Heikki Kovalainen

My 1st article on clip the apex

Do you think we will ever see Kovalainen at the sharp end of the grid again? He had much potential pre-McLaren.

He spent 9 years in karting and did relatively well winning the 2000 Nordic championship. He was Formula Renault 2001 rookie of the year. He was also British Formula 3 2002 rookie of the year finishing 3rd with 5 wins. He moved to world series by nissan in 2003 and won the championship in 2004 with 6 wins. In 2005 he moved to GP2 and battled Nico Rosberg for the championship finishing runner up with 5 wins.

He built a bit of a reputation for himself by winning the race of champions in 2004 defeating David Coulthard, Michael Schumacher and Sebastien Loeb.

He was also test driver for Renault 2004 - 2007 stacking up well over 28,000km so he certainly wasn't inexperienced by his debut either.

In his debut season in 2007 he beat his experienced race winner teammate by 9 points and claimed a debut podium with 2nd in an awesome Japanese Grand Prix.

Then of course it went downhill, he joined McLaren in 2008 and was humiliated by Lewis Hamilton over the course of the year which was a shame, he showed flashes of potential in the early part of the season but did not fulfill it. It has been said that the extreme development that year was focused entirely on Hamilton and it did not suit Kovalainen's driving style and that he may not have been entirely ready for that level of competition. Either way in a car that his teammate won the championship with he gained 3 podiums, 1 pole position and a sole win.

His 2009 season at McLaren was largely anonymous compared to what Hamilton was doing with the car although he looked to be on form for Monza qualifying 4th - the highest of the 1 stoppers and one of the only KERS cars. It was a real opportunity for him to save his career at the sharp end. Sadly he went backwards in the race very quickly and finished 6th.

In 2010 of course he moved to Lotus and strangely seems to have been reinvigorated and refreshed. No points of course being one of the new teams and no testing but he finished in the official standings ahead of veteran teammate Jarno Trulli. This year the team are leaving Virgin and HRT behind and snapping on the heals of the historical williams team. Lotus are looking soon to be amongst the lower field and Kovalainen looks to be really flourishing there. Indeed last weekend he claimed the teams best ever qualifying performance with their 1st q2 session and 15th on the grid.

Jarno Trulli is near the end of his F1 career but Kovalainen is only 29, do you think when Trulli has left Kovalainen may become a real team leader there? Indeed he could do a Schumacher (maybe not quite as successful but the same principle) and really make the team his own - spend the rest of his career with the team and really move it up the field towards the sharp end of the grid over the course of several years. Personally I'd love to see him spend the next decade with the team steadily improving both team and driver and continuity is an advantage in this sport.

what do you think the future holds for Heikki Kovalainen?

PS: apologies about the essay lol.

 

[Soumya Banerjee]

Senna should be thrown out of F1, he is the worst of all those pay drivers. If that happens we will have a free seat at Williams, which could be a possibility for proven guys like Kovi or Kobi. Maldonado's money surely is enough for the team, or isn't it?
But they will probably take Bottas, which would be good as well.

I second that!!!! I cant stand Bruno Lalli(he's no Senna) at all!!!! A more consistent teammate would have thoroughly humiliated his season!!!! I just hope he leaves F1 for good. It would be a travesty if he manages to stay while the likes of Kovalainen and Kobayashi are left without seats!!!

 

[EvilWhippet]

Hey man, let's be friends

 

[Mephistopheles]

Kovalainen claims the top teams have overlooked his performances at Caterham.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/105082

I say he should have made a better fist of it when he was at McLaren sorry mate it was your shot at the big time and you blew it, tough titties as they say...

 

[Il_leone]

He is unfortunate that his loyalty has not been repaid

- He's another example how a badly mismanaged career has meant he failed to build on his very good debut 2007 season

He is the first of the once billed future generation F1 stars that Autosport covered back in 2005-06 - the others being Hamilton, Rosberg, Kubica who really failed to make an impact in F1

You might want to lay the blame at Flavio Briatore initially in throwing him at the deep end at Mclaren in his insistence of getting Alonso back

------------------

He showed flashes of his ability at Mclaren but you felt he was lacking something like a killer instinct that separate from the very best

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Then perhaps it's his lack of killer instinct that has led to his lack of progression rather than a shortcoming of repayment of loyalty.

We have seen Heikki race for a few years now. He has been a solid driver but has never set the world on fire. He is a likeable guy and a good driver but id he a prospect for the future worthy of continuous investment? Sadly, I think not. So, let's let someone else have a go.

It may sound harsh but this is competitive motor-racing at the highest level.

 

[downforce]

He is the first of the once billed future generation F1 stars that Autosport covered back in 2005-06 - the others being Hamilton, Rosberg, Kubica who really failed to make an impact in F1

really?

Its a shame Kovalainen didn't get to have his first 3 years in the lotus followed by the Reanault year and then McLaren. Would have likely done far better.

oh well.

 

[Il_leone]

What bought Heikki to everyone's attention was being on the Renault ( aka Flavio stable) driver programme and impressing as tester

It was his victory in 2004 at the Race of Champions against F1 regulars that made people take note and his battle with Nico Rosberg for 2005 GP2 championship which he fought till the very end

downforce

They were sizing up the junior careers of Kubica, Hamilton , Kovailainen and Rosberg I think seeing they've raced each other at some point at junior level and will all no doubt meet in F1 and therefore would be the next generation of F1 stars post Alonso- Raikkonen era

Vettel was not mentioned at the time nor was Di Resta

but Hamilton did mention Piquet Jr could be included ...

------------------------------------------------------------------

ExtremeNinja

Yes Mclaren were overjoyed that he was a likeable easy going guy compared to the rather intense and at times stressful environment Alonso created the previous season

Problem was when the opportunities were there for him it did not work out like Monza 2008 and 2009 both races he should have featured strongly for the race win

He has had a fair share of bad luck with pitstops and punctures but then you find out how good drivers are when under real pressure like Mclaren were in 2009

He just did not seem to respond to the same level as Hamilton when asked

Being 31 years old now it seems his career in F1 is finished ...the only team who would take him on is Williams but even they need someone with financial backing ..

He has become a victim of the lack of progress by his team and the waning interest of Fernandes which makes it difficult for front teams to take note

 

[ExtremeNinja]

Il_leone

I think he has been the victim of simply not being a winner. There are better drivers out there and that's all there is to it. F1 should be continuously looking for new talent. Kovalienen has been a fairly consistent and safe pair of hands but has never set the world on fire. Motor racing, like most things, is a test. He has been around long enough to find his level and I think he has been at that plateau for quite some time now. If potential for a higher level can be observed in another driver then it is natural that they should be allowed to take their turn. In order for that to happen somebody has to move out of the way. As much as F1 is a business, it is also a talent competition. I don't think there is much more to come from Heikki that we haven't already seen. He has given it a good crack and has done well. He should be proud of himself and his achievements but seek out the next challenge. I could say the same for a number of other drivers, too.

 

[siffert_fan]

Ninja,

Essentially I agree 100% with your assessment, but if Bruno buys a seat, having shown he is sadly lacking in talent, it will be proof positive that money frequently triumphs over ability.

 

[ExtremeNinja]

In some cases, yes, but it shouldn't. Senna most certainly does not deserve to be taking up one of the few and sought after race-seats. I think I'm talking more about how it should be than how it is. Because Bruno has a seat should not mean Heikki should get a seat, although I appreciate that is not what you are necessarily saying. I think I am probably looking at this from quite an idealist perspective.

[Edit] I think I should have thrown the word "meritocracy" in there somewhere.

 

[Fenderman]

Heikki had a pretty reasonable career before entering F1 with more wins and championships in the feeder classes compared to some of the 2012 and 2013 newbies. Finishing 7th in the WDC in his rookie season with Renault in 2007 wasn't bad either. He has done a pretty reasonable job dragging that Caterham around this year and that's no mean feat. At age 31 he has five years F1 experience and eight or nine years worth of F1 driving still in him. I for one believe that he is under-rated. I am also surprised and disappointed that there are number of drivers on the grid whose pre-F1 results are woeful in comparison and that Heikki hasn't got a seat.

 

[Lewywo4]

Heikki should have won at Monza in 2008, and could have been the beginning of doubt that Mclaren had in his abilities.

 

[downforce]

Yeah Monza 2008 and Monza again in 2009 were his 2 big oppurtunities and they slipped by.

But would Hamilton/Vettel/Alonso/Raikkonen have set the world alight in a Caterham?

Had their first 3 years been there we would probably think they weren't much good.

 

[teabagyokel]

downforce - I would take the view that Trulli, Glock and Kovalainen were effectively turfed out of F1 in 2009, only for these water-treading positions to become available.

And, being fair to Alonso, his first year was pootling round the back in a poor Minardi.

 

[Fenderman]

In case nobody noticed, a wee correction to my earlier post: Heikki has 6 years F1 exp'.

 

[Lewywo4]

Downforce.......nobody would have set the world alight in a Caterham......nobody! I do think that Mclaren expected Heikki's only win at Hungary in 2008 to come from his pace, and not because Felipe had engine failure.

 

[siffert_fan]

I often wonder how the bottom-feeding teams weigh their options. On the one hand, a rather poor driver might be able to provide up-front money, whereas a better driver, like HK or Heidfeld could well bring some points where the paying drivers can't. That would result is more tv money and end-of-season money as well.

Wouldn't the smartest move be to have one pay driver teamed with someone like HK or Heidfeld?

 

[Mephistopheles]

The problem is that history shows that Kovalainen has been at a top front running team and has managed to work his way backwards to the tail end of the grid, and that is his talent set he should just give it up and move on to some other series, judging by what I've seen he'd be a top driver in an American series, maybe he should go there because he isn't good enough for F1....

 

[teabagyokel]

Wouldn't the smartest move be to have one pay driver teamed with someone like HK or Heidfeld?

As usual, Peter Sauber has the best ideas - get yourself a Perez ! Talented and not short of a peso. All you then have to do is find another driver from the same nation for the next year and keep the money rolling in, giving you the dosh to sign the highest rated up- and- comer from the midfield.

Probably helps that they had a pretty decent car though...!

 

[Josh]

Mephistopheles Not good enough for a top team =/= good enough for F1