''It became impossible to catch the others''Armed with the R27, Heikki Kovalainen qualified 12th for the Bahrain Grand Prix and finished in ninth position. With no points on the board from Bahrain, Kovalainen admits it was a disappointing result.
Heikki, how do you
feel after this race?
“In certain respects the priority when you’re racing in your first Grand Prix is to see the chequered flag, and that’s what I’ve managed to do for the third time in three events. But I finished just outside the points and I‘m not happy. I’m disappointed, in fact, because I spent the afternoon fighting for the best result possible. I’m also gutted as the team has been working so hard for the past few weeks that I’d like to have thanked them by finishing in the first eight. It’ll be for next time.”
How was your Grand Prix?
“I was pretty busy, I can tell you! Things got off to a good start as I managed to pull back two places immediately by getting in front of Nico Rosberg and
Jarno Trulli. It was all a bit frantic in the first corner but I made it through. Unfortunately, my car was heavily loaded with fuel and my soft tyres went off fairly quickly.
My first stint was long, so Trulli got back in front and after a short, sharp scrap Nico did too.”
Did things improve after that?
“In the second stint on soft rubber with less fuel on board, the car’s handling was okay again. I began to pull in some of the drivers in front and I started to think that a points finish was on the cards.”
So what happened in the end?
“During my last stint on hard tyres the car became difficult to drive once again. I did not give up but it became impossible to catch the others. So I was pretty busy this afternoon like everybody else in the team. I stretched myself to the limit. It's the best way to bounce back as quickly as possible.”
Source Renault
