Planet-F1

Whitmarsh: Heikki is coming into his own

Thursday 28th August 2008

Martin Whitmarsh reckons Heikki Kovalainen's recent results are proof that he has become a more complete drivers since joining McLaren at the start of the season.

After a flying start to his McLaren career, Kovalainen crashed heavily at the Spanish GP, which sparked a disappointing run that included just one point in four races.

However, he fought back to finish fourth in the French GP, the start of a five-race points-scoring haul that even included a debut win for the McLaren driver at the Hungarian GP.

As a result the Finn has moved up to fifth in the Drivers' Championship and in the process has helped McLaren close the gap to Ferrari in the Constructors' battle.

It's been a strong run of form that has prompted McLaren CEO Whitmarsh to declare Kovalainen a much-improved driver.

"Most definitely," Whitmarsh said when asked if the Finn has become a more complete driver.

"The reality is that Heikki's particularly strong when he's got the car in front in his sights. When he homes in on another competitor then his natural competitive instincts really come alive.

"Heikki's much more adept at switching effortlessly between engine-saving, brake-saving and tyre-saving modes and knows exactly when to push - so the situation he encountered at the start of the year when he was dealing with slightly more tyre degradation is no longer a concern.