An artist on and off the asphalt, the Swedish all-rounder paints a picture of his drives in Formula 1, IndyCar and sports cars
INTERVIEW: ROB WIDDOWS
THE MOTOR SPORT INTERVIEW
Stefan Johansson began as a kart racer, winning the Swedish championship in 1973 before moving to Formula Ford, winning the championship in 1977 and ’79. His speed and natural talent took him to Formula 3 where he won the British championship for the Project Four team.
He made his Formula 1 debut with the Spirit-Honda at the British Grand Prix in ’83 and after stand-in drives for Tyrrell and Toleman he was signed by Ferrari where he stayed for two years before going to McLaren alongside Alain Prost. From 1988 to ’91 he raced for Ligier, Onyx, AGS and Footwork before moving to America, racing in the CART series before creating his own Indy Lights team, and later his own CART team. His sports car career included a victory at Le Mans, for Porsche.
He now manages several drivers including Scott Dixon and fellow Swede Felix Rosenqvist. A talented artist and designer, Stefan’s dramatic motor racing pictures are prized by collectors. He talks to us about his varied career on the track and how he came to discover a passion for painting.
Motor Sport:Let’s start with Stefan the artist. You painted a special Porsche, which was seen at 2023’s Festival of Speed, and then there’s the painting of yourself in the McLaren at Monaco in 1987.
SJ: The car is based on a Porsche 911 Turbo with one of my TAG turbo engines from the 1987 F1 season. Dean Lanzante obtained some of these engines and decided to do a retro-mod based around that engine bolted into the back of an ’87 911. The TAG turbo was a great engine, but it had its issues when I raced it in ’87 with McLaren because by then the Renault was considered to be the strongest engine. The guys from Los Angeles who own the Porsche wanted to make it an ‘art car’ and asked me to do the paint. It’s a great concept and it’s been fun. So yeah, there’s my artwork on the car and my painting of me at Monaco in the McLaren as the team celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.
Tell me about your art, your paintings, and what has inspired you to get so involved in it over the years.
SJ: I’ve been painting since 1986, as a hobby between races, just something I loved doing. I found it relaxing and it gets those creative juices flowing. When I stopped driving I began to channel all my energy into the arts and design, and now it��
