Confident Kovalainen praises de la Rosa

Heikki Kovalainen, who was announced as race driver for McLaren in December, is very confident towards the upcoming season and this while he and his team mate Lewis Hamilton only spent one year in F1.

Heikki Kovalainen told our colleagues at autosport: "I have a lot of experience of testing the car for many kilometres with Renault, and I will be able to help the team develop. And if Lewis and I ever get stuck because of our experience Pedro will be able to help. He is one of the best test drivers in F1 and is really quick. What we have to aim for now is that we make sure when we get to Melbourne we have done absolutely everything that we can possibly do to get the best results. That's the big aim for the winter."

This afternoon, the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Team will unveil their 2008 contender, the MP4-23, at Stuttgart in the presence of both Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen.