I hope to finish the season with a strong drive - Kovalainen
The ING Renault F1 Team previews round seventeen of the 2007 Formula 1 World Championship, the Brazilian Grand Prix. Heikki Kovalainen hopes score some more points during the final race of the season.
"I know, and it couldn’t have been closer: Coulthard was right in front of me, but I couldn’t get past him in the dry! It was a tough afternoon for the whole team, and disappointing not to score points because we had the pace to do it. But I made a mistake in qualifying, our strategy didn’t work out in the early laps, and that was enough to mean we didn’t score. But as always, you have to find the positives: the car was actually pretty quick on Sunday, we made the right choices in reacting to the conditions, and the reliability was perfect once again. I have finished every race this year, and that’s something we are all proud of."
Tell us about Interlagos…"It is a very physical circuit for the drivers: the surface is bumpy, and it runs anti-clockwise which means it is hard for the whole body but especially the neck. So I have been training hard to prepare for it, and I will be in peak condition for the final race."
In terms of set-up, what will your priorities be when working with the engineers?"I think the suspension is one of the most important factors. The cars needs to ride the bumps well, and also the kerbs in the slow middle sector, which we use quite a lot. If you can find a good suspension compromise to give smooth ride and good mechanical grip, then it is a big plus in terms of lap-time."
Does the fact that this is the last race of the year change anything in your approach?"It gives me extra determination. This is our last chance of the year to show what we can do. You are only as good as your last race in Formula 1, so it is important to score a good result to take into the winter, and hopefully give the team some momentum too. This has been a tough year for everybody at Renault, but we have made progress in the last few weeks and not been able to show it in dry race conditions. Brazil is a circuit where the team has had a lot of success in recent years and while that doesn’t mean anything for 2007, maybe it can bring us a bit of luck. I hope we can have a normal race, take the fight to BMW and finish the season with a strong, aggressive drive."
Source Renault
