14/11/2013
NEWS STORY
Heikki Kovalainen will join Lotus for the final two races of the season as a stand-in for Kimi Raikkonen, who is currently undergoing (ahem) back surgery.
Kovalainen - a veteran of 109 Grand Prix starts - has previously driven for Renault, McLaren, and Caterham. Over the course of his six seasons in Formula 1 to date, Heikki has scored 105 World Championship points. He has qualified on the front row five times, taken pole position at the 2008 British Grand Prix, achieved two fastest laps and finished on the podium four times; including victory at the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Prior to racing for Lotus in its former guise of Renault in 2007, Heikki performed various test duties for the squad between 2004 - 2006. He completed his seat fitting at Enstone on Wednesday, before proceeding directly to Austin to join up with the race team.
"Obviously we had to move quickly following the news of Kimi's non-participation in the final two races of this season, and we found ourselves facing a difficult decision in terms of who should take the wheel in Austin and Sao Paulo," said Eric Boullier. "On the one hand we had our reserve driver Davide Valsecchi - who is a talented young driver that has shown a great deal of promise - and on the other we had the opportunity to bring in a seasoned Formula 1 competitor in Heikki. Whilst we have every faith in Davide's abilities, we are obviously involved in a tight Constructors' Championship battle, so it was decided that the experience Heikki could bring to the team would be invaluable as we aim to finish the year in the best position possible. We must thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for their professional conduct in allowing Heikki to join us for the final races of this season."
"It is a fantastic opportunity for me to join Lotus F1 Team for the final two races of 2013," added Kovalainen. "We've seen this year that the E21 is a car which can win races and finish on the podium, so I will be pushing hard for the best results possible. Jumping into a car so late in the year when you have not been competing in the races all season will be a challenge, but I know the team at Enstone well so I have no concerns about getting up to speed. This is a great opportunity for me, so I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for allowing me to take advantage of it."
And with 42.07% of the vote, it appears Pitpass readers agree with Heikki’s choice as Raikkonen’s replacement, the front page poll on our site having gone live shortly after it was announced the 2007 world champion was not going to complete the season.