Lotus: Kovalainen could be an option for 2014

With an eighth position on the starting grid of his return Grand Prix, Heikki Kovalainen didn’t fail to impress the paddock. His adaptation to a car he had never driven was quite rapid, even though he wasn’t necessarily in the best conditions: “I did everything I could to follow in [Kimi Räikkönen’s footsteps] this weekend and I even wore his fireproof underwear. I hope they were clean,” joked the Finn on the Lotus F1 website. Besides the underwear, the seat he used on Friday wasn’t his own.

Regarding the team, he believes that the adaptation of his stand was good: « Obviously, they like working with a Finnish driver. » Kovalainen is not a stranger to the team based in Enstone, which he attended in 2006 and 2007 when it was still called Renault. But, did he receive any advice from his illustrious predecessor? « I didn’t talk to Kimi because he is busy recovering from his operation, and knowing Kimi, he would have joked with me by telling nonsense about the car. »

The promising performance of Heikki Kovalainen could lead to a reconsideration of his position regarding the Lotus seat in 2014, at least according to what Eric Boullier, manager of Lotus F1, suggested to the Finnish channel MTV3 when asked if the native of Suomussalmi is an option: « He could be one. It’s true he wasn’t originally on the list, but if he performs well, he could make us change our minds… I don’t know, anything is possible. » A hypothesis that still seems hard to conceive, as the primary choice appears to be Nico Hülkenberg in the event of an agreement with Quantum Motorsport, and the secondary choice seems to favor Pastor Maldonado and his significant financial contributions.

At the same time, Gerard Lopez, owner of the Lotus team, discussed with *Auto Motor und Sport* Kimi Räikkönen’s withdrawal and the rumors around the end of their collaboration: « Money has little to do with this. We clarified that in Abu Dhabi, he will get his money. » He also mentions the possible involvement of Scuderia Ferrari: « Maybe his new employer advised him that it would be better to have surgery as soon as possible. »

A reference to Ferrari that doesn’t fail to be implicitly made to explain Nico Hülkenberg’s turnaround, who almost filled the seat of Lotus No. 7: « It was very bad for us, but also unfortunate for Nico, of course. As I understood it, he was suddenly paid [by Sauber], so he was no longer available for us. »