Hailing from the land of former champions Keke Rosberg, Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen made his F1 debut in 2007. Racing with Renault, Kovalainen struggled in his first appearance making several mistakes to finish 10th. He left his team rather disappointed after much hope was laid on his skill and pre-F1 reputation.Kovalainen then came back strong and finished seventh in the 2007 standings ahead of his experienced teammate, Giancarlo Fisichella. This performance landed him a race seat at McLaren for 2008. The Finn registered his first - and so far only - F1 victory that year in Hungary and also bagged a total of three podium finishes to occupy 7th in the overall standings.2009 was a bumpy ride for the entire McLaren team. Kovalainen struggled with an underperforming car and did not even manage a podium finish. He ended up 12th on the table. In contrast, his teammate Hamilton finished fifth. Kovalainen was visibly outraced and this was ample reason to lose his McLaren race seat.Now in a brand new team that is creating a buzz in the paddock, the Lotus F1 Racing driver has a new platform on which to raise the level of his racing skills. He is out proving his skills with his overall qualifying performance better than teammate and one-lap wonder Jarno Trulli and has proved to be the best driver among the new teams in the first two-thirds of the season.