Heikki is a true team player..

[Dzeidzei]

..and that´s a sarcastic remark (have to emphazise as people here have probs reading between the lines). I think he needs to grow elbows if he ever wants to win anything in F1.

Heikki never complains about his team. Not, when the new aero parts are given to the golden boy (and that makes him only 3 tenths quicker in quali even with lighter load). Not when his team call him in for pitstop while he still has fuel onboard (do you see the point in that).

And he thanks his team by driving flawlessly in difficult conditions. Not like his teammate who slips left and right.

A true team player. I hope he gets the credit (and service) he deserves from McLaren.

[leopard]

As usual Heikki tells us balancing behavior breaks up neologism, which is an important determinant of the stability of the team. The weaker state decides the result conditions which the dominance and influence of a stronger state is unacceptable.

[ArrowsFA1]

A true team player. I hope he gets the credit (and service) he deserves from McLaren.
He certainly has so far, and did again yesterday:

Heikki scored a very well deserved four points for an impressive fifth place. It isn't at all easy to drive a faultless race in conditions like those we faced today, but Heikki did just that.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/74628

[CNR]

if not he could write a book team mate to a liar

[leopard]

I mean balancing behavior of Heikki, he is impressive in condition where it is commonly difficult, while in another bigger occasions commonly easy he produces outcome the otherwise. ;) :D

[leopard]

After all, he's good yesterday. :)

[Knock-on]

Good race from HK yesterday. One of the best drives of the day IMHO.

I don't know about strange fuel theories etc that people dream up but he did a great job for McLaren yesterday.

Lets hope this is the beginning of a turn around for HK at McLaren but a Swallow does not a Summer make. Let's see over the next few races.

[Dzeidzei]

I don't know about strange fuel theories etc that people dream up but he did a great job for McLaren yesterday.


Heikki was called in right after Lewis even though he had 18 kilos more fuel at the start.

Im not dreaming, Im just curious.

[COD]

Heikki was called in right after Lewis even though he had 18 kilos more fuel at the start.

Im not dreaming, Im just curious.

And Heikkis comment when asked was: "I don't know why they called me in, you have to ask the team."

Theory:

HK and LH were fighting for same position, if they had kept Heikki out longer, he would have had a clear advantage over Lewis. But as it turned out, by keeping him out longer, he might have finished afead of Rubens as well.

[Dzeidzei]

And Heikkis comment when asked was: "I don't know why they called me in, you have to ask the team."

Theory:

HK and LH were fighting for same position, if they had kept Heikki out longer, he would have had a clear advantage over Lewis. But as it turned out, by keeping him out longer, he might have finished afead of Rubens as well.

I think it would be difficult for anyone to think anything else.

If Heikki was Senna, he´d be shouting "Those a**holes ruined my race!"

But he´s just too damn nice.

[Triumph]

If Heikki was Senna, he´d be shouting "Those a**holes ruined my race!"

But he´s just too damn nice.

Very true. The Senna comparisons always go to someone else, don't they? ;)

[DexDexter]

I think it would be difficult for anyone to think anything else.

If Heikki was Senna, he´d be shouting "Those a**holes ruined my race!"

But he´s just too damn nice.

He is a nice guy but that hasn't always been the case, in gp2 he fought with countryman (half) Nico quite bitterly. At one stage he complained that Nico practised all the circuits beforehand cause his daddy Keke paid for it. (For Finns and Swedes "Pappa betalar".) Keke commented that Heikki was like that even in karting, when things didn't go his way, he started complaining. This information is from Finnish newspapers a while back. So there is a darker side to Heikki as well. Let's hope yesterday's fifth place ahead of Lewis is just a start of a good season for him.

[Garry Walker]

Heikki never complains about his team. Not, when the new aero parts are given to the golden boy (and that makes him only 3 tenths quicker in quali even with lighter load).

.
Hamilton was 3 tenths quicker on equal fuel load, where do you get this that he was lighter?

[Storm]

Garry, this time they showed starting weights for all cars, so that could be where they got the info ;)
I can't say for sure if he was heavier as I don't remember LH/HK weights but Alonso was the lightest.

[Garry Walker]

Garry, this time they showed starting weights for all cars, so that could be where they got the info ;)
I can't say for sure if he was heavier as I don't remember LH/HK weights but Alonso was the lightest.

In qualifying, HK and LH did their Q2 on equal fuel loads, that is that they were as light as possible. Those 10 who are the fastest in Q2 go on to Q3, where they do their qualy laps with race fuel, but in Q2 you are as light as possible
HK was clearly slower and could then pick his fuel load for the race, but the fuel that was revealed after qualifying is not the amount of fuel he did his Q2 lap on. After a few seasons one could hope that people would finally understand this system

[Dzeidzei]

In qualifying, HK and LH did their Q2 on equal fuel loads, that is that they were as light as possible. Those 10 who are the fastest in Q2 go on to Q3, where they do their qualy laps with race fuel, but in Q2 you are as light as possible
HK was clearly slower and could then pick his fuel load for the race, but the fuel that was revealed after qualifying is not the amount of fuel he did his Q2 lap on. After a few seasons one could hope that people would finally understand this system

Youre absolutely right and I apologise for my mistake. Lewis was faster in Q2 with the new aeros and equally light. At the start Heikki was 18 kilos heavier though and should have been able to do a few laps more. Why he was called in, only Whitmarsh knows.

But I´ll make a bold assumption. Lewis wont drive for McL in 2010. Heikki will, as they dont want to change both drivers. And with Nico onboard the British pride will have a totally Finnish driver lineup :)

[Ranger]

But I´ll make a bold assumption. Lewis wont drive for McL in 2010. Heikki will, as they dont want to change both drivers. And with Nico onboard the British pride will have a totally Finnish driver lineup :)

Can Nico even speak Finnish? :\

[EuroTroll]

Can Nico even speak Finnish? :\

As far as I know, no. Although he did used to race with a Finnish licence.

As for Heikki - yes, he needs to get tougher. The trick is to be a b****rd in F1 (on and off the track), and then make up for it with good works in private life. A la Schumacher and Senna. :D This is the way to success and love. :p :

I'm a bit worried about Vettel, too. Far too nice! Although he might just be good enough to succeed despite his niceness.

Heikki is not..

[PolePosition_1]

I think Heikki, he seems like a good guy. But he simply isn't that good in my opinion. Not good enought to warrant a McLaren seat.

Whilst first half of last year were promising, with time it just seemed that he fell further back from Hamilton.

Though I hope he proves me wrong, and that he does start putting in solid performances, as I'd like to see him succeed.

So far this year he has been quick, and very close or even faster than Hamilton, but not much racing, so I say give him until end of the year. But he'll need to do better than last year I think.

But as stated, he is a good team player and team mate, and after 2007, I can see McLaren being happy to keep him on scoring lower end points and backing up Lewis.

[Jag_Warrior]

I think it would be difficult for anyone to think anything else.

If Heikki was Senna, he´d be shouting "Those a**holes ruined my race!"

But he´s just too damn nice.

If Heikki was Senna he'd have won as many or more races than Hamilton last season, and he'd be running Hamilton out of the team by now.

He does seem like a very nice lad. But I've yet to see any consistent signs of racing brilliance. He ran a good race yesterday and kept his nose clean... something that most of the A-list power hitters didn't manage to do. Good on him.

[EuroTroll]

If Heikki was Senna he'd have won as many or more races than Hamilton last season, and he'd be running Hamilton out of the team by now.

Yes, you can see it now, can't you.

- "Heikki, don't go to McLaren, it's Team Hamilton."
- "No, I will destroy him from the earliest opportunity."

:D

[wedge]

A true team player. I hope he gets the credit (and service) he deserves from McLaren.

He was drove a title winning car last year and achieved sod all in comparison to LH. Unless HK will be consistently close to or beats LH then he deserves little credit.


He is a nice guy but that hasn't always been the case, in gp2 he fought with countryman (half) Nico quite bitterly. At one stage he complained that Nico practised all the circuits beforehand cause his daddy Keke paid for it. (For Finns and Swedes "Pappa betalar".) Keke commented that Heikki was like that even in karting, when things didn't go his way, he started complaining. This information is from Finnish newspapers a while back. So there is a darker side to Heikki as well. Let's hope yesterday's fifth place ahead of Lewis is just a start of a good season for him.

He is a McLaren driver now. You keep your thoughts to yourself, out of the public eye else find another team.

[Jag_Warrior]

Yes, you can see it now, can't you.

- "Heikki, don't go to McLaren, it's Team Hamilton."
- "No, I will destroy him from the earliest opportunity."

:D

Yep. You just have to be able to walk the walk if you want to talk the talk. You can't be like Piquet, Jr. or Danica Patrick: all show and very little go.

Kick azz, take names, make your money, get your championships, retire and open an orphanage or something.

I'm looking to pull for the next King Rat! :D

[jens]

I hope Heikki can build his confidence on that last successful Chinese GP. I had extremely high expectations on him after his pre-F1 career, but alas it hasn't really worked out as hoped. Late 07/early 08 showed some promise, but generally his F1 career so far has turned out to be a major disappointment and he may even need to prove whether he is worthy of a long-term future in F1 at all. He sure is quick, but already last year his opening laps were often quite clumsy. I actually think being a #2 driver doesn't suit him - he needs a different environment and more attention to really unveil his potential. In this regard he seems quite fisichellaesque. So leaving McLaren for another team could be a good choice if he wants to rebuild his reputation.

[DexDexter]

I hope Heikki can build his confidence on that last successful Chinese GP. I had extremely high expectations on him after his pre-F1 career, but alas it hasn't really worked out as hoped. Late 07/early 08 showed some promise, but generally his F1 career so far has turned out to be a major disappointment and he may even need to prove whether he is worthy of a long-term future in F1 at all. He sure is quick, but already last year his opening laps were often quite clumsy. I actually think being a #2 driver doesn't suit him - he needs a different environment and more attention to really unveil his potential. In this regard he seems quite fisichellaesque. So leaving McLaren for another team could be a good choice if he wants to rebuild his reputation.

You're essentially right, it think Heikki is mentally weak-or not weak but vulnerable, and he needs a stable environment. For this reason it's not good for Heikki that Ron Dennis quit Mclaren's day-to-day activities since he seems to like and understand Finnish drivers and their mentality.

[Garry Walker]

I hope Heikki can build his confidence on that last successful Chinese GP. I had extremely high expectations on him after his pre-F1 career, but alas it hasn't really worked out as hoped. Late 07/early 08 showed some promise, but generally his F1 career so far has turned out to be a major disappointment and he may even need to prove whether he is worthy of a long-term future in F1 at all. He sure is quick, but already last year his opening laps were often quite clumsy. I actually think being a #2 driver doesn't suit him - he needs a different environment and more attention to really unveil his potential. In this regard he seems quite fisichellaesque. So leaving McLaren for another team could be a good choice if he wants to rebuild his reputation.

Heikki only has one problem. He is nowhere near fast enough, never will be, never has been.

[Storm]

HK was clearly slower and could then pick his fuel load for the race, but the fuel that was revealed after qualifying is not the amount of fuel he did his Q2 lap on. After a few seasons one could hope that people would finally understand this system

I understand the system well enough thank you very much.
What I messed up was forgetting that HK went out after Q2 :s

Silly mistake on my part..but I guess you never do that.

[EuroTroll]

You're essentially right, it think Heikki is mentally weak-or not weak but vulnerable, and he needs a stable environment. For this reason it's not good for Heikki that Ron Dennis quit Mclaren's day-to-day activities since he seems to like and understand Finnish drivers and their mentality.

But Heikki is not much like Mika or Kimi, is he...

He's a Frentzen and will probably have a similar career. At least I hope so! :) 'Cause I reluctantly have to agree with Garry here - Heikki is not particularly tough AND also not the fastest guy out there.. I don't think he could ever consistently match the very top guys.

[Zico]

I think it was Brundle who comented on Heikki not liking the new wing and prefering the old one. Unless you think he's repeating bull**** info from the McLaren camp or is in their pockets himself, Im more inclined to believe that.. I mean why would they choose to give him a slower car thats detrimental to the whole teams performance when there are so many other ways to slow him down as and when req?

A flawed excuse for bashing methinks..

[DexDexter]

Heikki only has one problem. He is nowhere near fast enough, never will be, never has been.

If you are right, Hamilton isn't that great either, Heikki's been too close to him in qualifying pace. Last year he was allowed to be lighter in quali than Hamilton once, and still he was quite close to the current world champion. I know the race pace hasn't been there, but there is clearly potential.

[Bradley]

Heikki only has one problem. He is nowhere near fast enough, never will be, never has been.

My opinion too. However untill this moment in the championship, he's in front of his team mate golden boy :)

[V12]

He falls into that time-honoured category of good, but not THAT good. Your Bergers, Patreses, DCs, Irvines etc. Barring disaster he'll carve out a long and moderately successful career for himself, but IMO he's not WDC material.

[ShiftingGears]

Heikki only has one problem. He is nowhere near fast enough, never will be, never has been.

I would say that another problem he has is his lack of confidence at the moment, also.

[EuroTroll]

He falls into that time-honoured category of good, but not THAT good. Your Bergers, Patreses, DCs, Irvines etc. Barring disaster he'll carve out a long and moderately successful career for himself, but IMO he's not WDC material.

Exactly.

[ShiftingGears]

Exactly.

I wouldn't exactly call him a solid number 2 at the moment.

[aryan]

If you are right, Hamilton isn't that great either, Heikki's been too close to him in qualifying pace. Last year he was allowed to be lighter in quali than Hamilton once, and still he was quite close to the current world champion. I know the race pace hasn't been there, but there is clearly potential.

Heikki is quick. On his day, he can be really quick.

What he is yet to show in F1 is race craft. There have been plenty of people who have been quick in F1, but haven't had that extra layer of ability that racers have.

Wurz was one of them. Marc Gene was another. You can probably even add Davidson to that list.

Alonso might not be any quicker than any one of them over a single lap, but by the end of the season he has twice the number of points than all of them combined.

That's race craft.

[EuroTroll]

I wouldn't exactly call him a solid number 2 at the moment.

Yeah, but he can be, I think. I mean every driver has shaky periods sometime in their career, but essentially the quality is there in Kovalainen, I think. He can be a Patrese-Berger-Coulthard-Barrichello.

[ArrowsFA1]

I think it was Brundle who comented on Heikki not liking the new wing and prefering the old one. Unless you think he's repeating bull**** info from the McLaren camp or is in their pockets himself, Im more inclined to believe that.. I mean why would they choose to give him a slower car thats detrimental to the whole teams performance when there are so many other ways to slow him down as and when req?
In Bahrain Heikki's now running the new front wing, and Lewis the old one, so I guess that means McLaren are favouring Heikki now :crazy: :p

[Triumph]

If they are it hasn't had any effect because Lewis is right at the top of the practice times so far.

[A.F.F.]

Heikki is cut from the same wood as Juha Kankkunen, Harri Rovanperä, Jani Paasonen, Mikko Hirvonen, Hannu Mikkola etc....

All gentlemen too humble for motorsports. Yet, some of them made a break. Huge.

[I am evil Homer]

Heikki only has one problem. He is nowhere near fast enough, never will be, never has been.

I agree...he seems like a nice guy. But last season he had a great car and did next to nothing with it...i see little driver development to suggest he may become better I think he's at his peak.

[Knock-on]

Heikki is quick. On his day, he can be really quick.

What he is yet to show in F1 is race craft. There have been plenty of people who have been quick in F1, but haven't had that extra layer of ability that racers have.

Wurz was one of them. Marc Gene was another. You can probably even add Davidson to that list.

Alonso might not be any quicker than any one of them over a single lap, but by the end of the season he has twice the number of points than all of them combined.

That's race craft.

I agree. It's the "men from the boys" arguement.

Our Noige was never the quickest but he scrapped for everything for example.

Alonso, Hamilton, Schumacher all the the craft.

[jens]

Heikki is cut from the same wood as Juha Kankkunen, Harri Rovanperä, Jani Paasonen, Mikko Hirvonen, Hannu Mikkola etc....

All gentlemen too humble for motorsports. Yet, some of them made a break. Huge.

Hm, don't you think rallying may suit Kovalainen better? He seems to be able to go really quick in free way, but has struggled in a tight pack of cars, like race starts.


In Bahrain Heikki's now running the new front wing, and Lewis the old one, so I guess that means McLaren are favouring Heikki now :crazy: :p

Of course, HK is ahead of LH in WDC standings. :p :

[Knock-on]

Poor old Kovy. i was rooting for him since he joined McLaren but it's time to admit that he's just not got it. I think lewis is the Mutts Nutts but he needs a strong driver to push him. Kovy just isn't good enough :(

[Sonic]

I'm not gonna put him in the dustbin yet. Kovy drove well last weekend but this week nothing. What he needs is some consistency, and whether that's got to come from him or the setup I'm willing to give him the season to prove one way or another.

[wedge]

Poor old Kovy. i was rooting for him since he joined McLaren but it's time to admit that he's just not got it. I think lewis is the Mutts Nutts but he needs a strong driver to push him. Kovy just isn't good enough :(

Agreed. Lewis is the real deal. The doubters thought he benefitted from a great car but he's able to out drive the car this year.

[DexDexter]

Poor old Kovy. i was rooting for him since he joined McLaren but it's time to admit that he's just not got it. I think lewis is the Mutts Nutts but he needs a strong driver to push him. Kovy just isn't good enough :(

Today wasn't his fault, Whitmarsh admitted in an interview on Finnish tv that they got the strategy wrong, they couldn't believe that the hard tire was so bad, so they guy started the race with a car full of fuel and no grip in the hard tires. But I agree that his situation is not good, Heikki needs a really good result soon...

[wedge]

Today wasn't his fault, Whitmarsh admitted in an interview on Finnish tv that they got the strategy wrong, they couldn't believe that the hard tire was so bad, so they guy started the race with a car full of fuel and no grip in the hard tires. But I agree that his situation is not good, Heikki needs a really good result soon...

That would explain how and why Lewis was told the prime tyres were crap

[Knock-on]

When he's 6 places back in Qualifying, I just get the feeling McLaren are trying anything to get him up the field including taking risks.

[DexDexter]

When he's 6 places back in Qualifying, I just get the feeling McLaren are trying anything to get him up the field including taking risks.

Or making him Lewis' guinea pig?

[Big Ben]

Or making him Lewis' guinea pig?

no way. LH is the real deal. He just outdrives the car. If it gets any worse he'll just jump out of the car and start running and still finish ahead of most people. Didn't you read it? It's a few posts up

[aryan]

Or making him Lewis' guinea pig?

He could qualify higher, then he would use a standard race strategy.

Fact is, when you start that far back in the field, using a standard strategy rarely gets you anywhere. You have to go for something non-standard and hope for some rain or safety car of some sort to score any points (hint: China).

[DexDexter]

no way. LH is the real deal. He just outdrives the car. If it gets any worse he'll just jump out of the car and start running and still finish ahead of most people. Didn't you read it? It's a few posts up

Yes, Lewis is the real deal put are you saying that it wasn't useful for Lewis to know how hard tires work in a Mclaren in the race? A cynic would say that putting Kovy on hard tires instead of soft ones at the start gave Mclaren good data about the hard tires and then they could decide when to use those on Lewis's car.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

In Bahrain Heikki's now running the new front wing, and Lewis the old one, so I guess that means McLaren are favouring Heikki now :crazy: :p

Was he?

http://www.f1-live.com/f1/photos/2009/gpsakhir/diapo_322.jpg

http://www.f1-live.com/f1/photos/2009/gpsakhir/diapo_235.jpg

Lewis has the extra flap and the new endplates that was introduced in China. Heikki still has the original wing.

Are we right to be as critical as we are to Heikki when he doesn't have the same car as his team mate?

[wedge]

Are we right to be as critical as we are to Heikki when he doesn't have the same car as his team mate?

Lewis has out raced the car in the first two races and able to put in solid points paying positions (finishing/official results are different matter!). What has Kovy done so far?

[ArrowsFA1]

Was he?
IIRC the info I got came from Lee McKenzie's BBC blog on Friday.