he lost the world championship after the most intense final race and an incredibly close margin of points. Now, in addition to two world championships, Andersson has a Teams' Championship, a Pole Position Trophy and 14 Grand Prix wins. A model of consistency since bursting onto the F1H2O scene in 2006, the Frovi driver has finished fourth, third and second - each twice in his career. Andersson was dominant in 2023, winning four of the five races in China, France, Sardinia and Sharjah. In 114 Grand Prix starts, Andersson has been on the podium 31 times and on pole 11 times. His first win came in St Petersburg in 2008, on his way to third place in the world championship.

Meanwhile, Andersson’s teammate is Arand, a very young (born 2002) Estonian. This is the first time Arand competes in the World Championship after finishing 3rd overall in his first season with DAC in the 2023 UIM F2 World Championship. He was also voted “Rookie of the Year”. The Estonian driver's dream is to become F1H2O World Champion after winning the UIM F4 World and European Championships in 2022. Arand started racing in 2012, winning the GT15 World and European Championships in 2014 and 2015. He went on to become the UIM Junior Driver of the Series in 2016, 2017 and 2018 and continued his winning ways with the GT15 and GT30 World Titles in 2017 and 2018. After entering the GT30 category in 2019 and winning another European Championship, he also became the Offshore 3J World Champion the same year and then won the UIM F4 European series in 2021. He has won 7 World Titles and 9 European Championships at Junior and Senior levels, being awarded the “Driver of the Year” award. 2023” at the Estonian Powerboat Federation Awards Ceremony. In the first leg in Indonesia, Arand had 16 points, right behind Andersson.