Stine Olander

Örebro, Sweden

**Stine Hennie Olander** (born 17th January 1976) is a Swedish racing driver and the daughter of six-time Formula One race winner Gunnar Olander. She currently drives for Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One and is known for winning the 2008 Formula One World Championship for BMW-Sauber.

## Early Years

Stine Hennie Olander was born on the 17th January 1976, to parents Gunnar Olander and Rosa Lundquist, in the Olander homeland of Örebro, Sweden. She moved to Canada in 1990 when she was 14, with her father.

Her father Gunnar raced for Lotus and Ferrari in Formula One, but also studied Law and owns several successful businesses, providing Stine with a wealthy upbringing and a path towards high-level education. Stine was a good student, but the racing bug caught early. She completed her secondary education but chose not to proceed to college or university, favouring her racing career.

Stine inherited a love for 70s Italian Supercars due to her father's involvement with Ferrari, subsequently supporting the Prancing Horse and its star driver Fabiano Margheriti when watching Formula One as a child.

Stine joined a modelling agency in 1996, culminating in several TV appearances and a deal with suit firm Tiger of Sweden from 2002.

## Early Racing Career

Stine began karting at age 10, but began racing professionally shortly after moving to Montreal in the Canadian Formula Ford 1600 Championship. She was subject to a lot of attention thanks to her father's reputation, finding immediate success in the series. Gunnar Olander acted as her manager, his first client for his management firm.

### 1992-1994 (Road to Indy)

Stine dominated the 1991 Canadian Formula Ford season, before being thrust into the USF2000 National Championship in 1992, winning the championship in 1993.

Stine was signed to the Players/Forsythe team in Indy Lights for 1994 season. Despite middling results, a duo of victories at the age of just 18 lead to calls for her to step up to CART.

### 1995-1996 (CART)

Olander competed both years for Players Forsythe alongside Florian Delacroix in 1995 and another driver in 1996. Her first year was marred by retirements, but she got her first victory in 1996 at Belle Isle, after leaders miscalculated fuel and ran out on the final lap. The victory massively boosted her fanbase.

At the end of the season, she completed a test for Minardi at Mugello, beating the team's intended 1997 driver Louis Kempton. The season itself gave hope for her abilities - but the short time spent in the division meant many remained unsure.

## Formula One Career

### 1997 (Minardi)

After Louis Kempton's ban, Minardi signed the talented Mistral Vernati, on a race-by-race contract. After the fatal crash of Jasper Saetern in the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, Vernati was signed by Ferrari to replace Ezequiel Zarco, who decided to step away from the sport following the accident. This left the door open for Minardi to sign another driver, and Stine having had testing experience with the car, was high on the list. When one enquiry failed, Gunnar Olander threw Stine's name into the ring, and she was to be on the F1 grid for the Brazilian Grand Prix, finishing 11th after a spin dropped her out of points, with teammate Ralf Goldbach finishing 15th.

Olander would miss round three, the San Marino Grand Prix, having been sidelined with a nasty cold after first practice. Minardi did not find a replacement and Goldbach failed to qualify for the race after attempting just one lap late on, and having it deleted for track limits.

Round five, the Portuguese Grand Prix, would be Stine's first points finish and the team's first points finish of the season after Vernati's exit. The finish came as a surprise after multiple spins marred her race.

More trouble hit the Swede in round five, with her spare car being given to Ralf Goldbach before the warmup session. When mechanical troubles hit before the race, the spare car had already gone to Goldbach, and she was not allowed to start the race by the team. Stine sat on the sidelines while Goldbach took home a 9th place finish, with several other drivers taking their first points of the season in the race. Stine was noticably disappointed by the decision and made it known that she felt she could have taken good points home for the team.

The German Grand Prix was another points finish for Stine, taking home 9th after running her first stint with a wheel vibration, losing precious time. Her teammate Ralf Goldbach retired from the race after an accident with Heather Misako.

Round 7, the Belgian Grand Prix, saw Stine's best race to date, finishing 8th overall. She had battled with Otto Makkinen and Rodrigo Morais for a couple of laps at the start of the race, making her presence felt after holding her position three-wide on the outside entering Les Combes. Despite ending the race behind them, the move stirred rumours of a potential move for 1998. The next race, the 1997 Italian Grand Prix, saw Stine take another points finish, this time with a highlight being overtaking Timo Pakkinen around the outside of the first *Lesmo*. By this point of the season, Stine was joint on points with Williams driver Jimmy Russell and keeping Minardi a solid 8th in the constructors.

The 1997 Austrian Grand Prix saw Stine lead her first laps after qualifying 3rd on the grid behind the two Benetton cars. The Grand Prix' odd leaderboard continued in the race, before a mistake saw Stine drop to P8 with a slow puncture. Katashi Kimura won the race for Benetton, and Stine matched her career best result. Jimmy Russell was fired from Williams after fighting in the garage, removing him from the battle for 12th in the standings - Arrigondiaga and Olander separated by one point in Olander's favour entering the final round.

The final round, the Japanese Grand Prix, saw Olander recieve a back-of-grid penalty for track limits violations in Austria. The first half of the race went well, Stine climbing through the field up to 8th - and ahead of Arrigondiaga - before spinning off on lap 18. Upon rejoining the circuit, Stine collided with Tatsuno Takamori who had been running 9th, taking both cars out of the race. She would end the year 13th overall, Japan marking her first DNF and ending a points-scoring streak of five races.

### 1998 - 1999 (Jordan)

Stine entered her second year in F1 with a fresh contract, moving away from Minardi to 1997-runner-ups Jordan Grand Prix. Teammates with 1995 World Champion Alex Parker, the year was predictably tough, both drivers struggling with the car. Alex managed a 3rd place for the team in the 1998 Australian Grand Prix, but for most of the season the pair regressed from their previous years, despite Stine having moved away from Minardi. Olander struggled for points in most races, before taking a 3rd place in the Austrian Grand Prix. Despite the podium, Olander finished 15th overall in the standings, down from 1997.

**1999**

Things would change for Jordan in 1999. In the Australian Grand Prix, the first round, Stine narrowly missed out on victory, being beaten to the top step by Timo Pakkinen. Hopes were high for the remainder of the season after Stine took 3rd place in the Monaco Grand Prix. However, the team's performance began to fade towards the latter half of the season as other teams outdeveloped them. Olander ended the season 9th, quadrupling her previous points effort. Press predictions of an unmotivated Parker were proved true as the British driver failed to score points until round six, ending the season on 18 points to Stine's 47.

#### TWR Volvo Formula One

During 1999, Olander and TWR-Volvo BTCC driver Viktor Källström tested a prototype Formula One car at the Anderstorp circuit in Sweden. TWR Volvo would not show for 2000, amidst Ford's buyout of the Swedish company. It is rumoured that Olander had a contract with the team signed, however the purchase of Volvo by Ford ended the F1 project. Too late in the year to sign for another team, Olander would join Ford-owned Jaguar for 2000.

### 2000 (Jaguar)

Olander signed for the flailing Ford manufacturer team in late 1999, amid the news they would receive increased funding and a rebrand to Jaguar Racing, with Guenther Steiner as team principal. The Australian Grand Prix showed surprising pace from the outfit, but a clutch failure on the second lap put pay to a good result. The Brazilian Grand Prix would be an improvement, with Olander showing top 6 pace in the practice sessions, but an accident with Collin McDougall saw the swede finish 8th after having to pit for a new front wing.

Olander scored her first ever Formula One victory in the United States Grand Prix. She had been frustrated by not converting her increasing experience and confidence into solid points in the first two rounds. However, the Jaguar's pace proved strong in the free practice sessions, futher increasing the motivation of the team. Olander would take pole position in a nail-biting qualifying session which saw multiple drivers setting personal bests to challenge for the top spot. Olander would battle against Otto Makkinen early on in the race, trading the lead, but pulling away before the pitstops. Makkinen attempted an alternate tyre call to jump the Swede, closing the gap, but not quite enough to get into slipstream, with Olander winning the race by 1.3 seconds. It was the first victory for a Female F1 driver since Maria Parker won the 1974 edition of the United States Grand Prix.

The following two races saw Olander take two further podiums, both 3rd places, but not without controversy, after a double collision with Ferrari driver Eric Flynn left the Kiwi backwards in the Stowe corner in the British Grand Prix. The German Grand Prix was less eventful for the Swede, inheriting and holding third place after Matteo Margheriti's Benetton stalled in the pitlane.

The Austrian Grand Prix was largely uneventful for Olander, her race ending on the first lap having been hit by both BAR cars of Rasmus Hojengaard and Stefano Rossi. She would criticise the Danish driver after having also had a collision with him in practice for the Australian Grand Prix earlier in the year.

#### 2000 Belgian Grand Prix Accident

Olander completed lap five closely behind the Ferrari of Eric Flynn, both drivers attempting to catch the top six up ahead. It had been a poor start to the race, with Olander making up a few positions having dropped to 14th. She was in 9th on lap six when Tatsuno Takamori and Katashi Kimura collided on the Kemmel Straight. Takamori was sent spinning down the road, creating a smokescreen for the rapidly approaching Flynn and Olander. Flynn just managed to avoid the Williams, going across the grass on the right to do so, but Olander did not see the Williams until too late, moving to the left and clipping the stricken car. The impact caused race-ending damage to both machines. However, it put Olander into the path of an unsighted Collin McDougall who hit the rear of Olander's car at almost 200kph. The cars would come to rest at the entry to *Les Combes*. Initially, it appeared that Olander came off worse from the accident, with fears of a neck injury, with both drivers being taken away on stretchers as a precaution. However, a few days in hospital proved she had suffered a concussion and bruising. McDougall however suffered a minor leg fracture in the incident and would endure a longer hospital stay.

Olander returned for the Italian Grand Prix two weeks later, taking home sixth place having almost run out of fuel. The next race, the Malaysian Grand Prix, would see Olander take avoiding action on the first lap, dropping down the order. The team decided on a one-stop strategy as the clean air would allow Olander to gain time on her opponents. She would take home her fourth podium of the season, despite a late charge from Timo Pakkinen.

The season ended with the Japanese Grand Prix, a race which would be a missed opportunity for Stine and the Jaguar team. An error in the pitstops dropped the Swede down the order, and the problems were compounded by an unforced error in turn two. Having struggled all weekend, high attrition left her seventh, and she lost a position in the championship due to Jenrick Armitage-Barnes IV winning the race. Olander caused a stir in the paddock after refusing to shut down rumours of a potential move away from the Jaguar team.

### 2001 - 2005 (Williams)

Shrouded in controversy, Olander left the successes of the new Jaguar team behind for 2001, having recieved an offer from Frank Williams. Olander was reportedly disgruntled at the lack of development on the 2000 Jaguar R1. Olander had been the development driver for the R1 in-season. However, long-term driver Conor Byrne had been given the developmental reigns of the 2001 challenger, the car being built around the Irishman instead. Testing late season proved disappointing for the Swedish driver and she quickly signed for Williams shortly thereafter, despite having stated that she was committed to the team earlier in the year.

Olander's 2001 season was dogged by reliability issues with the Williams FW23, her car being the test bed for new parts. Takamori would finish almost every race in the top 5 while Olander's season was much more inconsistent, with several failures affecting her results. Both drivers would score two podiums each, but Takamori's formidable consistency left him third in the final standings, to Stine's 7th. The team would take third in the Constructors standings by just one point behind Jordan, a great recovery after finishing a lowly sixth in 2000.

**2002**

2002 was set to be a promising season for Olander and Takamori due to the FW24 proving to be a rocketship early on. Both drivers duelled at the front of the field, but it was Takamori who took the title 25 points ahead of Olander, who took second position. Stine would finish in second no less than four times in the season, but failed to win a race for the Williams team, despite two 1-2 finishes with Takamori ahead. The team would dominate the constructors standings, beating Ferrari by 57 points.

**2003**

Williams took a small step back in 2003, Stine ending the season fourth behind Matteo Margheriti. Takamori would take 2nd in the championship, but Olander scored her first victory for the team at the Monaco Grand Prix, running alternative aerodynamic packages to her teammate for many of the races, the pair rarely finishing near eachother over the year. Olander would take fourth in the championship on tiebreak, having been matched on points by both Rodrigo Morais of Honda and Stefan Scherz, McLaren.

**2004**

Olander signed a contract extension with BMW for 2004, with which Olander had a great relationship. Williams signed then-4-time champion Otto Makkinen to lead the team, and Olander was once again given development duties after spinning from fifth place in the closing laps of the Bahrain GP. Stine spent much of the season behind her experienced teammate, often losing out during the race having qualified well. Notably, the swede qualified third and spent much of the United States Grand Prix in second place before finishing 5th, and qualifying third for the Belgian Grand Prix, before dropping back to 4th as Makkinen would come through the field to win. Olander finished the season in eighth after missing the Italian GP and being disqualified from the Malaysian GP for a technical infraction.

**2005**

2005 would be a more successful year for the Swedish driver, as the Williams team stopped trying to develop the walrus-nose concept. Otto Makkinen won the first two races, Olander breaking through to win in the Monaco Grand Prix, her second win at the circuit. Makkinen struggled in the mid stages with inconsistent results, while Olander slowly crept up the standings with consistent top-5 finishes. After a strong run of form to end the season, both Williams drivers had a shot at the championship. Makkinen entered Brazil as the favourite, leading Olander by six points, with Ferrari's Eric Flynn 12 points behind. Makkinen only needed to finish 4th if Olander won, whilst Flynn would need to win the race with Makkinen failing to score if Flynn was to secure the title. Ferrari initially appeared to dominate the weekend, however Makkinen would retire from the race on lap 17 just after pitting. For a short time, Olander was in the driving seat for winning her first championship, however a slow pitstop would drop her down the order and out of the running, leading to calls of conspiracy from fans. A radio issue prevented Ferrari team orders from being carried out; Matteo Margheriti winning the race just ahead of Flynn, and winning Otto Makkinen the driver's championship over Flynn. Olander would finish 7th in the race, 3 points away from the championship.

Following 2005, BMW and Williams split from eachother. Despite the success of the team, BMW wished for more control, and Williams were aggravated that one of their lineup would be decided by another entity. This lead to BMW purchasing Sauber.

### 2006 - 2008 (BMW-Sauber)

Olander's unique contract with BMW meant that she would leave Williams along with the manufacturer for 2006, partnering Antti Jääskeläinen who was in just his second Formula One season, having moved from BMW's MotoGP team. Hopes were high after 2005, and while Antti initially struggled Olander would win in Bahrain, taking Sauber F1's first victory. Following Stine's emphatic victory, the Bahraini royal family were absent from the podium. Olander proudly stepped onto the top step of the podium with a T-shirt that read: "Strength has no gender", highlighting the women's rights issues within the country. Team boss Peter Sauber was left to award the trophies. Sauber relished the opportunity, completing the ceremony with a theatrical bow to the crowd, complete with firm handshakes for Florian Delacroix and Tatsuno Takamori. The podium had been broadcast live across the world, and with no Bahraini presence on the podium, the broadcast rolled on. The race was not shown again in Bahrain. This would be a highlight for the team; Olander taking a further 2nd place at Silverstone and Jääskeläinen nabbing his first podium in Italy. The pair would finish ninth and tenth in the championship respectively, and fourth in the constructors.

**2007**

The team took a step up for 2007, with Olander taking pole position in the first race. Incidents and mechanical failures would marr her season, retiring three times from pole. Both BMW-Sauber drivers would collect several podiums, Olander winning the Italian GP. The team finished second in the constructors, considerably behind winners McLaren, but a successful season nonetheless.

**2008**

BMW built on their successful 2007 campaign, with Jaaskelainen taking a podium in the first race and Olander taking one in the second. Both drivers would be on the podium in round 3, the Canadian Grand Prix, but both retired in the Austrian GP to follow. After this, Olander would win three races in a row for the team; the first time she would collect more than one win in a season. A retirement in the Japanese Grand Prix meant Olander led the championship by 3 points - but a fourth victory came in the finale, the Brazilian Grand Prix, and Olander became world champion for the first time, with Eric Flynn finishing second.

Olander Management approached Stine's contract negotiation with a view to extend, should BMW commit to Formula One. BMW failed to make a decision quickly due to the volatile nature of the global recession. Olander Management then opened negotiations with both McLaren and Ferrari, with Ferrari looking to replace Matteo Margheriti with a big-name driver. Olander wasn't the only member of BMW-Sauber affected by the company's indecision, with a number of engineers following Olander to Ferrari.

### 2009 - Present (Ferrari)

The 2009 Formula One Season saw sweeping rule changes that aimed to reduce costs and improve the on-track product, with a return to slick tyres and simpler aerodynamics. Olander partnered Tatsuno Takamori for the season, as she had for Williams in 2001-2003. The Ferrari F60 proved tough to handle for the two, with both drivers crashing out several times. Olander would take the team's first podium of the season at the British Grand Prix, round five, beginning a string of consistent finishes. Takamori would take victory at the Italian Grand Prix, and Olander would end the year with a victory in Brazil. Olander would finish 6th overall, to Takamori's 8th - the team taking a firm 4th in the constructors championship.

**2010**

Takamori would depart the team for the 2010 Formula One Season, joining Josef Steinbacher at Renault. Olander would be joined by a rookie of the Ferrari Driver's Academy, Napoleone Poggi. Poggi was the 2009 GP2 champion, and supposedly beat Takamori in testing. The BMW engineers who had joined Ferrari after 2008 were now back from gardening leave, and their influence quickly showed; Olander taking third place in the Australian Grand Prix. Poggi quickly alienated himself from the team with his arrogance. Olander followed up the round one podium by finishing second in the Canadian Grand Prix, round 3. She looked set to take the team's first victory of the season at the following race in Monaco, however Marco Zimmermann divebombed the Swede for the lead with just one lap to go, locking up and clipping the Ferrari's rear wheel in La Rascasse. Olander's car struck the outside wall with the rear of the car, Zimmermann piling in. Zimmermann would finish fourth Olander retiring from the race. Frustrated, Olander would be involved in another crash in the following race, running wide into Eric Flynn while attempting an overtake at Copse - however this time, the Ferrari would come off better, and she would go on to win the race. Olander would then take two third place finishes in Austria and Germany. In Belgium, Olander once again had a fierce battle with Marco Zimmermann, repaying the Austrian with an audacious overtake attempt for the lead. The pair would collide on the exit of Les Combes while side-by-side, with Zimmermann spinning off as a result. This would be win number two for Olander on the season. The Italian Grand Prix would be a relatively disappointing fifth place - but an important result for the championship. Stine's Ferrari would once again find the top step of the podium in Singapore, in a less controversial manner this time, on the Swede's 150th Grand Prix start. After the Singapore Grand Prix, Stine held a 17 point advantage in the championship over Eric Flynn. Flynn would bounce back in the penultimate round, taking the win to Olander's fourth, but disaster would strike on the first lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix for Olander, after being caught up in a first lap crash initiated by Steinbacher's Renault. Flynn needed to finish on the podium to win the title, and went on to dominate the race, taking his third championship.

**2011**

Hopes were high for 2011, with Ferrari remaining optimistic

## Personal Life

When entering F1, Stine lived in Borgo Panigale, Bologna, in one of her father's houses. She then briefly rented an apartment in Daventry, UK, when driving for Jordan, before controversially moving to the Bernese Highlands in Switzerland for the 2000 season. Stine and her father Gunnar entered joint-ownership of a hotel nearby to the Monza circuit in 1999, Stine having a minority share in the venture. Olander would buyout her father's share in 2004, relocating to Levizzano, Modena in 2009.

Gunnar still lives in Montreal, Canada, but attends most Grand Prix weekends as an agent. Her mother, Rosa, attended most of Stine's CART races, but only one race a year in Formula One due to a dislike for travel.

In 2000, Olander began dating fellow Formula One driver Rodrigo Morais, seen together in public for the first time prior to the cancelled Monaco Grand Prix. The pair are assumed to have split up following the 2004 season. Outside of racing Olander is a prolific motorsports & music fan, attending many local racing events and the 1997 Rallye Sanremo as a spectator. During the 1997 Formula One Season, Stine attended the rally as part of a road trip with friend and mechanic Celeste Loggia (daughter of Grand Prix Motorcycle rider Xavier Loggia) during the summer break, which also saw a visit to Fratelli Margheriti Ricambi Auto's main garage in Milan. The journey was completed in her Fiat 126, which would be tuned at the garage for later use in Rallying, Celeste being the co-driver. Olander rallies regularly in Formula-One off-weeks.

### Vehicle History

* *1993 - Nov 1996: Chevrolet Nova 1988*
* *Jan 1997 - Nov 1997: Alfa Romeo GTV6 2.5L 1983*
* *Jan 1998 - Feb 2003: Volkswagen Corrado VR6 1993 in Alpine White*
* *Feb 2000 - Sep 2000: Maserati Merak SS 1978 in Black*
* *Jan 2001 - Aug 2004: BMW E39 M5 2001 in Estoril Blue Metallic*
* *Jul 2003 - Nov 2008: BMW E12 M535i 1981 in Ice White with M-Sport Stripes*
* *Aug 2004 - Nov 2008: BMW E46 M3 CSL 2004 in Silver Grey*
* Aug 1999 - Present: Volvo S80 1999 in Ruby Red
* May 2000 - Present: Jaguar E-Type Series 3 Roadster 1972 in British Racing Green
* Apr 2004 - Present: Iso Grifo 1966 Series I in Iso Amaranto Modena Red
* Aug 2008 - Present: BMW 507 1957 in Black
* Nov 2008 - Present: Porsche 944 1983 in Sienna Red Metallic
* Jan 2009 - Present: Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano 2009 in Rosso Corsa
* Sep 2009 - Present: Ferrari 458 Italia 2009 in Rosso Corsa
* Jan 2010 - Present: Ferrari 365 Daytona 1970 in Blu Dino Metallizzato

**Rally Cars**

* Dec 1997 - Present: Fiat 126 1980
* *Feb 1998 - 2006: OWE Mirafiori 1999 (Destroyed)*
* Jan 2004 - Present: Lancia Stratos HF Group 4 1974 (Gift from Rodrigo Morais)
* May 2005 - Present: Volvo 240 Turbo 1983
* Nov 2008 - Present: Ford Escort RS Cosworth Group A 1993
* Jan 2010 - Present: Toyota Celica Twin-Cam Turbo Group B 1985

**Race Cars**

* Jul 2008 - Present: Volvo S40 1998 STCC Super Touring
* Apr 2011 - Present: Ferrari 512 BB LM 1978

**Motorbikes**

* Aug 1997 - Present: Ducati 916 1994 in Red
* Sep 2004 - Present: Aprilia RSV1000R 2004 in Black & Red
* Jun 2007 - Present: BMW R90S 1975 in Daytona Orange
* Aug 2011 - Present: Britten V1000 (Race) in Blue & Pink

#### OWE Mirafiori

The Olander-Wulf Engineering Mirafiori is a car built from the ground up by Stine Olander and a few friends, in cooperation with the Wulf Engineering & Fabrication workshop in Bern. Olander acquired a crashed Lada Riva in early 1998 from a breaker's yard, having previously completed minor work on a Fiat 126 in 1997. The chassis of the Riva (a Fiat 124 chassis) was salvaged, along with a few body panels, but a substantial amount of the car had already been sold at the breakers yard. An Inline-4 Twincam "Mirafiori" engine was sourced for the car through fabricators Wulf Engineering, taken from a road-going homologation-spec Fiat Abarth 131. Wulf fabricated any missing body panels for the car and it's rally bodykit, the car becoming an amalgamation of the Abarth 131 and Lada VFTS rally cars, with some components from road-going variants of both. The car's first iteration was completed in late 1999, with 136hp from the original road-going 131 Mirafiori engine. This was later raised to 160 bhp with tuning from Fratelli Margheriti Ricambi Auto (FMRA) and uprated Weber carburetors. The car was destroyed after an accident in 2006 after the car flipped in a private test. Olander and her co-driver were uninjured in the crash. The wreck has been preserved in the Motala Motor Museum just south of Örebro, displayed in an exhibit about motorsports safety.

## Public Image

### Impact and Criticism

Olander's strong fan base voted her the CART Series Most Popular Driver in 1996. She was voted the Favorite Female Athlete at the Kids' Choice Award in 1995, 1997, 2002 and 2008. She has inspired many young girls' interest in motorsports, leading them to race competitively, though she has been on record as attributing this mainly to Maria Parker, aiming to replicate her success in motorsports. This would manifest in increased support toward other female drivers, Olander helping them to navigate a male-dominated sport.

Olander has come under scrutiny from the media and fans throughout her career. She has been called a "gimmick" or a "publicity stunt" by some fans for her initial lack of better racing results. Critics compared her to former tennis player Anna Pshenichnikov for her initial lack of on-track success and promotion of her looks, though the similarities have been questioned by others. The timing of F1 transfers in her career often came under fire as she left both BMW-Sauber and Jaguar after finding success at the teams, disrupting them in the process.

She has also been criticised for her car collection and house, living in the tax haven of Switzerland from 2000-2008, with a collection of cars. This is in contrast to her father's limited personal spending, as well as the attitudes of veteran drivers at the time. However the change in attitude was seen throughout the grid as F1 returned to it's glamorous roots.

### Controversy

In the 2006 Bahrain Grand Prix, Olander took the pole and won the race, much to the disdain of the Bahraini Royal Family. ESPN Racing reported that Arouf bin Salman Al Hamad had been seen talking to Max Mosley, president of the FIA after qualifying, and the royal family did not appear on the podium. Olander took the opportunity to wear a t-shirt with a feminist slogan, highlighting the women's rights issues within the country. Olander once again stood on the podium in 2007, reportedly leading to threats of cancellation from the Bahraini Royal Family. At the 2008 Bahrain Grand Prix, Mosley was recorded shouting at the stewards who oversaw the race, attempting to influence the results by not penalising David Dwyer for the first lap incident - which, if left unpunished, would have seen Olander finish in P4, off the podium. Eventually Dwyer would recieve a penalty, further enraging the Bahraini Royal Family as Olander stood on the podium once again at the circuit. The incident lead to calls for Mosley to step down as head of the FIA, which he initially refused to do, until he was exposed in a sex-scandal, at which point the FIA President resigned. The incidents regarding attempted race-fixing only strengthened Olander's fanbase.

### TV Appearances

Stine appeared in an increased number of TV advertisements in 2000, during a marketing campaign from Ford for their new Jaguar XKR.

She took part in the 2000 Peugeot Charity Cup as broadcast on BBC2.

Olander appeared in the short-film "Alpina" in 2003, playing the part of Sabine Ziegler. The film was officially endorsed by BMW, many of the extras and driving roles being played by BMW Motorsport employees. The film focussed on the inter-team rivalry between veteran driver Roel de Ruig (played by Marco Beike) and Sabine Ziegler alongside the development of the BMW 3.0 CSL. The film is set in a fictional 1973 sports-car season, with on-track scenes being filmed at one round of the Masters Sports Car Legends championship as well as a private test day at Brands Hatch. Many scenes were then adapted for advertising new BMW models.

Olander appeared in the 2007 "70 Years of Saab" celebrations, which celebrated the company's automobiles and aircraft. She flew in a Saab SK35C "Draken" as a passenger.

### Representation in Video Games

In the late 1990s, Olander featured in several games in fictional guises due to copyright restrictions with the Olander name. In Formula 1 97, Olander would appear as "Sally Lund", while in Grand Prix Manager 2, she was represented by the name "Salma Olovsson". The copyright restrictions were lifted prior to the release of Geoff Crammond's Grand Prix 3 and EA Sports' F1 2000.

### Helmet Design

Olander ran with a starburst-inspired design throughout her career. Featuring prominent white bursts on a blue background, three smaller, coloured bursts complimented the larger white ones. The design frequently interfered with sponsor halos and went through many versions.

In 2002 the helmet would undergo it's biggest change, using the starburst as a base, the helmet would become animal-themed, a garish neon colour palette surrounding two large horns. The helmet retained it's navy blue background and many shapes were retained in some form. Olander later confirmed that this change was not inspired by new personal backing from Tiger of Sweden, but had already been drawn up when the deal was signed.

### Sponsorship

Stine learned a considerable amount about commercialism during her time racing in America and from her father, and thus had a number of personal sponsorships to help fund her career. Olander Management later handled sponsorship contracts.

Current:

* SKF: 1997 - Present
* Rolex: 2000 - Present
* Tiger of Sweden: 2002 - Present
* Prada: 2008 - Present

Previous:

* John Player & Sons (Player's): 1992 - 1996
* Shannon Racing: 1997
* Tetra Pak: 1992 - 1997
* SEARS: 1993 - 1999
* BECK'S: 2000
* Dirt Devil: 1995 - 2000
* Intel: 2004 - 2008

## Racing Record

**Complete Formula One World Championship Results**