Heikki Kovalainen enjoyed the new Interlagos!

Kovalainen will conclude his first Formula 1 season as a full-time driver at Interlagos this weekend. The Finn, just 26 years old, enjoyed this circuit he was unfamiliar with and is expecting a lot from the R27.

How did your Friday go? « Pretty well. I was able to do quite a bit of driving this morning on a wet track, and I think we found a little something on this occasion. Even though qualifying is supposed to take place in the rain, we think we could be more competitive than in Japan. In dry conditions, I had a good feeling with the car right away. There’s a bit of work left on the settings, but I’m optimistic. We should be able to compete once again with the Williams and Red Bull. »

**What do you think of the circuit?** « I really like the layout, and some corners are a real challenge. The bumps, on the other hand, seem to have disappeared. The grip is not great yet because the surface is new, but it will improve throughout the weekend. »

The gaps are very small at Interlagos. Will this characteristic force you to change your approach on Saturday? « No. It will be like usual: we must not make the slightest mistake in qualifying and we need to find every hundredth of a second to hope to get into the top 10. »

Yesterday, Kovalainen was celebrating his 26th birthday. He is obviously expecting a nice gift: « I would like to be able to celebrate it in style with some points on Sunday… »