Fresh F1

The owner of the Minardi brand, Australian Paul Stoddart was keen to hire Heikki to drive for him as early as 2004.

Kovalainen tested a Minardi for two days in December 2003 at Vallelunga. If it were for Stoddart, he would have hired Heikki that instant in similar way to how he had taken Fernando Alonso two years earlier. Renault however refused to pay for Heikki’s race seat at Minardi, so Heikki had to wait for his first F1 race until the 18th of March, this year, at Australian GP.

Stoddart followed the GP on site, in his home city. He especially observed Kovalainen’s struggle.

TurunSanomat asked Stoddart how big of a disappointment Heikki’s first race was.
“I’m not that disappointed as you could imagine. We must remember that Renault’s car is far from that what it should have been“, said the Australian.

“I see how everyone was pleased of Hamilton’s drive, and now they are making him a hero. But he was in a car that works well with these tyres and is very competitive.” continued Stoddart.

“When I looked how inconsistent far more experienced Giancarlo Fisichella’s driving was, I was absolutely sure that the R27 doesn’t work well at all, and was unpredictable to drive. That’s why Heikki had a few wide corners and that monumental spin from which he recovered. ”

“I wouldn’t doubt Heikki’s abilities. Where would they have gone so suddenly? The only problem for him is Renault’s car, which is far from what the team would have wanted to create for this race.“

“Let’s give Heikki some time. He will be a superstar – just like Hamilton. F1 is rising again as a sport, because there are many excellent young drivers. There is no need to be worried about Heikki.” concluded the Minardi boss.

Source:Turun Sanomat (in Finnish)
Translation by Warwick.

~ by Wiz Kid on March 22, 2007.