Thomas Saetern

## Thomas Sætern

Thomas Sætern at the 2011 FIA Gala Prize Giving Ceremony with his wife Sophie Barrett.

### Born

Thomas Kristoffer Sætern 10 April 1975 (age 37)

Osøyro, Norway

## Formula One Career

### Teams

Sauber, Minardi,  Jordan, Red Bull Racing,  Toro Rosso

## Sportscar Career

### Teams

JMB Racing (GT, LES), Jetalliance Racing (GT), Team Ocrea (LES), Dick Johnson Racing (SCS)

### Last Entry

2010 Sydney Telstra 500

**Thomas Kristoffer Sætern** (born 10th April 1975) is a semi-retired Norwegian racing driver who competed in Formula One for Sauber, Minardi, and Jordan, as well as being a reserve for Red Bull Racing and Toro Rosso. He has also competed in the Australian V8 Supercar Series and the Le Mans Series. Thomas is the nephew of Jasper Saetern, a former Formula One driver who passed away during the 1997 Australian Grand Prix. He has also competed in the FIA GT Series and the Indianapolis 500.

## Early Life

Born in Osøyro, Norway, Thomas (then going by Tommy) spent the first six years of his life as a quiet and antisocial child. In January 1982 Tommy and his family would emigrate from Norway to Liverpool in the United Kingdom. It is believed that upon moving Sætern became much less reclusive as evidenced by an early interest in motor racing. Inspired by his uncle Jasper, Tommy began karting before his seventh birthday to mixed but mostly positive results.

Prior to his passing, Thomas would be present in the paddock for most European grand prix weekends as part of Jasper's entourage from 1991 to 1994.

## Racing Career

### Karting, Junior Formula Championships, German Formula 3, and Formula Nippon (1982-1996)

Starting in the summer of 1982 Tommy began competing in karting events across the United Kingdom and Ireland to get as much experience as possible. Results from his junior career prior to 1994 are hard to come by.

Thom entered into several championships prior to his entry with Super Nova Racing midway through the 1996 International Formula 3000 Championship. In German Formula 3 Tommy signed with then two year old team RSM Marko, placing 6th in 1993, 3rd in 1994, and then winning the championship with the team in 1995. In 1995 he would also team with future Formula One driver Rasmus Højengaard. Following his efforts in the 1995 season Thomas would be invited to the 1995 Autosport Awards to be nominated, but ultimately lose the Autosport BRDC Award, an award given to recognize young British drivers. Due to his early age emigration he was allowed on the ballot. He is currently the only non-British or Irish driver to ever be nominated for the award.

In 1996 Tommy would enter into the Formula Nippon championship for X Japan Racing Team LeMans. The pairing would be an immediate hit with a podium, two victories, and a fifth place finish in his first four races. At the following rounds at Suzuka and Sugo, Sætern would see back-to-back retirements that both occurred near the end of the race. Following Sugo Thom would be requested to join the International Formula 3000 Championship for Super Nova Racing, splitting his time between both series. Sætern would return to form with a second place finish at the second Fuji race before missing the races at Mine and the third Suzuka race due to his time with Super Nova Racing taking precedent. In his final Formula Nippon start Sætern would finish in third to cap off his season that would still manage to keep him second in the championship thanks to a dominate opening. The championship would be won by Kono Ichirou, who would go on to be a reserve in Formula One for a number of years.

### International Formula 3000 Championship (1995-1997)

#### Super Nova Racing

In 1995 Tommy Sætern would officially enter the International Formula 3000 Championship as a replacement driver to finish the last two races of the season for Vortex Motorsport. Tommy would impress with 11th and 7th place finishes, just outside the points cutoff. Once again due to an injury midway through the 1997 season Thomas was called to race for Super Nova Racing in the International Formula 3000 Championship with five races left in the season. Sætern would amass a total of 21 points, with two wins slipping through his fingers at the very last moment in back-to-back races.

Still impressed with what they had seen, the Norfolk based team would sign Thom on for the entire 1997 season. Sætern's campaign got off to an understandably slow start with the death of his uncle Jasper still weighing on him. In Finland his fortunes would change with a third place and then another third place at the Autodromo di Pergusa in Italy. Thomas would take his first win in the International Formula 3000 series at Hockenheim to a grand approval from the crowd as he crossed the finish line for the last time that day. Sætern was quoted after the race "I could almost hear them in the car, I've never experienced anything like that."

After his success in Germany, Thomas would move southward to Austria where in back-to-back races he would manage his second win in the series to an equally enthusiastic reaction. With only two competitors ahead of him in the championship, Thom's hopes of winning the 1997 International Formula 3000 Championship would soon be brought to a crucial halt after the Norwegian retired at Spa-Francorschamps. However, with a second place finish at Mugello it would put him back in the fight in the championship with Rasmus Højengaard and Alex Revie fighting for the actual title.

In what would be his final International Formula 3000 Championship start, Thom started near the back alongside one of his championship rivals, Alex Revie. Meanwhile Hojengaard would start at the front. During the course of the race he would gain a total of three spots at the start, and eventually passed another six cars in part thanks to a safety car caused by the sudden retirement of Revie. Thomas would end up finishing 4th, which to his dismay would not be enough to take the championship. Sætern would officially place second in the championship, finishing two points ahead of Revie but two points behind champion Hojengaard who would end up with 39 points. Though eligible, Thomas would not return to the series in 1998 despite offers from both Super Nova Racing and RSM Marko due to committing full focus to being a reserve in Formula One for Sauber.

### Formula One (1998-2008)

#### Sauber Reserve (1998)

Thom's success in junior racing series and his relation to Jasper Saetern brought him to the attention of several Formula One teams. Initially considering an offer from Ford Grand Prix to race for them that year, former team boss and advisor Helmut Marko advised Sætern to hold out on the offer. Less than a few weeks later Marko personally accompanied Thomas to a meeting with Sauber team owner Peter Sauber, advocating for his former driver to join the Red Bull backed team. Thomas recalled later that year that the negotiations went extremely well as just a couple of days later he was offered a contract and was hired as a test and reserve driver for Sauber in 1998. Thomas said that he was forever indebted to Helmut Marko for his help in securing the role with the team.

During his time as a reserve with the team he would often be found sitting next to the Sauber pit wall during a race weekend. His debut on track would come that year in a free practice session in Austria where he would place 14th. At the next race at Malaysia Thom became well-known in the paddock by pretending to be Paul McCartney after the fans confused him for the famous musician.

On Christmas Eve 1998 news broke that Thom Sætern would be headed to Formula One in 1999, news he himself broke on his personal webpage. A few weeks later in January 1999 more information would be revealed with him lining up alongside the returning Andrés Arrigondiaga for his fifth year with the Swiss outfit. The press release later went on to state that Thom was to be the team's second driver to give him time to adapt to the series. His contract would only last for the 1999 season.

#### Sauber (1999-2002)

##### 1999

The 1999 Australian Grand Prix would play host to Thomas' debut in Formula One and he qualified in 14th just a spot behind his teammate Arrigondiaga. He would have a good start but would collide with BAR's Alex Revie after 15 laps resulting in the both of them retiring. The two would collide again, also collecting Ligier's Charles Rey, at Brazil. Thom would joke that they hit into Rey "for Jasper". It would take until the third race for Sætern to take his maiden finish in Formula One, taking 16th at San Marino, then again on the streets of Monaco and at Silverstone. In Germany Thom would run as well as 9th but a puncture in the second sector meant that he would end up taking home 18th that race instead.

At Spa-Francorchamps Thomas would take home 15th, before retiring the next week at Monza. Austria would not be kind to Sætern, who ran out of fuel on the last lap and limped the car home to 18th. Finishing 19th at Malaysia, Thaul would joke it was "karma for leading everyone on last year". In Japan, the final round of the 1999 season, Thom would finish in a then career-high 14th. Relieved for the good day of racing, Thomas would thank the team for the opportunity during a post-race press conference before breaking down and calling 1997 the worst year of his life and 1999 the best year of his life. He stated he was unsure if he had done enough to be back the next year but that he had cherished every second of it.

##### 2000

On December 28th 1999 Thom, along with teammate Arrigondiaga, were confirmed for their third and sixth years with the organization respectively. Once again Thom was to be the secondary driver for the Swiss outfit. Sætern himself would secure a contract through 2001 with the team with an option to return him to a testing role should Sauber want to.

In Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix, Thom would finish in a then career-high 11th, originally 12th before the disqualification of Timo Pakkinen. Brazil would see Thom retire after 10 laps after a suspension failure caused Thom to wreck. At the inaugural United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he would place 12th. Just moments after crossing the line Mustafa Onan lost control of his Minardi and an unprepared Sætern would crash into the Turkish driver at 200 miles per hour. Though he would get away as the better off of the two he would still sprain his wrist due to the wheel snapping on him. Thom would have been back in time for Monaco without issue, had the 2000 Monaco Grand Prix not been cancelled due to Storm Ronald. Thomas however would miss the British Grand Prix and German Grand Prix due to appendicitis.

Thom would return to Formula One in time for the Austrian Grand Prix. He qualified in 12th and would have a slow start that quickly turned into mayhem that would affect the entire grid throughout lap one. Sætern finished 12th, running as high as 7th in the early stages. The team stated that his pace quickly dropped off due to debris damaging his front wing. Thomas took fault for the mishap, telling the press that he had told the team over the radio that he could control the situation. Thomas had a disappointing Belgian Grand Prix, retiring on lap two after multiple incidents and a high-speed shunt with the barrier just before *Raidillon*. Following Belgium was a disastrous Italian Grand Prix. Despite qualifying 14th, Thom would cause a massive incident at the first turn by braking late. After the massive incident Sætern cited brake overheating issues during the majority of the race, a problem he had been dealing with all weekend, which would cause him to lose control of his car several times. He would go on to take the blame for all incidents personally. When asked about if he was confident he'd be racing as a driver for Sauber instead of testing in 2001 Thomas stated that he was worried about the outcome, but understood that the team would make the best choice they could. Ultimately, Sætern would finish 13th in Monza.

The final two rounds of the 2000 Formula One Season took place in Malaysia and Japan. Following the Italian Grand Prix, Thomas would be penalised with a pit-lane start for the Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang. In the Malaysian Grand Prix Sætern would finish 13th. Thom would state in a post-race press conference that he was speaking with teams other than Sauber. A myriad of teams were rumoured throughout the grid, but both Minardi and BAR were most consistent among sources. Notably, the Norwegian stated that he saw Sauber as future upper-midfield contenders by 2002 and that he wanted to stay with the team if possible. At Suzuka Sætern would have trouble in qualifying, spinning out twice at *130R*, resulting in him logging a qualifying lap that would place him at the back of the grid. Then, following a poor start Sætern would manage 12 race laps before losing control of his Sauber at *130R* and hitting the barrier in a scary crash, resulting in a DNF. Sætern would come out of it uninjured, though his future with Sauber would still be without decision at the end of the season.

##### 2001

During testing in late February Sætern was finally confirmed for the lineup alongside Andrés Arrigondiaga, who was already confirmed to be leaving Sauber at the end of the year prior to the start of the 2001 season. At the season opener in Australia, Sætern would finish 18th following a lap one shunt with Toyota's Kamui Yokozeki that eerily mirrored the 1997 incident involving his uncle Jasper. Sætern would not sustain any physical damages, though the resulting damage slowed his car significantly. In Malaysia Thom would finish 15th despite a strong running early in the grand prix. The Brazilian Grand Prix had strong rain showers and would see Sætern's highest finish of the year, a 13th, followed by two retirements in the United States and Monaco Grands Prix respectively.

Red Bull would help negotiate with Sauber to sign a single year extension with Sætern for 2002 prior to the British Grand Prix where he would finish in 17th. Sætern would finish 14th in Germany and a mechanical failure took away Sætern's chance for his first points in Formula One. In Belgium, Italy, and Japan questionable strategy calls in the final three races of 2001 would keep Sætern near the back of the field with him finishing in 20th, 19th, and 20th again respectively.

##### 2002

Thomas Sætern would partner with Belgian driver Saskia Klöden in the relatively uncompetitive Sauber C21. At the start of the season Sætern would manage an 18th in the Australian Grand Prix. An unnaturally hot Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang would lead to several cars retiring with overheating issues. In the final twenty laps of the race Sætern, who was 13th at the time, told the team over the radio "I'm just going to fucking go for it, Andy (Palmer, Sætern's race engineer from 1999 to 2003)." Following this, Sætern began making up several places in the remaining laps to finish in 9th for his first Formula One points. Elated with the result, Sætern would spend the duration of the Brazilian Grand Prix trying to recreate his success. However it would wind up costing him what was a near-guaranteed 12th as his tyres began to fall off in the closing stages of the race dropping him all the way down to 16th. Sætern apologized profusely for the mistake following the race.

The rest of the 2002 season would not be as dramatic for the Norwegian driver. Back to back retirements a second year in a row at the United States and Monaco Grand Prix races would be followed by a 13th in Silverstone for the British Grand Prix and Sauber's last points of the season thanks to Klöden's 10th. Sætern ran well in Germany despite the end result being a retirement, and following an 11th place finish in Austria, Thom was announced to be heading to Minardi for the 2003 season. Red Bull confirmed that they would continue to sponsor and support Thom despite his departure from the Red Bull backed team of Sauber. Sætern stated that he and Helmut Marko, a then friend and a man with strong ties with Red Bull in motorsport, had decided that it would be best for Sætern to leave the Swiss outfit for another team to try and revitalize his motorsport career. Sætern also told press that he had "nothing but love and deep respect" for everyone he had worked with at Sauber and that he would be interested in returning if the opportunity presented itself.

In the last three races of the year Sauber would provide Sætern with a 16th in Belgium, a 14th place finish in Monza, and a 16th place finish at Suzuka for the Japanese Grand Prix.

#### Minardi (2003)

##### 2003

In 2003 Sætern would join the Italian team Minardi to replace outgoing driver Giorgio Ricci. The team had failed to score at all during the 2002 season to which Sætern joked "was the perfect fit." Teaming up with Czech Republic driver Bedřich Turek, Minardi showed a quick improvement at the start of the season with Sætern scoring 13th, 10th, and then 10th again in the first three races. Early signs proved well for the pairing, though for the third year in a row at the United States and Monaco Grands Prix, Sætern retired despite racing in the top eight throughout the race at Indianapolis, having a mechanical failure.

Sætern would finish 12th at Silverstone and then retire in Germany due to a third mechanical failure in four races. Thomas praised the Minardi PS03 for making the best of what the underfunded team could, going as far as to call the season a miracle. In Austria the Italian team would see Sætern finish 17th after he controversially dropped back a significant amount to help his teammate Turek secure a 3rd place podium at the A1-Ring. Due to this in Belgium he would serve a pit-lane start penalty, though this would not come to affect Sætern much as the car did not make it past *Eau Rouge* before facing another mechanical failure. Sætern would joke that the incident was "all according to the evil Minardi masterplan", poking at the criticism he had received in Austria, before stating that he found it disappointing that the car failed as often as it did. At the Italian Grand Prix Sætern would finish 15th following an exciting battle with Conor Byrne, Kamui Yokozeki, and Chuck Dingley Jr. throughout the race. In Suzuka Thom would have another exciting race, battling with fellow Nordic driver Goran Larsson and Minardi teammate Turek. Ultimately Sætern would finish 18th during the race.

#### Jordan Reserve (February 2004 - May 2004)

Reportedly Sætern was set to resign with Minardi for the 2004 season, however following the team's declaration of bankruptcy and the drug bust of several high ranking members of Minardi the team was sold to Fabiano Margheriti. Minardi's contracts were never made official, so Margheriti officially signed Ralf Goldbach and Georgina Hill instead. Thomas was left without a team for the 2004 season and signed as a reserve for Jordan Grand Prix to stay within the Formula One paddock. Included in the deal was a clause that stated when needed, Sætern would place his duties with Jordan above all others. This clause effectively allowed Sætern to seek employment in other motorsport series.

In an interview with Sætern, he stated that getting back onto the grid was something he was putting his full effort into. Telling press that he was intending to return "the moment an opportunity arrives, I am going to be there as quickly as possible." Sætern had been looking into other motorsport series to supplement his career while at Jordan. During his time as a reserve with the team he was reportedly noticeably unhappy and anxious, only appearing out of his motorhome for his team duties.

#### Jordan (2004)

##### 2004

At the start of the 2004 season rookie Canadian driver Hussien Aal suffered a then-unknown concussion during the opening round of the 2004 season at Melbourne Park for the Australian Grand Prix. At the following race weekend Jordan made the decision to allow Aal to race instead of Sætern, who had been assisting authorities in the case of the 2004 pre-season Minardi drug bust. Hussien would be unable to make the race, having not met the required pre-qualifying time set by the race director. Following a similar result in Austria, Aal took a temporary sabbatical from the sport that eventually turned into a complete retirement from motorsport, and Jordan filled the spot with Thomas.

Sætern stated that he was elated to be working again with Bedřich Turek, who was his Minardi teammate from the 2003 season. "It's great to be working with Bedřich again, this time without drug money... allegedly." Thomas also told press that he cherished the opportunity and that he did not want it to go to waste.

Thomas' return to Formula One lasted all of one lap in Germany, before he was involved in an accident, forcing him to retire the car in an otherwise unimpressive day. Saetern's car suffered a series of reliability issues in practice for the United States Grand Prix and he would not be allowed to take part in the race on Sunday. Turek would finish in 13th giving Jordan their first finish of the year. Saetern would also end up missing the British Grand Prix after a heavy crash in the last practice session, leaving the team without time to repair or replace the car. At the Belgian Grand Prix he would qualify in 13th place but suffer a total of five instances of contact which necessitated pitting to repair the damage within 11 laps. On lap 11, whilst making his way back to the garage for the fifth time, Saetern understeered off the track due to his Jordan missing its front wing, resulting in him crashing into the barrier and retiring from the race. It has been claimed Thomas had said he would kill the man who designed Spa before disconnecting his radio, but though this comes from several sources there has never been any official proof or confirmation.

Upon further examination after the Belgian Grand Prix, it was revealed that Saetern had suffered a wrist sprain. Despite this, he raced at the Italian Grand Prix, qualifying in 14th. Saetern would be out of the race early on lap 12 after losing control of his car after exiting turn 6 *Curve di Lesmo 1*, hitting into the wall which did terminal damage to the car and forced a retirement.

Prior to the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend, a leaked discussion between Sætern and his agent revealed he had received "very few, and not good" Formula One offers. After a collision in qualifying with another driver, he would not be able to start the Malaysian Grand Prix. Sætern's Japanese Grand Prix was not favorable either. Managing to qualify in 12th for the race, it would only last as far as five turns before his unsettled Jordan skidded off the track and into a barrier, destroying the car. If Sætern retired during the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix, he would have become one of the first drivers to ever participate in a majority of a Formula One season without ever finishing a race.

In his final Formula One race, Sætern served a qualifying ban for Saturday's session and started the grand prix in 16th. At the start the Jaguar in front of Sætern, Conor Byrne, stalled which allowed him to pass. On the run up to turn 6, *Ferradura*, Dingley driver Goran Larsson hit into Sætern's teammate Turek as Sætern ran wide. The two Jordan's collided and Sætern pit at the end of the first lap for new soft tyres and a replacement wing. Sætern would spend the remainder of his race driving carefully and making adjustments to his car with its tyres. Ultimately, Sætern would finish 13th and Turek would finish in 14th, which would mark both the first and only time in 2004 that both Jordan cars had finished a race.

Post race, Sætern talked with the press for one final time in Formula One and thanked everyone he had worked with and the fans, as well as a desire to attend future Formula One races as a fan in support of the friends he had made in the paddock.

#### Red Bull Racing Reserve (2005-2007)

Following Sætern's surprise win at Brno in the FIA GT Championship along with his performances in the previous weeks, Sætern, Marko, and Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner agreed to a deal that would make Sætern a reserve driver for the team at no cost to Red Bull Racing, and began the improvement of relations with the Red Bull company and Sætern. Sætern would not see the track during his tenure with the team as a reserve except during test runs and for two practice sessions in 2006 and 2007 respectively. Sætern would end up leaving after 2007 to focus on the V8 Supercar Championship Series, but with a much more positive relationship.

Sætern continues to have relations with Red Bull Racing despite no longer working with the team, and has been invited as a guest of the team to a handful of race weekends.

#### Scuderia Toro Rosso (2008)

In an interview prior to his debut in the Australian V8 Supercar Series, Sætern mentioned that he had become the backup reserve for Scuderia Toro Rosso in case anything happened to their primary. Little information was known about this deal at this time, but it was his Sætern's last season as a reserve, with his duties officially ending at the Japanese Grand Prix.

### FIA GT Championship (2005-2007)

#### JMB Racing (2005-2006)

Prior to the Brazilian Grand Prix it was announced that Thomas Sætern would be leaving Formula One for JMB Racing as a part of the FIA GT Championship series and the Le Mans Endurance Series as a "final opportunity", with Red Bull as a backer. Sætern said that although he was disappointed that his tenure in Formula One had not gone well he hoped to prove "not just to everyone else, but to myself" that he could be successful again in motorsport.

Sætern would pair with Martin Jullien, a Frenchman who is the 1999 GT1 World Drivers Champion and had also finished second or third place five times. Jullien would teach Sætern to drive, and is the person Sætern attributes most to his success after Formula One. In his first ever FIA GT race, Thomas was forced to retire the car after a brake failure into turn one at Monza caused a three car accident. Following a second place finish in his fourth race at Brno Circuit, Sætern immediately faced accusations that their success at the race was due to Jullien's recovery effort following Sætern blowing a tyre twenty minutes before the next scheduled pitstop. Sætern stated that he agreed that Martin had been the biggest reason as to why they finished 2nd, and praised Jullien heavily. When the duo won the 12hr point at Spa, Jullien was driving the car. He was also was cited by Sætern as a major factor as to why they finished 2nd at Oschersleben and and Istanbul, as well as winning in Bahrain.

In 2006 Sætern would once again team with Jullien in his last season in the series. Thomas stated at the start of the year that he was unhappy to be moved to GT2 without much notice, but that he would do his best regardless. Despite winning at Brno it would take until Spa for Sætern to be given credit as at the 6th hour, Sætern had driven the car to second place. However much like the prior season, Jullien was the driving force on the team in their performances at Mugello and Budapest. 2006 also saw several reliability scares as though the JMB Racing car was fast, a lot of reliability issues meant that the team lost multiple crucial opportunities due to it's issues.

#### Jetalliance Racing (2007)

Wanting to return to GT1 and worried with 2006's drop off in reliability, Sætern chose not to continue with JMB Racing and instead turned to a one year contract with Jetalliance Racing. Now in the #33 Aston Martin DBR9 with Belgian driver Wesley De Saeger, the pairing would reach great success early on. However, questions on the impact of Sætern's contributions remained as like Martin Jullien at JMB Racing, De Saeger was also a proven race winner and in the case of Jullien, a world champion. Alongside De Saeger the pair would finish 3rd in the championship with wins at Silverstone, the 24 hours at Spa-Francorchamps, and Zolhander.

### Le Mans Endurance Series (2005-2008)

#### JMB Racing (2005)

Sætern's first official test took place on April 2005 at Circuit Paul Ricard. The season would be relatively uneventful for the Norwegian driver, who would retire twice, finish outside of the points once, 5th at Monaco, and 2nd at the Nürburgring.

#### Team Ocrea/Team Ocrea-Matmut (2006-2008)

In 2006 Sætern would move to Team Ocrea alongside multiple time multi-series world champion Tatsuya Meiji. The pairing would miss classification for their first race of 2006 by just four laps, but would score points in all other races with a win at the Nürburgring and a 2nd place finish at Donnington Park. The two would tie for 3rd to end the season. 2007 saw both Tatsuya and Sætern returning to the team, with the Japanese driver dominating the first race of the season in Monaco. Following a 5th place finish they would finish 2nd in both Germany and Belgium, and after a race where they missed out on the points the team would finish 3rd in Brazil. Due to their relative domination, Meiji and Sætern would win the 2007 Le Mans Endurance Series championship. After Team Ocrea-Matmut announced their intentions to move to LMP1 Meiji would move on from the Le Mans Endurance Series in 2008, allowing Sætern to partner up with former Formula One driver Stephen Winteringham. The pair clashed frequently both on and off the track, not helped by a particularly low scoring season for the team. Despite Sætern's reputation, many concurred that individually he had improved greatly as compared to 2007. Despite this, he would move on from the series at the end of the season.

##### 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans

Sætern and Tatsuya would finish 14th in their one and only 24 Hours of Le Mans partnership after an incident where a tire was blown sixteen hours into the race severely impacted their strategy.

### Indianapolis 500

Sætern competed in the Indianapolis 500 yearly from 2006 to 2008 for various teams willing to give him a seat for the event. In his first year he would run in the midfield before blowing a tire with 59 laps to go, nearly collecting the entire rest of the field with him. Luckily, Sætern would escape the crash unharmed. The following year would be comparatively cut and dry to his other attempts with a finish in 16th. In his final Indianapolis 500 start, Sætern would finish 6th after a thunderstorm began to form amidst a pit cycle with 39 laps to go. The race would not resume as a F2 tornado formed nearby the speedway.

### V8 Supercar Championship Series (2008-2010)

Wanting new challenges and to once again race a series on his own, Sætern grew interested in the V8 Supercar Championship Series after watching a race on television won by 1993 F1 World Champion and family friend Ezequiel Zarco. After reaching out Sætern was eventually offered by Jim Beam Dick Johnson Racing for the 2008 season. The season started on February 21st at the Adelaide Street Circuit, where Sætern would take home 15th and 12th place finishes on his debut weekend. Sætern stated that while he knew his results had yet to be anything exceptional, he was proud of his efforts for the weekend and was excited to compete in the series.

Following his debut, Sætern found middling success with a then best performance at the second race of round 5 at Sandown International Raceway with a 6th place finish. The finish has done little to quell debates of his success as his teammate, Jacob Peterson, won twice that weekend. Sætern would sign a two year extension with the team after finishing 3rd first round of Bahrain.

2009 saw Sætern complete an entire season without retiring once, despite his results varying in success. The early season got off to a good start with him taking his second podium in Adelaide, the rest of the season would see middling performances with occasional good races scattered in between. At the 2009 race at Sandown International Raceway, Sætern would take his first ever win in the series after a highly contested battle that saw Sætern get ahead on strategy.

In 2010 Thomas announced that he planned on retiring at the seasons end, citing wanting to be with his family now that he had a wife and four children to share the rest of his life with. This season much like the last would be filled with scattered performances, after 30 races Sætern would have his first retirement in nearly two years. Sætern's final win in motorsport would come at the 2010 Phillip Island Grand Prix, during the race he would fracture his hand causing him to miss the 2010 Bathurst race. Thomas would finish his last race in 13th, the same place he finished in his last Formula One race.

## Personal Life

Sætern married English author Sophie Barrett in 2009, the two had a son Sætern the following year named Avery, he is also a step-father to three daughters, Helena, Grace and Harmony. He currently lives in Dover in the United Kingdom. Thomas owns several other properties, and previously split his time living in in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, an apartment in Monte Carlo that he bought in 2003, and a residence in Taito City, Tokyo, Japan that he had originally rented to make travel to Super Car Series races easier.

He speaks a number of languages including his native Norwegian, English, Dutch, Japanese, German, Spanish, Finnish, and Italian. Thomas has joked that he was learning Italian to "properly apologize" for his uncle's collision with two-time Formula One World Champion Fabiano Margheriti at Monza in 1991. From 1999 to 2001, Thom learned Spanish to better communicate with his former Argentine teammate and friend Andrés Arrigondiaga. When asked by a reporter in 1999, Thomas stated that learning languages came naturally to him. Following a breakfast with several other Formula One drivers during winter testing in 2003, Sætern learned Finnish from Veikko Nyquist.

In mid-1996 Thomas started going by Thom instead of Tommy; it is unknown as to why he changed this. Near the end of his Formula One tenure in 2004 he once again switched to the full version of Thomas. Outside of motorsport Thomas is a painter and can play the piano in his own words "fine enough." Very little of his artwork is publicly known. Another one of Sætern's hobbies is video games. Sætern unexpectedly appeared at the Sega booth at E3 2006 and after the representatives there stated they did not know of his connection to Sega, he reportedly began wandering the booths for a number of hours. Most of his time was also apparently spent replaying demos at the booth for Atlus.

Thom was in attendance for the 1997 Australian Grand Prix, which saw the unfortunate death of his uncle Jasper. When asked a week later if he intended to leave racing after the accident Thomas replied: "my uncle was my hero, and I know he'd want me to keep going no matter what. I had hoped to race [with] him in Formula One before his time was up and now I only want to pick up where he left off. If I can get into Formula One, I'd be at peace I think." After the incident it was observed that Thom had started falling back into his reclusive tendencies from childhood. Since his crash at Australia in 2001, Thomas has opened up more again and has been more regularly seen with fellow drivers outside of race weekends. In the paddock, Sætern is well known for going along with jokes to their furthest extent.

Following the passing of his uncle Jasper in 1997, Thomas would see a surge in popularity as a driver. At the 1999 Italian Grand Prix Thom would joke that "even the Italians sort of like me, I must be doing something okay." Part of what has made Thom a polarizing figure is his outspoken activism and philanthropy. Thom was an early supporter of LGBTQ rights and an activist against the American-Iraq war and many other such causes. In response to an article from a British tabloid questioning Thomas' sexuality in 2002 prior to the United States Grand Prix, Sætern modified his helmet to have the website for various LGBTQ charities above the visor with thin rainbow striping below it, which he left for the rest of the year. When asked by tabloid press what the modifications meant Thomas replied that he just thought they were "really neat colors." Since his first Indianapolis 500 in 2006, Sætern had originally worn the stripe in all races in countries where such rights are in question before outright adopting it in October 2007.

Despite being Norwegian, Thomas is noted for sounding almost entirely British except for when speaking in Norwegian, in which case his accent sounds Norwegian.

Thomas is compared as a look-alike to famous musician Paul McCartney. In 1998 at the Malaysian Grand Prix Thom was confused by the fans to actually be McCartney, leading to Sauber and Sætern pretending for the entire weekend that they had invited him as a guest. The British press quickly got hold of the story and Thom would later say that he was "Paul McCartney pretending to be a racing driver", earning him the nickname Thaul. In 2002 following Thom's first Formula One points in Malaysia, the Sauber garage played McCartney's "Hey Jude" while hosting a miniature podium celebration. In 2003 Minardi wrote "THAUL P10!" on the pit board for the final lap of the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Throughout his career, Sætern has held several personal sponsors; most notably Sega (1994-2001, 2005-2007) and Red Bull (1995-2005, 2008-). He has also been sponsored by Arisco (1999-2001), Marlboro (1992-1995), Audio-Technica (2000-), Color Line (1992-1997, 2002-2003), Telenor (2006-), and AEON (1996, 2006-2008). Both Sætern and his uncle made a reputation as great business partners during their respective careers, with both of them being known for being heavily involved in the majority of their sponsors.

Thomas has been known to arrive to race weekends on motorcycles, an interest he picked up at an early age due to his uncle. Sætern most frequently rides a 2003 Suzuki GSX-R750 in dark metallic blue and white, which he has stated is his favorite motorcycle.

### Sega Sponsorship

In March of 1993 Jasper began introducing Thomas to some of the more influential people within Sega that he had known, informing them of his nephew's early interests and results in racing. Intrigued, the company began watching him and eventually started sponsoring Thom in July 1994. In doing so, Thom's helmet often mirrored that of Jasper's but with British racing green and silver instead of red and blue. Upon arriving in Formula One in 1998 Sætern dropped the colors he had used during his junior career due to it's similarity to Jenrick Armitage-Barnes IV's helmet, which used the same colors. Instead, Thomas began to use a helmet near identical to Jasper's helmet that he had used from 1995 until his unfortunate death in 1997. However instead of a JS at the top, Thom would feature the Sega Saturn logo in 1998, and then the Dreamcast logo from 1999 to 2001. Interestingly Sætern used the North American Dreamcast logo in 2000, and used the European Dreamcast logo in 1999 and a specialized golden swirl in 2001 as a send-off to their partnership. The Dreamcast logo would only feature four times in 2001. At the Australian and Brazilian Grand Prix's, then again at the British and Japanese Grand Prix's.

Thom would take part in a exhibition car race in his uncle's 1992 Ligier for the 1998 Australian Grand Prix weekend. Running a special helmet reminiscent of Jasper's, all Sega logos would instead say "Sætern" or "Jasper." The helmet itself would be hand painted by Thomas. After the race the helmet, meant to go to a charity auction, was reportedly stolen and has not been seen since. Similarly at the 1999 Australian Grand Prix, Thomas ran another hand painted helmet with a collage of different words at the back all in reference to his uncle's racing career. After the race this helmet was also stolen and has not resurfaced. At the 2001 Japanese Grand Prix, Thom would use a special white helmet with miniature golden swirls throughout the design. Though the helmet did not say Dreamcast or Sega, Sætern admitted it was in tribute to the long-standing partnership possibly coming to an end with Sega's financial hardships.

In 2000 Thom would appear in *Jasper Sætern's Millennium Grand Prix* not only as a driver but as a guide in the tutorials in a similar fashion to Craig Stadler's appearance in Pebble Beach Golf for the Sega Saturn, though considerably less frequent. He would also appear as one of the cars on the front cover. In 2012 he would appear in Sonic All-Star's Racing Transformed, as well as appearing in Archie's Sonic Universe #45.

Thomas' contract with Sega was supposed to last from 1999 until 2005, though with the financial hardships the company faced at the time, the contract was ended early during the 2001 season. It has been rumored that in 2001 Sætern was approached by Microsoft to sponsor their XBOX console for the United States Grand Prix and that Thomas declined out of respect.

At E3 2006 Sætern made an appearance at Sega of America's booth which was apparently both unpaid and unplanned according to the Sega representatives present, who did not know who he was. Thomas repeated the appearance at the following year's E3 in 2007, and was recognized. Sætern has stated that he finds American conventions fascinating and enjoyable due to him not often being recognized in public.

Sega of Europe reached out to Sætern once more and sponsored him in both 2005 to Spring 2007 for a reportedly considerably lower amount than years prior. The sponsorship deal concluded in early 2007 and was mostly to promote the releases of Sonic the Hedgehog titles such as Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) and Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

### Red Bull sponsorship and relationship with the brand

In 1995 after winning the German Formula 3 championship the team owner of RSM Marko, Helmut Marko, approached Thomas with an offer from Austrian energy drinks company Red Bull, who wanted to sponsor the Norwegian driver after the untimely death of their previous driver Soren Vinter. Written letters have surfaced that initially the plan was for Jasper, Thom's uncle, to become the next official Red Bull driver, but that the combination of Helmut Marko's advocacy of Thom and Jasper's back-to-back mediocre seasons with Tyrrell caused Red Bull to change course. Thom accepted the contract offer, and has worked closely with Red Bull ever since.

In 1997 Sætern came to Marko to seek guidance following his nearly championship winning season with Super Nova Racing. Though both Super Nova Racing and RSM Marko had offered Thom a chance to come back and win the Formula 3000 championship in 1998, Ford Grand Prix, Ford's factory Formula One team, had offered Thom an seat to race in F1 that very season. Both Thom and Helmut were troubled by the offer, with Marko publicly calling it a "offer formed out of pity." Understanding Thom's eagerness to jump into Formula One but his hesitation to join what had been one of the most troubled teams in Formula One history, Marko told Sætern to hold out on the offer from Ford Grand Prix. After a few weeks Marko arranged a meeting for the two of them and Peter Sauber, the owner of Formula One's Sauber, a Red Bull branded team. Thom was offered a role as a test driver so that he could learn the inner workings of Formula One at a steadier pace and was guaranteed a racing contract with Sauber by 2001. Thomas accepted this offer as well, and made his Formula One debut at the A-1 Ring in Austria. In 1999 after the departure of Jan Toom from Formula One, Thom made his full-time debut in Formula One for Sauber.

In 2001 following the official departure of Sega as a sponsor of Thom following the Brazilian Grand Prix, Sætern adopted a new pattern on the top of his helmet which resembled a can of Red Bull. Following Sætern's departure from Sauber after 2002, Red Bull continued to sponsor Thomas at Minardi from 2003 onwards.

Red Bull strongly considering dropping Sætern at the end of 2004, which was when his contract with the energy drinks company to expire. That was officially confirmed on 21st July 2004, near the bottom of a long quarterly report released by Red Bull themselves for investors.

In the midst of the 2004 summer break, Sætern and reportedly had a falling out with some within Red Bull after comments about "misplacing trust" in Sætern were released. Just days after to the Japanese Grand Prix, both Red Bull and Sætern reportedly had a very long conversation about his future and devised a new plan for Thomas. In 2005 Sætern would transition into endurance racing with JMB Racing, a Red Bull sponsored team, as a "final opportunity."

In 2005, after winning at Brno in June and a string of good performances Sætern was signed as a reserve for the Red Bull Racing team, though not as their first option due to him being involved heavily in the FIA GT Series and Le Mans Endurance Series at the time. Sætern would stay as a reserve with the team up until the conclusion of the 2007 season, at which point he would leave in order to focus on the V8 Supercar Series.

It is unknown how Thomas fit into Red Bull in terms of sponsorship. In 2006 Sætern was quick to lambast team boss Christian Horner multiple times for sexist comments following the Bahrain Grand Prix whilst Red Bull Racing was still under his control despite being a reserve for the team. This caused tension between both Sætern, Red Bull, and Red Bull Racing. Sætern's 2008 season in the Australian V8 Supercar Series will feature minimal Red Bull branding. Despite these events and no longer being a reserve for the Red Bull Racing team, Sætern has committed to appearing at a number of races as a guest. He was also the back-up reserve driver for Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2008. In 2010 for his final race in the V8 Supercar Series, Red Bull completely took over the car with their own branding. Sætern has since done a few show runs with different cars from the brand, and is still a regular guest in the Formula One paddock.

### Controversy

Since leaving Formula One, Sætern's success has been a heavy topic of debate due to him having always shared a car with drivers who are multiple time race winners or world champions, especially in the cases of his 2007 Le Mans Series championship win with Tatsuya Meiji, a five time world champion with multiple partners who dominated both the 2002 and 2003 seasons having only lost twice, as well as with JMB Racing having been paired with Martin Jullien, the 1999 GT1 series champion who is also a multiple time world champion outside of the sport. Supporting the argument that Sætern has not been successful outside of Formula One is that most retirements or mistakes have occurred whilst he was in control of the car, and that his individual performances in the Indianapolis 500 have been met with criticism for his occasional lack of pace and mistakes behind the wheel. Sætern tends to shy away from commenting on the controversy, though many saw his move to the Australian V8 Supercar Series as an attempt to curb the debate. Following his second win in V8 Supercars and the announcement of his retirement, the debate has largely simmered and been left unanswered.

## Racing Record

### Racing Career Summary

#### Le Mans Series

**Indianapolis 500**

\* *The 2008 Indianapolis 500 was cut 39 laps short after a severe thunderstorm, which eventually produced an F2 tornado, formed in the area of the speedway, shutting the track down.*

**24 Hours of Le Mans**