Heikki Kovalainen did not want to return to the F1 pit – Hamilton’s friend

Heikki Kovalainen’s F1 career ended on a sad note.

The Finnish striker admits that the habit has hurt him. It took years for old wounds to heal.

– Maybe bitterness is a bad word, but there was a bit of a feeling that there is no need to go to the F1 pit anymore if the treatment is like this, Kovalainen recalls his difficult times to Iltalehti.

The Finnish driver, who had already lost his driving position in the Caterham team, was able to join the Lotus team at the end of the 2013 season, when a compatriot who was dissatisfied with his salary payment Kimi Raikkonen decided to go for surgery in the middle of the contract.

Kovalainen, who jumped at the wheel of Lotus with a short warning, found himself in an impossible position. Two races outside the points did not convince the team managers, and the doors of the F1 teams closed.

Kovalainen continued his driving career elsewhere. Having won one F1 race, the Finn gathered success in Japan, where he won the 2016 Super GT series and this season the Japanese Rally Championship.

He was hardly seen in the F1 pit.

– A couple of times I visited the F1 race as an invited guest of Mersu in Abu Dhabi, but even then I mostly stayed in the team premises, Kovalainen says.

There was demand

The return to the pits was seen at this year’s Hungarian GP. Kovalainen arrived there as an expert for Viasat, which televises F1 broadcasts in Finland.

The company added a desired rarity to its ranks.

– I was asked to be an expert at regular intervals for F1 broadcasts in several countries, actually since my F1 career ended. I used to knock them out outright. I thought that if I’m not a driver, I have no other role to play in the pits, Kovalainen states.

However, time did its job. When Viaplay assembled its new F1 team last year, Kovalainen was contacted. This time he agreed.

Warm welcome

The expected return to the pit was seen at the end of July at the Budapest track in Hungary. The place was hardly chosen by chance. On that track, Kovalainen won the only GP of his career.

The reception surprised Kovalainen.

– I was surprised how little the return bothered me. The reception was also really warm. It felt like the F1 people really wanted to see me for a long time, Kovalainen recalls with a big smile.

F1 circuits are small and turnover is relatively low. There were still many of the same faces in the pits as during Kovalainen’s F1 career that lasted from 2007 to 2013.

– It gave me a really good feeling when many old acquaintances came to chat, ask for news and reminisce about the past, Kovalainen says.

Host of The Hamiltons

One old acquaintance whom Kovalainen met at the pit was an old teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton won his first World Championship title as Kovalainen’s teammate in 2008. Since then, the Briton has emerged as perhaps the best F1 driver of all time, but his friendship with the Finn has remained.

Kovalainen’s special interview with Hamilton would hardly have been successful if someone else had held the microphone.

– I believe it is the only personal interview that Lewis gave to Viasat during the season, Kovalainen admits.

Kovalainen and Hamilton are still closely related. In addition to the F1 stars, the families of both have a really good relationship with each other.

– We always see each other at regular intervals. Usually we are Catherine’s who have hosted the Hamilton family with me when F1 has raced in Abu Dhabi, Kovalainen, who is still staying in the country for the time being, reveals.

Last time dad Anthony HamiltonMum Brenda and stepmother Linda were guests of Kovalainen last year, when the F1 season ended scandalously in Abu Dhabi.

Max Verstappen got ahead of Hamilton in the last round of the season, prompted by a very questionable referee’s decision. Many felt that the British driver had been robbed in the situation.

– It was a pretty wild situation when watched so closely. At first, Lewis seemed to be on his way to become world champion in an easy way, and a couple of minutes later the competing team is celebrating, Kovalainen recalls.

The atmosphere in the Mersu camp was as serious as a funeral.

– I talked with Lewis after the race. He was unusually serious and clearly shocked by what happened, Kovalainen says.

Different for you with Kim

Hamilton’s family friends hardly ever emerge from Verstappen, unlike Kovalais.

Deep mutual respect is mutual.

– I don’t know if Lewis senses that I am not a real threat to him, but our relationship has always been good and open, Kovalainen praises.

It is no coincidence that the contact has remained close even after the end of the F1 career.

How about a compatriot Kimi Raikkonen? Two Finns in the league’s top teams meant numerous conversations in Finnish at press conferences, but how well did the duo get along?

– Kimi is a nice and matter-of-fact guy. We are not in contact with each other, but there is no drama involved. Our lives have just gone in different directions. If we happened to meet somewhere, we certainly wouldn’t have any kind of problem, Kovalainen states.