2007 Japanese GP, Sunday - 30 SEP 2007
In appalling conditions this afternoon at Fuji Speedway,
two rookies took control of the show.
While Lewis Hamilton took an assured victory, Finn Heikki
Kovalainen took the first podium of his fledgling Formula
1 career at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix. Heikki started from
P11, and completed the first twenty laps behind the safety
car until conditions were deemed good enough for the race
to begin. After qualifying outside the top ten yesterday afternoon,
the team had decided to fuel both cars for a one-stop strategy,
and this paid off as they ran further than their rivals in
front before pitting, and indeed the team's drivers ran one-two
before they made their stops. The safety car returned to the
action when Fernando Alonso crashed heavily between turns
5 and 6 on lap 43, with Heikki running P4, and a collision
between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel as they ran behind
the safety car allowed him to climb to P2. The race resumed
at the end of lap 48, and for the remaining 19 laps the Finn
had to resist the attacks of Ferrari team-mates Felipe Massa
and Kimi Raikkonen. The battle with Raikkonen was particularly
hard-fought but, just like in Spa two weeks ago, Heikki defended
resiliently and was able to hold his second position to the
flag. His first podium finish was followed up by 5th position
for team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella. The Italian struggled
with inconsistent handling in the low-speed corners, and recognising
this, he let his team-mate past early in the race. Nonetheless,
he drove strongly and consistently in difficult conditions
to score more valuable points for the team, and cement its
position in the constructors' championship.
Heikki Kovalainen, 2nd position
It has been a rollercoaster year for me, and it was like that
again this weekend. We took a risk with the set-up yesterday,
hoping for better conditions and when we got up this morning
and saw the rain falling, we didn't expect to have a fantastic
afternoon. But it just goes to show that no matter how bad
you think the situation is, you never give up. The strategy
worked perfectly today, and the team deserves at least one
podium today! Everybody has asked me about the last few laps
with Kimi, but my mirrors had steamed up completely and I
couldn't see him. I was watching the pit-board though, and
every lap the gap was coming down, so I knew he would try
something. He got past me into turn 6 on the final lap, but
I wanted P2 so much that I went back round the outside on
the way down to turn 10. The car was aquaplaning all over
the place, but I kept my foot in and got back ahead, hoping
I wouldn't lose the car. It is a fantastic feeling to score
my first podium. Now, we need to try and maintain the momentum
in Shanghai.
Giancarlo Fisichella, 5th position
It was one of the most difficult races I have ever driven,
the conditions were just so wet all the way through, and it
didn't seem to improve at any point. The main thing today
was to keep the car on the track, and to avoid making mistakes.
The balance was a bit inconsistent, particularly at low speeds,
and it was aquaplaning on the straights as well. I don't think
we achieved our potential today, but this was still a strong
result in a race where a lot of other cars failed to finish.
Flavio Briatore, Managing Director
At the last wet race in Germany, we didn't make the most of
the situation and only scored one point. Today was completely
different. The team got everything right, and Heikki did not
make a single mistake. We scored twelve points with our two
cars, and our rookie drove like a man with a lot more experience.
Congratulations to the team: after a difficult season, they
deserve this result.
Pat Symonds, Executive Director of Engineering
The conditions today were extremely difficult and it was imperative
not to make any mistakes. We didn't, and seized the opportunity
to score our first podium finish of the year. Heikki put in
an extremely assured performance: he was under intense pressure
at the end, but showed the right blend of aggression and tenacity
to keep Kimi behind. It demonstrated once again what a good
racer he is. His first career podium is made all the sweeter
by getting both cars in the points for the first time since
Silverstone, after Giancarlo drove a solid race to finish
fifth. The team did not put a foot wrong all day, and credit
goes to every one of them for performing so well in exceptionally
tough circumstances.
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