The Lotus F1 Team has officially announced that Heikki Kovalainen will drive for the team in the final two races of the 2013 season.
The Finn will stand in for Kimi Raikkonen, who is currently undergoing back surgery, in the USA and Brazil. The team chose not to promote reserve driver Davide Valsecchi, deciding instead to go for the experience of Kovalainen - who has 109 Grands Prix under his belt.
The 32-year-old made his F1 debut for the Enstone based squad in their Renault guise in 2007 before a two-year stint at McLaren. In 2010, he moved to the Caterham squad but was dropped by the team for the 2013 season.
However, he re-joined the Leafield outfit in a reserve driver role and has completed several free practice sessions at the wheel of the CT03 this season.
Now he will step up to race for Lotus in the final two races of the season and completed a seat fitting on Wednesday at the team's base.
Commenting on the announcement, he said: "It is a fantastic opportunity for me to join Lotus F1 Team for the final two races of 2013. We’ve seen this year that the E21 is a car which can win races and finish on the podium, so I will be pushing hard for the best results possible.
"Jumping into a car so late in the year when you have not been competing in the races all season will be a challenge, but I know the team at Enstone well so I have no concerns about getting up to speed. This is a great opportunity for me, so I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for allowing me to take advantage of it."
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier admitted that the team chose Kovalainen over reserve driver Valsecchi due to his experience. They are currently looking to fight Mercedes and Ferrari for second in the constructors' standings and need a driver capable of scoring consistent points finishes.
He said: "Obviously we had to move quickly following the news of Kimi’s non-participation in the final two races of this season, and we found ourselves facing a difficult decision in terms of who should take the wheel in Austin and São Paulo.
"On the one hand we had our reserve driver Davide Valsecchi – who is a talented young driver that has shown a great deal of promise – and on the other we had the opportunity to bring in a seasoned Formula 1 competitor in Heikki.
"Whilst we have every faith in Davide’s abilities, we are obviously involved in a tight Constructors’ Championship battle, so it was decided that the experience Heikki could bring to the team would be invaluable as we aim to finish the year in the best position possible. We must thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for their professional conduct in allowing Heikki to join us for the final races of this season."
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| (c) Lotus F1 Team |
The 32-year-old made his F1 debut for the Enstone based squad in their Renault guise in 2007 before a two-year stint at McLaren. In 2010, he moved to the Caterham squad but was dropped by the team for the 2013 season.
However, he re-joined the Leafield outfit in a reserve driver role and has completed several free practice sessions at the wheel of the CT03 this season.
Now he will step up to race for Lotus in the final two races of the season and completed a seat fitting on Wednesday at the team's base.
Commenting on the announcement, he said: "It is a fantastic opportunity for me to join Lotus F1 Team for the final two races of 2013. We’ve seen this year that the E21 is a car which can win races and finish on the podium, so I will be pushing hard for the best results possible.
"Jumping into a car so late in the year when you have not been competing in the races all season will be a challenge, but I know the team at Enstone well so I have no concerns about getting up to speed. This is a great opportunity for me, so I would like to thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for allowing me to take advantage of it."
Lotus team principal Eric Boullier admitted that the team chose Kovalainen over reserve driver Valsecchi due to his experience. They are currently looking to fight Mercedes and Ferrari for second in the constructors' standings and need a driver capable of scoring consistent points finishes.
He said: "Obviously we had to move quickly following the news of Kimi’s non-participation in the final two races of this season, and we found ourselves facing a difficult decision in terms of who should take the wheel in Austin and São Paulo.
"On the one hand we had our reserve driver Davide Valsecchi – who is a talented young driver that has shown a great deal of promise – and on the other we had the opportunity to bring in a seasoned Formula 1 competitor in Heikki.
"Whilst we have every faith in Davide’s abilities, we are obviously involved in a tight Constructors’ Championship battle, so it was decided that the experience Heikki could bring to the team would be invaluable as we aim to finish the year in the best position possible. We must thank Tony Fernandes and Caterham F1 Team for their professional conduct in allowing Heikki to join us for the final races of this season."
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