Kovalainen has few illusions for 2013
With only two seats available for the 2013 season, Heikki Kovalainen seems to no longer have many illusions and regrets that his good performances over the past three years have gone unnoticed by the major teams.
A few weeks before the first private tests of the 2013 Formula 1 season, two seats have yet to be assigned. At Force India, it seems that Jules Bianchi is well-positioned to support Paul di Resta, while on the Caterham side, predictions favor Vitaly Petrov, leaving Heikki Kovalainen on the sidelines.
After an unremarkable stint at McLaren in 2008 and 2009 – aside from a win – the Finn accepted the challenge of Caterham – Lotus Racing at the time – hoping to rebuild his reputation. But it’s not easy to get noticed when you’re only battling around the 15th position: « Even if people say you’re driving well and doing a good job, the fact is that being 15th, 16th, or 17th on paper is not as good as someone finishing 6th, 7th, or 8th, » acknowledges Kovalainen in an interview with our colleagues from Autosport.
With a more open transfer market than in recent years, the Finnish driver hoped to have a good chance and secure a more competitive seat for the 2013 season, but instead, he finds himself increasingly close to the exit: « It was quite surprising, I thought that after the last few years I would be in a better position in the transfer market. Obviously, we are working hard to try to do something, but the problem is that the results I’ve had over the last 2 or 3 seasons haven’t been enough to be in a top car, and the midfield teams are in a situation where they have to take paying drivers, and that excludes me from the second half of the grid, » analyzes the driver who began his career in 2007 with Renault.
After Kamui Kobayashi, Kovalainen could be another victim of the transfer market.
