Heikki Kovalainen

 
By securing his first ever F1 win at Hungaroring in 2008, Kovalainen became only the 100th driver to win an F1 Grand Prix |  In 2001 British Formula Renault Championship, Kovalainen earned the title of ‘Rookie of the Year’ |  The Finn scored his first championship point at Sepang at Malaysian GP in 2007  |  Kovalainen is the fourth Finnish driver to race for McLaren Mercedes after Keke Rosberg, Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen

FACTFILE

Name: Heikki Kovalainen
DOB: Oct 19 1981
Place Of Birth: Suomussalmi
Nationality: Finnish
Most Races For: McLaren - 35
No. Of Races: 65
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PROFILE
Heikki Kovalainen

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.


  • YEARS
  • TEAMS
  • ENGINES
  • GPs
  • CIRCUITS
STATISTICS
YEARS
YearTeamClaGPs WinsPolesPods FLsPts
2007Renault7th17001030
2008McLaren7th18113253
2009McLaren12th17000022
2010Lotus F119th1300000
Total 651142105

Heikki Kovalainen - HEAD TO HEAD (TEAM-MATES)

Heikki Kovalainen - Season Performance

According to stats...

  • By securing his first ever F1 win at Hungaroring in 2008, Kovalainen became only the 100th driver to win an F1 Grand Prix
  • In 2001 British Formula Renault Championship, Kovalainen earned the title of ‘Rookie of the Year’
  • The Finn scored his first championship point at Sepang at Malaysian GP in 2007
  • Kovalainen is the fourth Finnish driver to race for McLaren Mercedes after Keke Rosberg, Mika Häkkinen and Kimi Räikkönen

QUOTES ON HEIKKI KOVALAINEN

Kovalainen had a horrible race. You need to be realistic: he did almost everything wrong. I think everybody was watching on TV. I don't need to protect anybody. It was rubbish. What can I say? If I tell you it was good, I am a complete idiot. Of course he's a rookie but so is (Lewis) Hamilton so in these two weeks before the next race he needs to change his attitude and try to do better, because he has the capability to do it. Nothing went right today.
- Renault boss Flavio Briatore on Kovalainen’s first ever F1 GP in 2007 where he finished 10th

OTHER DRIVERS

Most successful drivers to have raced with Heikki Kovalainen