Heikki Kovalainen, now in his second year in Formula One, is starting to look like the latter kind of driver. After a season and a half of difficulties, he won his first race at the Hungarian Grand Prix three weeks ago, in a culmination of a rebuilding process that began when he joined the McLaren Mercedes team this year after a difficult rookie season at Renault.
He doesn’t see the process as being finished just yet.
“It doesn’t change my world completely,” he said of his victory after the race. “I’m happy about it, but this is just a part of the goal. The next goal is to repeat this and so just keep up the concentration all the time.”
But Kovalainen’s victory is really only the beginning of the challenge. His teammate is the greatest rookie of all time after the 2007 season and the leader of the series this year, Lewis Hamilton, who by contrast has won eight races in his first two years, including four this year. Until his victory in Hungary, some had suspected that Kovalainen was a support man.
Kovalainen said: “The desire to win more grands prix is 100 per cent. With regard to helping Lewis, I don’t think he needs any help to be honest.”
“He is strong enough to win it himself. Certainly I’m not planning to help him. If I have a chance to win another race then I will go for it.
“I’m still trying to improve my position in the Championship, and that’s also the quest of the team, so I don’t need to help anyone.”
Kovalainen did come to Hamilton’s aid in the German Grand Prix last month, moving to one side to allow the 23-year-old by en route to victory.
On that occasion, however, Hamilton was two to three seconds per lap quicker and it would have been futile for Kovalainen to block.
Kovalainen, though, is adamant he will not be resting on his laurels and that he is determined to continue his winning ways.
“In the previous few races I had targeted victory and I felt I was ready to achieve that. To do so was a great feeling,” he reflected.
“Now it’s back to basics, to start all over again to try and repeat it because we need to raise the bar further.”
| 
|