Mat Coch writes:

Stepping in to Kimi Raikkonen's seat at Lotus for the weekend, Heikki Kovalainen wasted no time as opening practice got underway, leading a string of cars out on to the Austin circuit.

Drafted in at the last moment, a fact which grated the nerves of the team’s official reserve driver Davide Valsecchi, it was Kovalainen's first chance to familiarise himself with the team he last drove for in 2007.

"It was a pretty smooth landing," he said of his opening day. "All the procedures and routines are quite similar up and down the pit lane, plus I'm familiar with all the systems from driving with a Renault engine already this year."

It was that familiarity which tipped the scales in favour of the former grand prix winner as Lotus hopes to challenge Mercedes and Ferrari for second in the Constructors’ Championship, a result worth millions in prize money.

For Valsecchi it has left a sour taste in the mouth, as the Italian, who was GP2 champion in 2012, was overlooked in favour of Kovalainen despite being Lotus' official third driver. Adding further insult is the idea Kovalainen wasn't even the squad’s first pick, it having been revealed that Michael Schumacher spurred the team’s advances and Nico Hulkenberg was unavailable.
"It's a huge blow to me," Valsecchi confessed. "From the sporting point of view, it's a tragedy. It makes me angry to have lost the battle with Kovalainen, who is not a great champion, not even an active driver; his last results were five years ago.

"If they had taken Hulkenberg I could have understood," he added, "even Maldonado."

Team boss Eric Boullier has stated he opted for Kovalainen based on experience, but that doesn't sit well with Valsecchi, who only found out he didn't have the drive on Wednesday.

"Perhaps I lack experience but what chance do you have to gain any?" he moaned. "Nevertheless, things change quickly in F1, so I won't give up and I will be ready if they need me in Brazil."

Valsecchi's frustration is not uncommon as a number of current and prospective drivers face uncertain futures. For its part Lotus, or Loot-us as one observer jested, appears to hold the key to the current driver market stagnation as it decides between Nico Hulkenberg and Pastor Maldonado for 2014, a decision heavily influenced by its finances… or lack of.

It leaves no obvious opening for the Eric Boullier managed Valsecchi, or Heikki Kovalainen come to that, whose smooth landing at Lotus looks to be rather fleeting.

Check out our Friday gallery, here.