Still a lot more to come - Kovalainen
The ING Renault F1 Team Finnish driver, Heikki Kovalainen, is rarin’ to go before the Malaysian Grand Prix in which he’s determined to shine. Kovalainen had the opportunity to familiarise himself with the Sepang track last week during the test session and is ready for his first Malaysian GP.
“A bit hot, but apart from that okay!”
What about your Melbourne disappointment?“It’s over and done with. It was a big disappointment at the time but things got better after a couple of days. One race isn’t going to undermine my confidence or the team’s. We’ve understood why the car wasn’t working well, and we’re much better prepared for this race.”
Have you analysed the reasons for your poor performance?“I pushed a bit too hard; that’s all really. Starting from 13th place I thought I’d have to find a little bit extra to fight my way up through the field and I went over the limit on several occasions. My fault! The car’s balance wasn’t great either, but I wasn’t the only one in that predicament.”
Will the heat be a problem at Sepang this weekend?“It’s true it’ll be my first race in these conditions. I have to admit that the first day of testing last week was difficult and then everything fell into place. Even during the long runs I didn’t have any problems. I’ve done a lot of fitness training and I don’t think the heat will impact on my performance.”
Was last week’s testing useful?“The tests were important and we’ve made a step forward, but it’s not big enough to help us win races. We still have to try and understand why the car isn’t working as we’d like it to; why it’s not quick enough and then get on with the usual development. We need more mechanical and aerodynamic grip, and we’ve got a few ideas as to how to improve them. I’m sure that there’s still a lot to come from our car.”
Did you manage to optimise the tyres’ behaviour?“I think that we’re using them better especially after last week’s testing. Above all, it’s a question of working on the set-up, and some new avenues that we have yet to explore.”
Is it necessary to change your driving style to get the maximum out of the rubber?“Maybe a bit, but you’ve always got to adapt your driving style to the conditions that you meet, changes in grip, graining etc. You’ve always got to be open-minded on this point.”
Will it be possible to beat BMW this weekend?“That’s our aim. As it rained in testing last week, it’s difficult to estimate exactly where we stand. We’ll just concentrate on our package and see what happens.”
Source Renaultf1
