An honour to follow in Mika's and Kimi's footsteps - Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen was confirmed as McLaren Mercedes Team driver today. The young Finn is honoured to follow in the footsteps of fellow countrymen Mika Hakkinen and Kimi Raikkonen. This is the second year in a row that Kovalainen will replace Fernando Alonso.

Kovalainen said: “I am so excited to join a team like Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. So far I have been blown away by the dedication and commitment to winning which is clear through the entire organisation and I am really excited about our joint future. As a Finn it’s an honour for me to follow in Mika and Kimi’s footsteps. I haven’t really spent a lot of time with Lewis so far but from what I know I think we will work well together and do our best for the team.”