Kovalainen leads new teams’ drivers

Lotus race review

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Lotus are set to finish the year as best new team having got both their cars ahead of their rivals in Brazil.

Jarno TrulliHeikki Kovalainen
Qualifying position1819
Qualifying time comparison (Q1)1’22.250 (-0.128)1’22.378
Race position1918
Laps69/7169/71
Pit stops11

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Jarno Trulli

Beaten to his usual “new team pole position” by Timo Glock by a tenth of a second.

Moved ahead of Glock through the pit stops and got on the tail of his team mate during the second safety car period. He ended the race within a second of Kovalainen:

I had yet another small hydraulic issue, but good work from the guys in the garage managed that, and towards the end of the race I was able to push Heikki and end up just behind him.

I didn’t have a great start, I had a lot of wheelspin but pretty soon I was able to attack Timo and just as I was shaping up to pass him he pitted and I came out ahead of him after the stops.
Jarno Trulli

Compare Jarno Trulli’s form against his team mate in 2010

Heikki Kovalainen

Like Trulli, Kovalainen said traffic cost him time in qualifying – his gripe was with Nick Heidfeld:

That was a disappointing session for me. I was held up by traffic each time I went for a quick run and definitely didn’t get the most out of the car.
Heikki Kovalainen

Passed his team mate off the line then took Glock around the outside of the Curva do Sol on lap one as the Virgin driver was delayed by Vitaly Petrov.

Came home first of the new teams’ drivers but with so few retirements that meant he was only 18th.

Compare Heikki Kovalainen’s form against his team mate in 2010

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

    Browse all 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix articles

    Image © Lotus F1

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    Keith Collantine
    Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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    3 comments on “Kovalainen leads new teams’ drivers”

    1. Kovalainen is a very lucky man, of the new teams hes the one that has almost no problems because of that he is showing to be the best of the new teams and thats strange cause he has been out performed by all of his team mates on f1,trulli misses out at least a practice session or retires early cause of realiability issues is capable of matching kov and beat him

      1. yes Trulli has mad more problems Spectator but come on Kovalainen has had quite a few problems as well.
        Retired in Malaysia,China(Gearbox),Monaco,Turkey(hydraulics,Germany and Valencia in the big crash with Webber.
        You’ve also forgotten that he beat Fisichella at Renault in 2007 and I believe he is faster than Trulli

      2. UneedAFinn2Win
        8th November 2010, 16:09

        Yes, beating the Golden Boy Hammy in McLaren in 2008-2009 was alway a realistic goal for a journeyman driver. He’s fast, not the fastest, but a perfect team mate to rack up points for the Teams WDC. He’s the Coulthard of his generation.

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