Hirvonen is one of the younger drivers to be part of the World Rally scene but his age is in no way an indication of his ability. His career has been, somewhat, a case of not getting the fruits for his hard work. Born in Finland, in 1980, Hirvonen has had the opportunities that many dream of. However, despite performing well on each occasion, he has been sidelined by many teams.

Hirvonen started rallying in 1998. With two-wheel drive cars, he managed to display quite a bit of what he was capable of and impressed quite a few people. He won the Finnish Formula 2 title in 2002 while competing in the Subaru Cup Challenge in Italy. He lead the entire series in the Subaru Cup but went off road in the final stage of the final round, to lose the championship.

Nonetheless, his performances earned him a place with the Ford works team for the 2003 season. He rolled out of the race on his debut race in Monte Carlo, but that wasn't the end of his season. The rest of his season was extremely solid with a consistent display of driving skills. The results weren't spectacular, but he was deemed good enough to join a Subaru team that had just won the title in 2003. Once again, he gave a solid performance characteristic of himself but again, at the end of the season, a shift in teams beckoned. However, this time round, there wasn't a big name waiting for Hirvonen and he was relegated to privateer rally racing in 2005.

The car he got for his 2005 season was a dismal car built on 2003 specifications. That didn't slow Hirvonen down at all. He led the entire Acropolis Rally overall and this result has gotten him back into the works' car again. His third place in Spain, once back on the BP-Ford Abu Dhabi Team, guaranteed him the team's second seat in 2006.
He went onto claim 8 podium places in 2006 making him the best 'number 2' driver in the 2006 championships. This helped Ford get their Manufacturers' title in 2006 and again in 2007.

Hirvonen, after his unjustified relegation has now come back strongly enough to warrant a 3 year deal with the Ford works team. He is already rated as a podium place contender for each event on the 2008 calendar and team mate Sebastien Loeb and Petter Solberg will be constantly looking into their rear view mirrors, vary of Hirvonen breathing down their necks.