Heikki Kovalainen

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Heikki Kovalainen
Kovalainen testing for Renault F1 in 2006, at Valencia
Nationality	Finnish
Car #	4
Current team	Renault F1 Team
World Championship career
Races	1
World Championships	0
Wins	0
Podium finishes	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First race	2007 Australian Grand Prix


Latest race	2007 Australian Grand Prix
2007 Championship position	10th (0 pts)

Heikki Kovalainen is a racing driver, born October 19, 1981 in Suomussalmi, Finland. He is the second race driver for Formula 1 world champions Renault having occupied the role of third driver since 2005.

1 Karting career
2 Pre-F1 racing career
3 Formula 1
- 3.1 Testing
- 3.2 Racing
4 Complete Formula One World Championship Results
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Karting career

Kovalainen's career began in karting, much like that of many other F1 racers. His karting career lasted from 1991 to 2000, during which time he finished runner-up in Finnish Formula A in 1999. Then in 2000 he became Nordic champion and won the Elf Masters. He was also elected Finnish Driver of The Year.

[edit] Pre-F1 racing career

[edit] Formula Renault

Kovalainen began his car racing career in the British Formula Renault championship, which fellow Finn Kimi Räikkönen had won the previous year before moving straight into Formula 1 with Sauber. Kovalainen's apprenticeship in the junior categories of motor sport was more conventional, but was remarkable in that he used Renault power at every step along the way^[1].

He finished fourth in the championship with two wins, two pole positions and three fastest laps, and earned the Rookie of the Year award.

[edit] Formula 3

Kovalainen attracted the support of the Renault Driver Development programme and in 2002 moved up to the British F3 series with Fortec, who used Renault engines. He became one of the most competitive drivers on the grid by the second half of the season and all five of his wins came in the final nine races. With three pole positions, three fastest laps and third overall in the championship behind Robbie Kerr and James Courtney^[1] he was again Rookie of the Year.

He also demonstrated strong form in the international F3 rounds, with second place at the Macau Grand Prix and fourth place at the Zandvoort Marlboro Masters.

[edit] World Series by Nissan

Kovalainen moved into the Renault-owned World Series by Nissan in 2003 - but faced a tough team mate at the Gabord team in Franck Montagny. Montagny had already spent two seasons in the World Series by Nissan and won the title in 2001^[1]. Montagny won the title with nine wins to Kovalainen's one.

The Finn stayed in World Series by Nissan for 2004 but moved to the Pons team and won the championship ahead of Tiago Monteiro, with 192 points and six wins^[1].

[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 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 360 Modena.

[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
Final	Sébastien Loeb	Ferrari 360 Modena	1:47.4383	-8.1459	1 - 0

He returned to the Race of Champions in 2005, but was knocked out in the semi-finals by Tom Kristensen^[1].

Heikki made another impact in the Race of Champions in 2006, winning the Nations Cup together with his fellow Finnish driver Marcus Grönholm; despite this, he was again eliminated in the semi-finals by Mattias Ekström by a mere 0.0002 seconds.

[edit] GP2 Series

In 2005, Kovalainen entered the GP2 Series, the new 'feeder' series for F1 and the successor to Formula 3000. Kovalainen won the first ever round of the new championship and led the championship with the Arden International team^[1]. But in the final four rounds a resurgent Nico Rosberg took over the lead of the championship and Kovalainen finished second, 15 points adrift^[1].

[edit] Results

Season	Team Name	No.	Races	Poles	Wins	Points	Final Placing
2005	Arden International	22	23	2	5	105	2nd

[edit] Formula 1

[edit] Testing

Kovalainen, Montagny and Jose Maria Lopez tested the Renault R23B F1 car at Barcelona in December 2003. Kovalainen also tested for Minardi, but Renault made him second test driver alongside Montagny^[1].

Kovalainen was promoted in Montagny's place at the end of 2005 and spent the 2006 season in a full-time testing role, logging over 23,000km of testing.

Renault's lead driver Fernando Alonso had signed for McLaren for the 2007 season, and Renault elected to promote Kovalainen in his place, which they confirmed on September 6, 2006^[2]

[edit] Racing

Kovalainen is now preparing for his debut season of Formula 1 alongside Giancarlo Fisichella. As Renault are defending double champions, it is an extraordinarily rare opportunity for a rookie F1 racer.

Kovalainen's first challenge in Formula 1 will be to prove himself faster than rival youngsters such as Lewis Hamilton, Robert Kubica, Nico Rosberg and Adrian Sutil, as well as having to prove himself next to team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, world champion Fernando Alonso and impressive Ferrari duo, Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa, to show his worth as a competitive top-end Formula One driver.

[edit] Complete Formula One World Championship Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
2007	ING Renault F1 Team	Renault R27	Renault V8	AUS 10	MAL	BHR	ESP	MON	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	TUR	ITA	BEL	JPN	CHN	BRA	10th	0

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Who's Who: Heikki Kovalainen. F1Fanatic.co.uk (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-12.
^ Renault confirms Kovalainen. ITV-F1.com (2006). Retrieved on 2006-12-12.

[edit] External links

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Heikki Kovalainen

Constructors and drivers competing in the 2007 Formula One championship
McLaren	Renault	Ferrari	Honda	BMW	Toyota	Red Bull	Williams	Toro Rosso	Spyker	Super Aguri
1 Alonso 2 Hamilton	3 Fisichella 4 Kovalainen	5 Massa 6 Räikkönen	7 Button 8 Barrichello	9 Heidfeld 10 Kubica	11 Schumacher 12 Trulli	14 Coulthard 15 Webber	16 Rosberg 17 Wurz	18 Liuzzi 19 Speed	20 Sutil 21 Albers	22 Sato 23 Davidson