Heikki Kovalainen

This Finn, who was born in Suomussalmi, started karting at the age of ten and was highly successful in various national and international classes until the turn of the millennium. in 2001, he switched to the British Formula Renault Championship and finished fourth overall with some remarkable performances.

He caught the attention of Renault's talent scouts and was accepted into the French company's development programme in 2002. At the same time, he got a place in the British Formula 3 Championship, where he competed with a Dallara-Renault and finished third in the final standings as Rookie of the Year.

Kovalainen's march through Renault's junior development programme took him to the French-initiated World Series by Nissan in 2003 and 2004. After problems in his debut year, he was able to secure the title in 2004, which earned him a cockpit in the newly created GP2 series, which succeeded the previous Formula 3000 as a direct feeder category for the premier class.

After various test drives in Formula 1, he got a position as a full-time test driver in Renault's Formula 1 team for the 2006 season. When the previous number 1 driver and reigning world champion Fernando Alonso signed with McLaren-Mercedes for 2007, Kovalainen was given his place and became a team-mate of the experienced Giancarlo Fisichella. The talented Finn didn't miss a beat in his debut season, placing seventh in the drivers' standings with 30 championship points and clearly distancing himself from the Italian.

When it became clear that Alonso would return to Renault the following year, Kovalainen moved to take his place at McLaren-Mercedes, where he met Lewis Hamilton, who won his first world title after a competitive season. The Finn did well, but was unable to finish higher than seventh in the drivers' standings.

2009 was a difficult year for the team and the two drivers. While Hamilton still fought his way up to fifth position in the drivers' standings with two Grand Prix victories and three further podium finishes, the Finn dropped to 12th place and had to look for a new cockpit as a result.

He remained in Formula 1 from 2010 to 2013, but failed to score any world championship points in cars from the inferior Lotus and Caterham teams. For lack of other alternatives, Kovalainen made a guest appearance behind the scenes of the DTM in 2014 as a test driver for the BMW line-up. In 2015 and 2016, he turned to GT racing in Japan.