Heikki Kovalainen | |
---|---|
Born | Heikki Johannes Kovalainen 19 October 1981 Suomussalmi, Kainuu, Finland |
Spouse |
Catherine Hyde (m. 2014) |
Children | 1 |
Racing licence | FIA Platinum |
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | Finnish |
Active years | 2007–2013 |
Teams | Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham, Lotus |
Entries | 112 (111 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 1 |
Podiums | 4 |
Career points | 105 |
Pole positions | 1 |
Fastest laps | 2 |
First entry | 2007 Australian Grand Prix |
First win | 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix |
Last win | 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix |
Last entry | 2013 Brazilian Grand Prix |
Super GT career | |
Years active | 2015–2021 |
Teams | SARD |
Starts | 54 |
Championships | 1 (2016) |
Wins | 5 |
Podiums | 10 |
Poles | 2 |
Fastest laps | 2 |
Best finish | 1st in 2016 (GT500) |
World Rally Championship record | |
Active years | 2022–2023 |
Rallies | 2 |
Championships | 0 |
Rally wins | 0 |
Podiums | 0 |
Stage wins | 0 |
Total points | 1 |
First rally | 2022 Rally Japan |
Last rally | 2023 Rally Japan |
Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈhei̯kːi ˈkoʋɑlɑi̯nen]; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish racing and rally driver, who competed in Formula One from 2007 to 2013. Kovalainen won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren. In sportscar racing, Kovalainen won Super GT in 2016 with SARD.
Kovalainen was supported by the Renault Driver Development programme early in his racing career, during which he won the World Series by Nissan championship and finished runner-up in the GP2 series. Renault signed him on as a full-time Formula One test driver for 2006, and then promoted him to a race seat for 2007. He gained his first podium by finishing second in the Japanese Grand Prix that year.
He moved to McLaren for the 2008 season, where he partnered Lewis Hamilton. His second season in Formula One saw him achieve his first pole position at Silverstone and his first victory at the Hungaroring, becoming the 100th driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. He remained with the team for the 2009 season.
In 2010, he moved to the newly created Team Lotus where he also remained for 2011 and 2012, with the team renamed Caterham F1 for 2012, Kovalainen's last full season in Formula One. Although he didn't score points in the uncompetitive cars, he earned respect for outperforming drivers who were racing in similarly uncompetitive cars.[1][2] Kovalainen competed in the last two races of the 2013 season for Lotus F1 as a short-notice stand-in for regular driver Kimi Räikkönen.
In 2015, Kovalainen moved to Japan to compete in Super GT in the GT500 class with Team SARD. He won the championship in his second season in the series in 2016.