Tommi Mäkinen

Rally champion Tommi Mäkinen

Finland will issue a miniature sheet with two different stamps in honor of the fourfold rally champion Tommi Mäkinen on 3 March 2000. The face value of each stamp is 3.50m, thus the miniature sheet sells at 7m.

Postage stamp design

The designers describe their work as follows: "The colour scheme is vivid: strong red and yellow hues combined with black. The main motif is a view from the inside of the car during a race. Driver and co-driver are shot from the back seat. The angle conveys an illustration of sitting in the car, listening to the instructions of the co-driver. One of the stamps includes only the driver.
The upper right-hand corner of this stamp shows a roadside billboard that conveys the impression of the Finnish flag. The name of the driver is printed on his helmet.

Other stamp features Mäkinen's car

The other stamp features Mäkinen's car and a trailing cloud of dust. The side view mirror of the car, showing the focussed eyes of Mäkinen, is seen among the dust.
An excerpt of the co-driver's notes is also shown in the dust. The billboard is shown in the upper left-hand corner of this stamp, also here giving an impression of the Finnish flag.

Miniature sheet

In the upper left-hand corner of the miniature sheet Mäkinen stands with a laurel wreath around his neck. He is looking into the future, beyond the flag inscribed with the years he won his four championships."