He may not have been able to reproduce his
Silverstone pole position from two weeks' earlier – the first of his career in the top flight – but McLaren-Mercedes'
Heikki Kovalainen nevertheless professed himself pleased with third place in qualifying for this weekend's German Grand Prix.
The young Finn had once again demonstrated Lewis Hamilton-defying pace weekend-long as he goes from strength-to-strength during his maiden campaign with
McLaren and second in
F1.
Following a grassy moment in Hockenheim's stadium section on his penultimate effort in Q3, however, he was forced to ultimately settle for third slot – after hoisting himself up from tenth on the grid with just seconds to spare.
“In the final session my car felt the best it has all weekend,” the 26-year-old subsequently related, “but on my first run I lost the rear end entering the stadium section and ran wide, and on my final run I did a little bit of rally-crossing at the last corner. Taking that into account, it was a good lap.”
Indeed, whilst Finns are noted for making excellent rally drivers, both McLaren team principal Ron Dennis and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug remain convinced that Kovalainen has what it takes to win in F1 – possibly even as soon as tomorrow.
“We're equally pleased with Heikki [as with Hamilton], who recovered very impressively after his ‘off' earlier in the session,” affirmed Dennis. “He pushed hard, kept his head and carved a fast but disciplined lap that placed him third on tomorrow's grid.”
“With Heikki in third place on the clean side of the track, we are in a good position for tomorrow's race,” added Haug, “but we certainly are not underestimating our competitors.”
