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Following his sizable shunt at Circuit de Catalunya a couple of weeks back, Heikki Kovalainen has been given the all-clear to participate in this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix. Kovalainen’s McLaren suffered some kind of wheel failure and his car failed to turn in to T8 correctly. The ensuing ~145mph accident saw Heikki buried quite deep in the tyre barrier, the gravel trap failing to shed much speed off. Although Kovalainen was briefly knocked unconscious, by the the time the medics had freed him from the wreckage he was giving the thumbs to his supporters. Continue Reading

Heikki Kovalainen is expected to leave hospital this evening, having undergone tests to ensure he hasn’t suffered any head injuries or bone damage. Although the Finnish driver was briefly knocked unconscious following his impact with tyre barrier at Circuit de Catalunya, he has said to be in high spirits and is looking forward to a quick recovery in time for the Turkish Grand Prix on May 11th. Heikki will have to pass a mandatory test prior to being allowed to race in Istanbul, but the team are confident their driver will be perfectly fine to continue competing in a fortnight. Continue Reading

It was a glorious day for Ferrari as Kimi Raikkonen led a one-two on the final lap of the Spanish Grand Prix, but rivals McLaren and BMW had a poor end to their weekend, McLaren only collecting six points and BMW five. Fernando Alonso eventually retired, his Renault engine letting go at the most inopportune moment. The Circuit de Catalunya also saw a fair few other retirements as well, with only thirteen cars managing to get tot he finish line on lap 66. The most noted of retirements being Heikki Kovalainen, who hit the tyre barrier at T8 at around 140mph. Thankfully, the Finn appears to be fine, just a little concussed and sore. Continue Reading

Kimi Raikkonen has led home a one-two finish for Ferrari. In what was an eventful race for Barcelona, the grand prix was ultimately a little dull in comparison to others on the calendar. However, Raikkonen now extends his lead in the drivers championship, and Massa collected a much needed eight points from second. Unfortunately Fernando Alonso was forced to pull his Renault over to the side of the circuit, his engine suffering a rare failure. Lewis Hamilton collected third but all eyes were on his team mate, Heikki Kovalainen, who was flown to hospital after a high-speed accident. So far, it appears as though Heikki is fine. Continue Reading

Kimi Raikkonen may have claimed his first pole position of the year, but all the talk in the Spanish paddock is of local hero Fernando Alonso. The double world champion has been enduring a tough year so far in the under-performing Renault R28, but in front of his adoring home crowds, Alonso slapped his car on provisional pole for a few moments, before Raikkonen demoted him to second where he remained. With the fans erupting in joy and applauding Fernando, his position may not last all that long in tomorrow’s race. Speaking to ITV after the session, Pat Symonds stated that it is clear Alonso and his team mate are not on the same strategy. Continue Reading

Qualifying for tomorrow’s Spanish Grand Prix has been wrapped up, the pole position going to Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen. Team mate Felipa Massa ended his afternoon in third. Hoping to be the cat among the pigeons though is local hero Fernando Alonso who managed to claim second, although it is expected for the Renault driver to be one of the first on the pits tomorrow. The sister Renault of Nelson Piquet Jr managed to get into Q3 as well, highlighting the improvements made to the R27. The McLaren’s appear to be on their back foot so far, but speaking to Louise Goodman after the session, Lewis Hamilton didn’t appear to be overly concerned with his fifth place grid slot. A full report will be posted shortly. Continue Reading

The second session of the Spanish Grand Prix practices finalised earlier, and Kimi Raikkonen continued to dominate in his Ferrari F2008. However, there were a few surprises along the way and the Friday tables look a little odd. Second place went to a resurgent Nelson Piquet Jr, setting a lap time on 0.1s adrift of Raikkonen. Compounding the pace of the Renault R27 was team mate Fernando Alonso in third going only a fraction slower. Kazuki Nakajima also managed to get his Williams into the mix and went fourth, his team mate Nico Rosberg going seventh and sandwiching Felipe Massa and Mark Webber in fifth and sixth respectively. Continue Reading

The Spanish Grand Prix got underway this morning with the drivers heading out on track to complete the morning’s 90 minute session around Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya. Following on from their impressive form in Malaysia and Bahrain, Ferrari continued to dominate after the three week break and posted the top two times before breaking for lunch. Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen sandwiched Bahrain pole-sitter Robert Kubica in third, while the Renault’s of Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr looked pretty good in sixth and seventh respectively. Perhaps Alonso was trying to deflect attention earlier in the week when he said he wasn’t to optimistic about this race? Continue Reading

Spanish drivers Fernando Alonso and Pedro De La Rosa claim they knew nothing of the FIA’s planned launch of their anti-racism campaign, EveryRace. When asked by the press at Circuit de Catalunya, host of this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix, both drivers appeared bemused by new FIA initiative. The website features photographs and quotes from members of the teams competing in Formula One, designed to show how diverse the sport is. However, while drivers like Heikki Kovalainen were shown, and quotes from David Coulthard featured, it was noticeable that the two drivers from Spain (where the initial incident sparked the campaign) were absent. Continue Reading

Rain washed out the final day of testing at Circuit de Catalunya today, with only eight drivers setting laps and Force India deciding to head home early and save their mileage. Mark Webber ventured out on track early in between showers and was able to set a time that would stand for the rest of the day. Heikki Kovalainen was sent out in the McLaren MP4-23 and was the fastest of the drivers setting laps on the totally soaked tarmac, running 1.5s down on Webber and less than 0.1s up on Kimi Raikkonen in the Ferrari. The gap to fourth placed driver Robert Kubica was 1.1s, the remaining positions taken up by Jenson Button, Kazuki Nakajima, Nelson Piquet Jr and Jarno Trulli in eighth. Continue Reading