Heikki Kovalainen
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| Heikki Kovalainen | |
|---|---|
 Heikki Kovalainen |
|
| F1 Record | |
| Nationality |  Finnish |
| Car # | 4 |
| Current team | Renault F1 Team |
| Team for 2007 | Renault F1 Team |
| Grands Prix | 0 |
| World Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podium finishes | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First Grand Prix | |
| Last Grand Prix | |
| 2006 Championship position | — |
| edit | |
Heikki Kovalainen is a race car driver, born October 19, 1981 in Suomussalmi, Finland. He is the second race driver for Formula 1 world champions Renault having had occupied the role of third driver since 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Early career
[edit] Karting
Kovalainen's career, like many drivers, started in karting competitions in 1991. He stayed there until 2000. Along the way he finished runner-up in the Finnish Formula A in 1999 and 2000. He also became Nordic champion and won the Elf Masters in the Millennium year. He was also elected Finnish Driver of The Year.
[edit] Formula Renault
Kovalainen's first season in cars came in the British Formula Renault championship series. He was soon spotted as he learned the ropes. A fourth-place championship finish saw him take Rookie of the Year, with 2 wins, 2 poles and 3 fastest laps.
[edit] Formula 3
In 2002 Kovalainen moved series again to compete in British F3. He finished third in the championship on his debut season. With his 5 wins, 3 poles and 3 fastest laps he was again made Rookie of the Year. He also demonstrated strong form in the international rounds, with second place in Macao and fourth place at the Zandvoort Marlboro Masters.
[edit] World Series by Nissan
Kovalainen entered World Series by Nissan in 2003 and finished second on his debut year. He took the title with the Pons team in 2004. He also had his first F1 test, and began learning about the demands of driving an F1 car.
[edit] Race of Champions
Kovalainen competed in the 2004 Race of Champions at the Stade de France in Paris. He became the first non-rally driver to win the Henri Toivonen Memorial Trophy and earn the title "Champion of Champions", beating out World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb in the finals. He also participated in the Nations' Cup alongside countryman Marcus Grönholm. Their team finished in second place after Kovalainen's Ferrari 360 Modena broke down in the finals, ironically, losing to Loeb and the French team. Kovalainen's feat included winning over Loeb in a WRC car, although he had never even sat in a rally car before, and over the Ferrari Formula One star Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari.
[edit] Results
| Round | Opponent | Car | Time | Difference | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  David Coulthard |
Race of Champions Buggy | 1:45.8988 | -11.905 | 1 - 0 |
| 2 |  Jean Alesi |
Ferrari 360 Modena | 1:48.9325 | -1.7085 | 1 - 0 |
| Semi-Finals |  Michael Schumacher |
Ferrari 360 Modena | 1:45.3851 | -10.9954 | 1 - 0 |
| Final | Sébastien Loeb |
Peugeot 307 WRC | 1:42.2602 | -0.7977 | 1 - 0 |
| Sébastien Loeb |
Ferrari 360 Modena | 1:47.4383 | -8.1459 | 1 - 0 |
[edit] GP2 Series
In 2005, Kovalainen went over to another racing series. In the debut season of the GP2 Series, the new feeder series for F1 -- and the successor to Formula 3000 -- the championship attracted a strong field of young drivers ready to make their mark. Kovalainen aimed to build a championship challenge with the team Arden International. A good start to the year saw him take wins in the opening rounds with ease, but as the competition intensified, he eventually lost the championship narrowly to Nico Rosberg. However, Kovalainen had demonstrated his abilities enough to qualify for a test driving role in the Renault F1 Team.
[edit] Record
| Season | Team Name | No. | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing |
| 2005 | Arden International | 22 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 105 | 2nd |
[edit] F1 testing
Kovalainen spent the 2006 season in a full-time testing role with Renault F1, logging over 20,000 km on track, in dedicated test sessions.
With Fernando Alonso moving to McLaren for the 2007 season, Kovalainen was the most likely replacement to move up to the second Renault race seat. Renault confirmed Kovalainen's race seat on September 6, 2006 [1].
[edit] Formula 1
Kovalainen is now preparing for his debut season of Formula 1. His first challenge will be to be as fast as much more experienced teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. If he manages this he may have a serious chance of challenging for the World Championship in his first season.
[edit] External links
| Constructors and drivers competing in the 2007 Formula One championship | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McLaren | Renault | Ferrari | Honda | BMW | Toyota |
| 1 Alonso 2 Hamilton |
3 Fisichella 4 Kovalainen |
5 Massa 6 Räikkönen |
7 Button 8 Barrichello |
9 Heidfeld 10 Kubica |
11 Schumacher 12 Trulli |
| Red Bull | Williams | Toro Rosso | Spyker | Super Aguri | |
| 14 Coulthard 15 Webber |
16 Rosberg 17 Wurz |
18 Liuzzi 19 Speed |
20 Albers 21 ? |
22 Sato 23 Davidson |
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