F1 Legend Sim/Drivers/Heikki Kovalainen
Portrait of Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen

Finnish · 2007–2013

Photo: Airwolfhound · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

No world title

Kovalainen in numbers

105 official points · best championship finish: 7th in 2007

0Drivers’ titles

none

0Constructors’ titles

none

Races72nd of 789 all time
111
Wins83rd of 789 all time

0.9% of races

1
Poles77th of 789 all time

0.9% of races

1
Podiums105th of 789 all time

3.6% of races

4

0Drivers’ titles

none

0Constructors’ titles

none

Racesof 111 in the career
17
Winsof 1 in the career
0
Polesof 1 in the career
0
Podiumsof 4 in the career

5.9% of races with Renault

1

0Drivers’ titles

none

0Constructors’ titles

none

Racesof 111 in the career
35
Winsof 1 in the career

2.9% of races with McLaren

1
Polesof 1 in the career

2.9% of races with McLaren

1
Podiumsof 4 in the career

8.6% of races with McLaren

3

0Drivers’ titles

none

0Constructors’ titles

none

Racesof 111 in the career
37
Winsof 1 in the career
0
Polesof 1 in the career
0
Podiumsof 4 in the career
0

0Drivers’ titles

none

0Constructors’ titles

none

Racesof 111 in the career
20
Winsof 1 in the career
0
Polesof 1 in the career
0
Podiumsof 4 in the career
0

0Drivers’ titles

none

0Constructors’ titles

none

Racesof 111 in the career
2
Winsof 1 in the career
0
Polesof 1 in the career
0
Podiumsof 4 in the career
0

Heikki Kovalainen was the hundredth driver to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix. A Finn born in 1981, he made his debut in 2007 with Renault, the team that had just won two titles with Fernando Alonso, and in Japan, in the rain at Fuji, he finished second. He ended the year seventh.

For 2008 McLaren put him alongside Lewis Hamilton, in the seat Alonso had left. He took pole at Silverstone and in Hungary won his only race, after Hamilton had a puncture and Felipe Massa's engine failed three laps from the end. He was seventh in the championship, the same as the year before, while his team-mate became champion.

After a quieter 2009, he chose a new project: Lotus, which returned to Formula 1 in 2010 and later became Caterham. There he raced three seasons without scoring a point, fighting the other new teams at the back of the grid.

His last appearance was as a stand-in: in 2013 he drove the final two races for Lotus in place of Kimi Räikkönen. One win, one pole and four podiums, all in his first two seasons.

What if Kovalainen had another car?

We took his real attributes and put him in the best car of each era: in a real driver's seat, against the team-mate that car actually had. 30 full seasons in each.

CarTeam-mateFinishWinsTitles
McLaren1988Alain Prost-119 ptsP20.80%
Williams1992Riccardo Patrese-69 ptsP3.21.30%
Ferrari2002Rubens Barrichello-61 ptsP1.94.513%
Red Bull2013Mark Webber-71 ptsP24.73%
Mercedes2016Lewis Hamilton-152 ptsP21.40%
Red Bull2023Sergio Perez-43 ptsP1.88.117%
Cadillac2026 · 11th on the gridValtteri Bottas+4 ptsP12.500%

The only one who beats him is Lewis Hamilton in the 2016 Mercedes: 152 points clear over a full season.

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Rating by season

656973768020072008200920102011201275
First season
73 2007
Peak
75 2008
2012
67 Caterham

6 seasons in the database, from 2007 to 2012. Our own rating, from 50 to 99.

Teams

RenaultMcLarenLotusCaterham

Tags

#McLaren#Renault#Finland#Hungary 2008 win#100th winner#Caterham

Best year

2008

What would Heikki Kovalainen have achieved with a different car or in a different era?

His team-mates

6 team-mates across 7 seasons. When both finished the race, Kovalainen was ahead in 36 of 70; on the grid he started ahead in 57 of 112.

YearTeam-mateIn the raceOn the grid
2007Giancarlo FisichellaRenault · 17 races9-410-7
2008Lewis HamiltonMcLaren · 18 races5-85-13
2009Lewis HamiltonMcLaren · 17 races2-75-12
2010Jarno TrulliLotus · 19 races4-18-11
2011Jarno TrulliLotus · 18 races8-316-2
2011Karun ChandhokLotus · 1 race1-01-0
2012Vitaly PetrovCaterham · 20 races7-1012-8
2013Romain GrosjeanLotus F1 · 2 races0-10-2

The first number is always Kovalainen's. A team-mate is whoever started the same race for the same team. "In the race" only counts races both finished, because a retirement says nothing about who was quicker. "On the grid" is the starting position, with penalties already applied.

Compare Kovalainen with another driver

Titles, wins, poles and podiums side by side, against any of the 789 drivers in history.