Even if he didn’t score a point in 2011, Heikki Kovalainen had an excellent season with Team Lotus.
The Finn gained in confidence and rebuilt his reputation. He recently admitted feeling now much more comfortable in the paddock than a couple of years ago, after difficult stints with Renault and McLaren.
Season review:
For the second consecutive year, Heikki Kovalainen drove for Team Lotus. The Finn took the maximum out of his car as early as the opening Grand Prix of the year, qualifying in 19th position. Unfortunately, an oil leak prevented him from converting his qualifying performance into a good race result.
He finished 15th in Malaysia, 16th in China and 19th in Turkey. In Spain, he secured his best grid spot of the year: he made it through to Q2 and qualified in 15th position. But, just like in Australia, he failed to confirm in the race. He crashed in lap 50.
He suffered three mechanical retirements during the season (Canada, Great-Britain and Hungary). Afterwards, he consistently finished the races and regularly challenged more competitive cars. His excellent starts helped him gain many places in the opening laps.
At Singapore, he split the LRGP pair on the finish line. In Korea, he finished ahead of both Saubers. In India, it was Rubens Barrichello who finished behind Kovalainen.
Conclusion :
Heikki Kovalainen’s performance and renewed popularity in the paddock aren’t reflected in his position in the final standings. The Finn impressed by excellent showings in qualifying and also in races, and outshone his experienced teammate.
He is more than happy with Lotus/Caterham and is contributing to the conception and development of next year’s car.
Highs:
— Three Q2 appearances this season
— Pushes the team forward
— Some good starts
Lows :
— Crashed out of the Spanish Grand Prix
— Finished behind Trulli in the standings
Nextgen-Auto.com marks :
— Olivier Ferret : 13/20
— D.Thys : 13/20
— Sandrine Bouchard : 13/20
— Jean-Michel Setbon : 14/20
— Average mark on the forum Nextgen-Auto.com : 15/20
— Total : 68/100