العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
EspañolHEIKKI KOVALAINEN
'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.
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.
Pre-F1 racing career
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.
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 Courtney1 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.
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
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.
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 | 2 - 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.
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
Results
| 'Season' | 'Team Name' | 'No.' | 'Races' | 'Poles' | 'Wins' | 'Points' | 'Final Placing' |
| 2005 | Arden International | 22 | 23 | 2 | 5 | 105 | 2nd |
Formula One
Testing
Kovalainen testing for Renault F1 in 2006, at Valencia
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 23,000 km 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] Team boss Flavio Briatore said: "With Kovalainen, I hope to find the anti-Alonso." [3]
Racing
.JPG)
Kovalainen made his race debut in Australian GP 2007. His performance was a huge disappointment; he made several mistakes during the race and finished 10th. Flavio Briatore told the press after the race that it was a disappointing debut for the young Finn.
He scored his first World Championship point in his second Grand Prix at Sepang, Malaysia and finished in the points again in both North American races. Since then his performance has improved and he has outperformed Fisichella in every race except French Grand Prix where he was punted by Jarno Trulli on first lap.
Complete Formula One results
() (Races in 'bold' indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
| 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 RS27 2.4 V8 | AUS 10 | MAL 8 | BHR 9 | ESP 7 | MON 13 | CAN 4 | USA 5 | FRA 15 | GBR 7 | EUR 8 | HUN 8 | TUR 6 | ITA 7 | BEL | JPN | CHN | BRA | 7th ★ | 21 ★ |
''
★ ''Season in progress.
References
1. Who's Who: Heikki Kovalainen
2. Renault confirms Kovalainen
3. F1's biggest bombshells
External links
★ Heikki Kovalainen Official Site
★ Profile at Renault F1
This article provided by Wikipedia. To edit the contents of this article, click here for original source.
psst.. try this: add to faves
