Overview

Heikki Kovalainen is a Finnish racing driver. Born on the 19th October 1981 he began karting at a young age and between 1991 and 2000 he had finished runner up in the Finnish Formula A championship, 1999 and 2000, as well as winning the Nordic championship. He then progressed to finish 3^rd in the world Formula Super A Championship. This steady progression and raw speed led to him being elected Finish Kart Driver of the Year 2000.

In 2001 Heikki progressed to the British Formula Renault championship. He ended the year finishing 4^th in the championship with 2 wins, 2 pole positions, 5 podiums and 3 fastest laps. He was crowned rookie of the year. He also raced in the Formula 3 Macau race finishing 8^th on his first attempt. With only 1 year of open wheeled racing under his belt, the young Finn progressed up to Formula 3 for the 2002 season. He raced in the British series and along the way attracted the support of the Renault Driver Development programme. With his Renault backing came a Renault powered team, Fortec. Kovalainen finished 3^rd in the title with 5 wins, all of which were scored in the final 9 rounds. Heikki had continually progressed during the season and as the season came to a close he was one of the most competitive racers out on track. He was awarded the rookie of the year again for his stunning drivers throughout the season.

Hekki made the jump to worldwide racing in 2003 as he moved to the World Series by Nissan, now World Series by Renault, series. Kovalainen was out raced by French driver Frank Montagny with a win ratio of 9 to 1. His second year in the series was much better, with Heikki taking the title with 6 wins and 192 points ahead of Tiago Monteiro. He was awarded the Finnish Racing Driver of the Year in 2004 due to his World Series by Nissan season.

He entered the GP2 series in 2005 in the "feeder" series to Formula 1. The inaugural season saw Heikki win 5 times, including a stunning win at the first round in San Marino and a spirited charge through the field at the Nurburgring from 17^th on the grid to 1^st. It was not enough to clinch the title. That went to German driver Nico Rosberg, son of 1982 F1 world champion Keke Rosberg. Kovalainen ended the season 15 points adrift, taking runner up spot. At the end of 2005 the Finnish driver signed a deal with the Renault F1 Team to take Frank Montagny's spot as Test Driver. In 2006 Heikki clocked up over 28,000km during in season Testing.

Kovalainen got his big break in 2007 after lead driver Fernando Alonso signed to race for Mclaren. His season got off to a rough start with a number of off track excursions in the opening race of the season. The next race was much better, with his first point being scored in Malaysia. He added to this with 2 points in Spain and a 4^th place in Canada after starting at the back. His 4^th place was then joined by a 5^th at the US Grand Prix. It was also the scene of his first lap being led after the cars in front pitted. He consistently added points to his tally and lead a race again at the Turkish Grand Prix. The peak of the season however came at the Japanese Grand Prix at the Fuji speedway. Despite appalling conditions Heikki raced to a 2^nd place finish, his first podium in F1. He had an unfortunate end to his season however, after hitting the barrier in Brazil. It ruined his run of 16 consecutive finishes since his F1 debut, sharing the record with Tiago Monteiro. At the end of the season however, 30 points and 7^th in the standings is not a bad result for a rookie. Especially as he finished 1 place ahead of Giancarlo Fisichella, a man with much more experience.

2008 saw Kovalainen swap with Alonso. Heikki moved to Mclaren while Alonso returned to Ferrari. In Australia the Finn finished 5^th on his debut for Mclaren. His first podium for the team soon arrived with a brilliant drive to 3^rd at the next round in Malaysia despite starting 8^th. After a difficult opening to the year, partly due to his own wrong doings, the pace soon picked up. Large points hauls were brought in at Hungary where he scored his debut win. He also claimed 2^nd place in Italy but retirements in Spain, Japan, China and non-scored in Turkey, Canada, Belgium and Singapore meant 7^th in the championship was the best he could do. It's some consolation however, as a big crash in Spain could have caused serious injury. His right front tyre deflated as he went around the fast turn 9. His car was buried in the barriers and he was taken to a nearby hospital. Fortunately he escaped with only minor concussion.

2009 started badly for Mclaren. After being the dominant team over the past few seasons Heikki found himself, alongside 2008 champion Lewis Hamilton, in an uncompetitive car. The car was fitted with the new KERS system along with only 3 other teams. The car was uncompetitive but the pace turned itself around by mid-season. 5^th in China kick started his points tally. He added a 8^th in Germany, 5^th in Hungary, 4^th in Valencia, 6^th places in Spa and Monza and 7^th in Singapore to the equation. He finished with 22 points and 12^th in the drivers' championship, shadowed by team mate Hamilton.

His seat at Mclaren for 2012 was taken by 2009 champion Jenson Button. This left Heikki without a drive but on the 14^th December 2009 it was confirmed he would move to the new Lotus Racing Team. The car was off the pace due to the lack of down force and a conservative car design. The car averaged at 5 seconds slower than the leading cars. 15^th in the first race of the season was only due to several retirements, and left him 2 laps down. With Australia hosting the 2^nd race of the season, a 13^th place was gifted to Kovalainen due to a number of incidents and mechanical failures for rival drivers. This finish was only bettered by a 12^th place at the Suzuka circuit in Japan. Over the season the car improved in pace, but its reliability let it down. With Heikki staying at Lotus for 2011, the year looked much brighter with component deals with larger teams and manufacturers bringing them up a couple of notches. Instead of being 5 seconds off the pace they found themselves between 2 and 3 seconds behind the likes of Red Bull and Mclaren. They still found themselves retiring more often than their rivals but their pace was much better. The gap to the 2 other new teams grew and they began to mix with the midfield on more than a few occasions.13^th place at Monza was his best result in terms of numbers, but finishing ahead of both Saubers in Korea and outracing Barrichello in India were bound to be highlights.

Kovalainen will remain with the team, who have now been re-branded as Caterham F1 Team, in 2012 and with the addition of KERS and use of higher spec facilities they could well be mingling in the top 10 soon.