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.
 
Kovalainen might be looking for a new team for 2013, to be honest though unfortunately I don't really think he has that many options further up the field and might stay with Caterham for at least another year. He admits he's a little further down in the pecking order for one of the top teams.

"We haven't looked at it seriously, I think it is a bit too early and there are a few guys ahead of me in the queue, things like what Lewis will do or what Michael will do, will probably have an impact on what everyone is doing."

http://www1.skysports.com/formula-1/news/17583/7855577/Kovalainen-could-leave-Caterham
 
I really like Kovalainen, but he's already had an opportunity that most F1 drivers never get.

I think Italy 2009 pretty much sums up his career. Qualifies on the 2nd row with the best strategy, but loses positions to Barrichello and Button on the first lap and then finishes over a minute behind.

Caterham is a pretty good fit for both driver and team.
 
If Caterham continue on their upward curve then I think another season for Kovi would be the right thing to do. As he has said, another step forward in the next couple of races and the midfield should start to worry.

If he decides to leave Caterham then I think he'll end up taking the spot in a team like Force India or Sauber if one of their guys moves upwards. Having said that, given the recent improvements at Williams, If I was Sir Frank, I'd be on the phone to Kovi and telling Senna, thanks but no thanks for next season.
 
I really like Kovalainen, but he's already had an opportunity that most F1 drivers never get.

I think Italy 2009 pretty much sums up his career. Qualifies on the 2nd row with the best strategy, but loses positions to Barrichello and Button on the first lap and then finishes over a minute behind.

Caterham is a pretty good fit for both driver and team.

The thing I hate about this post is that there's nothing in it I can disagree with, and I really want to because there are few drivers as likeable as Heikki.

On the other hand, it wouldn't be harsh to bet on him to at least equal what guys like Massa, Hulkenberg, Senna and - for now - Button are doing with their machinery if he had it.
 
Anyone a little bit worried that if Caterham don't get the 10th place spot the Kovi is going to have to make way for a driver with more miney behind them? Bruno Senna and Van Der Garde are waiting in the wings.
 
Well now we know that Charles Pic will be driving for Caterham next season. I wonder if that means curtain for Heikki? Unless Force India or Williams decide that they want him, it seems he has nowhere to go. Would really be sad to see him go out like that.
 
Going to the new teams was a disaster of a move by Kovalainen and Glock.

But it's not as if Kovalainen had much of a choice after his poor performances in 2009 at McLaren, as for Glock I'm sure he had other options.

Too many pay drivers around, but several are decent enough to stay or to be considered for a seat.

With Kobayashi, Heidfeld and Kovalainen getting pushed out of F1 by pay drivers, just shows the position F1 is going into, as all 3 deserve to be in Formula 1. Saying that though (doing an Eddie Jordan here) some of the pay drivers have proved themselves such as Maldonado, Perez, Pic, and Petrov have proved themselves or have done a respectable job against their peers.
 
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