Heikki gives us his feelings after the Renault F1
Team announcement.
Heikki Kovalainen: "Make the best possible preparation"
Heikki, you have been officially named as a Renault
F1 Team race driver for the 2007 season. What effect has it
had on you?
I'm really happy with the decision, and it is a big boost
for my motivation. I am really looking forward to my first
season in Formula 1, and to be starting it with a top team.
But first things first, we still need to finish 2006 in the
right way. I have a couple of important test sessions left,
and we need to do a good job before thinking about next year.
You will be replacing a world champion in Fernando
Alonso. How are you going to fill his shoes?
I think next year is a new start for me. There will be high
expectations straight away, but I will not look at it as extra
pressure. I will be aiming to tick off my goals one by one:
to finish my first race, hopefully to do it in the points
and to improve all year. We should have a car capable of bringing
good results, and I need to deliver them. But I will be starting
the job in a calm, easy frame of mind.
What do you think led the Renault F1 Team to promote
you to a race seat?
Hopefully the pace, because that's always what the engineers
are looking at – even when they say they are not! I
have been consistent, always trying to push the car and give
good feedback. The engineers have given me feedback on my
job too and, whether it was positive or negative, I have tried
to respond either way. I think I have succeeded in doing that,
and I feel very confident with the car now.
How would you describe your relationship with the
team?
It is already very close. I started testing with them in 2004,
and the relationship has just got better and better since
then. I have improved my job, worked hard with the engineers,
and this is the best possible conclusion – to make my
Formula 1 debut with a team I know really well.
And how about your team-mate for next year, Giancarlo
Fisichella? Do you get on well?
I think Fisi is the best possible team-mate I could have.
He is experienced, he's very quick and we get on well on a
personal level, with a similar sense of humour. We work well,
and we have a laugh together as well.
Looking ahead six months, how do you think it will
feel, lining up on the grid in Melbourne?
I am sure I will have a few butterflies in my stomach! In
reality, though, I will be going back to what I have done
all my life, which is racing. This year has been the unusual
one, not being out on the track competing. So on the grid,
I'm going to be thinking about getting a good start, finding
the braking point for turn 1, and going from there. It will
just be one race in the calendar, and if I do my normal job
then I should have a good result.
Finally, how will the announcement change the way
you work in the coming weeks and months?
I don't think it changes anything at all, I will carry on
doing the same things I have done. I have found what I believe
is a good way of working, which is to push 100% all the time,
and to try and improve with every lap. Nothing changes from
that point of view. I will be driving the same way, working
with the team to improve and listening to their advice to
have the best preparation I possibly can.
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