Alec Weckström

Alec Weckström
Nationality Finland
Born (1998-05-27) 27 May 1998
Helsinki, Finland

Alec Weckström (born 27 May 1998) is a Finnish professional powerboat racer who competes in the UIM F1H2O World Championship. He currently races for Victory Team in the series, having returned to top-level competition in 2025 after a two-year absence from the sport.[1]

Early life and karting career

Weckström was born in Helsinki, Finland.[1] As a child, he was a karting sensation, competing at age eight against future Formula One talents including Max Verstappen, George Russell, Lance Stroll, and Lando Norris in both the Finnish and European Championships.[2] He later switched his focus to powerboat racing, following in the footsteps of his father, Michael Weckström, who raced in F1H2O during 2002 and 2003.[3]

Junior powerboat career

After initially pursuing stunts and Supermoto racing with KTM 125cc karts, Weckström transitioned to powerboat racing in 2019.[2] His rapid progression through the junior ranks was notable. In his fifth event, he secured pole position before fighting back from last place to finish second in the North European championship.[2]

In 2020, Weckström competed in the UIM F4 World Championship, finishing as runner-up at Viverone, Italy, in only his seventh career start.[3] At the championship finale, Finland dominated the podium with Alexander Lindholm taking gold, Weckström claiming silver, and Roope Virtanen earning bronze.[4] This strong performance in F4 earned him a promotion to the top-tier F1H2O series.

F1H2O career

2021: Rookie season

Weckström made his F1H2O racing debut with Gillman Racing at the Grand Prix of San Nazzaro in Italy in 2021.[1] The team was led by four-time World Champion Scott Gillman, with multi-time North American champion Greg Foster as his teammate.[3] Despite a non-finish in his opening race, the Finnish driver scored his first championship point at the first of two races in Figueira da Foz, Portugal.[1] He concluded his impressive rookie season with a second-place finish at the second Portuguese Grand Prix, ending the year in fifth place in the Drivers' Championship.[1]

2022: Fourth overall

The following season, Weckström improved his championship position, finishing fourth overall.[1] His season highlights included a fourth-place finish in Mâcon and a third-place podium at San Nazzaro.[1] After suffering a non-finish, he ended the season strongly with three consecutive fourth-place finishes in Sardinia and Sharjah.[1][5] His consistent performances established him as a rising talent in the championship.

2023–2024: Absence from the sport

Weckström did not start the opening race of the 2023 season and was subsequently absent from the sport throughout the remainder of 2023 and all of 2024.[1] During this period, he was unable to secure a race seat despite his previous strong performances.[6] He spent over two years away from competitive racing, during which he did not sit in a race boat at all.[7]

2025: Return and breakthrough victory

In December 2024, Victory Team announced that Weckström would join their lineup for the 2025 F1H2O World Championship alongside three-time World Champion Shaun Torrente and Emirati driver Ahmed Al Fahim.[8] This marked a significant career opportunity, as Victory Team is considered one of the most prestigious and well-funded teams in the championship.

Weckström's return proved spectacular. At the opening round at Lake Toba, Indonesia, he finished second in qualifying and second in the Grand Prix behind Rusty Wyatt.[9]

At the Grand Prix of Zhengzhou, China, he secured his maiden F1H2O Grand Prix victory.[10] He also won his first sprint race, holding off a late charge from Rusty Wyatt to win by just over two seconds.[11] These victories elevated him to the championship lead. The breakthrough was particularly remarkable given that just one week earlier, he had suffered a serious crash during qualifying, losing consciousness temporarily and being hospitalized.[7]

Personal life

Weckström stands 178 cm (5 ft 10 in) tall and weighs 72 kg (159 lb).[12] While he is Finnish, he races under a United Arab Emirates licence due to Victory Team's requirements for their drivers.[7] However, the Finnish national anthem is played when he achieves victories.[7]

His father, Michael Weckström, competed in F1H2O during 2002 and 2003, making Alec part of a second-generation powerboat racing family.[3] The Weckströms represent the fourth father-son lineage to compete in the sport, following the Seebolds, Deguisnes, and others.[2]

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Position
2020 UIM F4 World Championship 2nd
2021 UIM F1H2O World Championship Gillman Racing 5th
2022 UIM F1H2O World Championship Gillman Racing 4th
2023 UIM F1H2O World Championship Gillman Racing 20th†
2025 UIM F1H2O World Championship Victory Team In progress

† Did not start opening race

F1H2O World Championship results

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 DC Points
2021 Gillman Racing SAN
Ret 		POR
10 		2 5th TBA
2022 Gillman Racing MAC
4 		3 VEN
Ret 		SAR
4 		SAR
4 		SHA
4 		4th TBA
2023 Gillman Racing IND
DNS 		20th 0
2025 Victory Team 2 1 SHA
 JED
 In progress TBA

Notable achievements

  • First F1H2O Grand Prix victory: Grand Prix of Zhengzhou, China (2025)
  • First F1H2O podium: Grand Prix of Portugal 2, Figueira da Foz (2021, 2nd place)
  • UIM F4 World Championship: Runner-up (2020)
  • One of only three Finnish drivers to win an F1H2O Grand Prix (alongside Sami Seliö and Pertti Leppälä)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Alec Weckström – Driver Profile". F1H2O UIM World Championship. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d "Second Generation Driving Star Joining Gillman Racing for 2021!". F1H2O UIM World Championship. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d "Weckstrom steps-up to F1H20". Powerboat Racing World. 15 April 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Finland dominates 2020 UIM F4 World Championship". Powerboat Racing World. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Sardinian Success for Sharjah Team". Powerboat Racing World. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  6. ^ "Gillman Racing confirms new driver lineup – Australian Grant Trask to replace Alec Weckstrom". Powerboat Racing World. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d "Alec Weckström oli vuosi sitten työtön – Taistelee nyt maailmanmestaruudesta" (in Finnish). Iltalehti. 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  8. ^ "Alec Weckström Has Been Announced as New Driver for Victory Team for the 2025 F1H2O Season". F1H2O UIM World Championship. 28 December 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Sharjah Team open F1 Powerboat World Championship with deserved win in Indonesia". Gulf Today. 25 August 2025. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Alec Weckström claimed his maiden Grand Prix victory to seize the championship lead". Powerboat News. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  11. ^ "Alec Weckström claimed his maiden sprint race victory". Powerboat News. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
  12. ^ "66 – Alec Weckstrom". F1H2O UIM World Championship. Retrieved 25 October 2025.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.