F1 legend Mika Salo located after hit-and-slash attack on Bangkok crossing
Former Formula One driver Mika Salo was slashed on the leg by a motorcycle rider at a Bangkok pedestrian crossing on May 26, with police locating him at a hotel in the Sukhumvit area as they investigate the apparent random attack.
BANGKOK — Police have located former Formula One driver Mika Salo after he was slashed on the leg by a motorcycle rider while crossing a pedestrian crossing in central Bangkok.
Salo, 59, a Finnish national, said he was crossing a zebra crossing in the Sukhumvit area when a moped rider passed and struck him. He initially felt only a slight impact and was unaware he had been injured until a bystander pointed out that his leg was bleeding. "I looked down and saw that my shoe was completely covered in blood," he told a Finnish newspaper.
At 12:20 on 26 May 2026, Pol. Maj. Gen. Phanlop Raemla, deputy commander of the Metropolitan Police Bureau overseeing investigation affairs, inspected the area alongside the commander of Lumpini Police Station. Officers located Salo at a hotel in the Sukhumvit area and brought him to Lumpini Police Station for further questioning.
Salo said he has been returning to hospital for wound cleaning and dressing changes and is taking antibiotics while recovering in Bangkok. He praised the quality of care he received, describing Thai doctors and hospitals as efficient and professional.
Medics believe the wound, which Salo described as "a really big open wound," was inflicted by a knife. Police are investigating the attack, which appears to have been random.
Salo competed in Formula One from 1994 to 2002, driving for teams including Lotus, Tyrrell, Arrows, BAR, Ferrari, Sauber and Toyota. He is best known for stepping in for the injured Michael Schumacher at Ferrari for six races during the 1999 season.
