Heikki Kovalainen has paid tribute to his McLaren-Mercedes MP4-23, after sealing the maiden pole position of his fledgling Formula 1 career for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone this weekend.
The Finn has been on the pace from the word ‘go' around the Northants circuit – where he has triumphed before in the junior formulae – and indeed was quickest on one of the two days he spent testing there last week.
He was the only one of the drivers from the established top two teams to feature up at the sharp end in every single practice and qualifying session, and a scintillating final effort in Q3 secured him the top spot by more than half a second.
“We've been going really well all weekend after finding some good pace during testing last week,” the 26-year-old affirmed. “I've spent a lot of time racing in the UK, so it feels great to have scored my first-ever Formula 1 pole position at
Silverstone.
“The car feels just fantastic at the moment; I was able to steadily improve throughout all three qualifying sessions, and I'm confident our pace is going to be strong tomorrow.”
Kovalainen also received words of praise from the Woking-based outfit's team principal Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug, both of whom expressed themselves delighted with their young charge, who has endured an at times trying start to his 2008 campaign.
“Heikki showed great determination and a lot of skill to master the gusty, tricky conditions so well,” Dennis underlined. “The result was his first pole position in
Formula 1, and it was thoroughly well-deserved because he's been driving beautifully all weekend.
“Overall, we feel we're in a good position, and are looking forward to doing very well at
McLaren's home race tomorrow.”
“We saw Heikki driving superbly all weekend so far,” echoed Haug, “and the lap that resulted in his first-ever Formula 1 pole position was very special. Congratulations to Heikki and his guys on this great result.”
