Rebuilt Heikki Proving Himself at McLaren
Mar 26, 2008
McLaren
McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen are getting on “fantastically,” according to Martin Whitmarsh, the team’s CEO.
It is a marked turned around from 2007 when Hamilton and then team-mate, Fernando Alonso, traded put downs in the media.
Whitmarsh was effusive about the pair’s relationship in comments on the team’s website.
“I’m delighted with the way everyone is working. Lewis and Heikki get along fantastically well and in my 19 years with the team I don’t ever recall seeing such an honest exchange of information between drivers.”
He was also delighted with Kovalainen’s progress
The Finn beat Hamilton in last weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix, and team boss Ron Dennis reckons he is set to thrive after joining the squad from Renault.
“Heikki is a guy who was systematically taken apart last year and we have systematically put him back together again,” Dennis was quoted as saying by the Daily Telegraph.
“Give him three more races and he will be giving Lewis a real hard time.
“Lewis knows it and they are happy and joking about it.
“I hope as and when it becomes competitive between the drivers that the harmony keeps on.”
“Heikki did a terrific job,” Whitmarsh said
“It is a story about how this guy lost his motivation and was misguided in how he should go about his physical preparation,” Dennis said of Kovalainen’s time at Renault.
“But credit to (McLaren chief executive) Martin (Whitmarsh) and the guys who analyse all of the potential candidates, going back to lesser formulae.
“We look for the patterns. Where was the driving skill? Who was in the best team?
“When we applied those criteria he (Kovalainen) was miles ahead of any other option.
“Then when we spoke to him you could just see that look which says it is in there if we could just get his self-belief back, get him in a position where he knew what he had to do.”
