Heiki Kovalainen finishes the season on a high note!

Kovalainen, teammate of Fisichella and number 2 of the ING Renault F1 team, secured a very impressive second place at the Japanese Grand Prix after a turbulent and particularly challenging race due to the rain and the soaked track.

The Finn managed to keep Kimi Räikkönen, Ferrari’s driver, behind him for more than ten laps before reaching the finish line. The Renault team thus enjoys its first podium of the season, and Kovalainen, who is in his debut season this year, also discovered the podium for the first time.

Nevertheless, he knows that it was due to particular circumstances with the rain and that Renault still cannot compete with Ferrari and McLaren in normal conditions.

During the last two races of the season, Renault’s objective is to regularly beat the BMW Sauber team, currently second in the constructors’ world championship.

“I didn’t get a win, and obviously it was a podium in particular circumstances.” begins the Finn.

“Unfortunately, we still cannot compete against the two best teams in dry conditions, but we do not need rain to achieve good results.”

“I think we can beat BMW for the two remaining races and regularly score points.”

“If all goes well, we will be able to turn our potential into results, and that could start in China, to end the season on a positive note.”

Kovalainen also added that his podium finish was a belated reward for the team that has worked tirelessly all season.

“The team really deserves this podium, I am very happy for all the team members.”

The Finn is happy with his end of the season, compared to the rather catastrophic first part of the year.

“The thing I’m happiest about this season is that I’ve managed to turn around my results.”

“In the beginning, I made a lot of mistakes and I wasn’t sure of myself, but then I worked hard with the team and absorbed all the information well, and I stayed confident by telling myself that the rest of the season would be better.”

“Now I’m back in a normal driving situation, the results are coming and it’s a huge satisfaction for the whole team. I hope this shows that I can be strong and that if I have the opportunity to make a podium, I am very strong physically and mentally.”