Briatore not worried about Kovalainen
Renault boss Flavio Briatore says he is far from worried about rookie Heikki Kovalainen's failure to impress in qualifying for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix
The Finn did not make it through to the final Q3 qualifying session, having lacked confidence in the car because reliability woes in practice meant he had not tried a new tyre run before Saturday afternoon.
On the same weekend that fellow rookie Lewis Hamilton has shone to put teammate Fernando Alonso under pressure, Kovalainen's form has been extra disappointing.
But Briatore insists he is not concerned at all about Kovalainen's debut performance - especially because of the lack of mileage he was able to complete in free practice due to fuel pressure problems.
"Heikki on Friday had no running at all, and this was our fault," said Briatore. "And on Saturday he had very little running as well, because he had a problem with the car in the morning.
"It is the first race. He is young and we understand. And he did not make it (to Q3) for nothing, just two tenths. It is okay."
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