Heikki Kovalainen laments missed opportunities at Spa

Heikki Kovalainen has expressed dissatisfaction to how his Belgian Grand Prix panned out, after the Finnish driver ended the race a lowly 17th after many mistakes during the 44-lap race. At one point, Kovalainen was running as high as 10th, but several spins and a miscommunication within the pits led to a disastrous afternoon for the Caterham driver.

At the start, Heikki Kovalainen was able to avoid the huge multi-car incident, and found himself 10th once the safety car was deployed. However, once the race restarted Heikki Kovalainen was mobbed of his competitive position by the faster opposition. During the Finn’s first scheduled pit stop, his was released into the oncoming path of one of the HRTs, making light contact in the pits. Coupled with several spins out on track, Heikki Kovalainen’s dismal race saw him finish in 17th position, three positions behind team-mate Vitaly Petrov.

“I had a really good start, avoided all the debris from the start-line crash and was up to tenth when the safety car came out.” Explained Heikki Kovalainen, “There were a couple of quicker cars behind me who got past when the safety car went back in and then I made a small mistake at the last chicane which put me back a couple of places but I made them up quickly and was into a good rhythm just behind Vitaly [Petrov]. At my first stop we had a problem with the release from the box and unfortunately I clipped the HRT as I was heading out, bringing me back in for a new front wing. It’s not been a good weekend but we’ll regroup and come back fighting in Italy at the next race.”

Heikki Kovalainen will be looking to redeem himself at next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix around the historic Monza circuit, as the Finn aims for a better race weekend. Caterham have still yet to score their first World Championship points, and it is undeniable that the Leafield-based outfit have progressed greatly throughout this highly entertaining 2012 season.

Follow me on Twitter - @AndyYoungF1