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."
Share Or Save This Story
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Jon Noble: An unfair perception or a genuine concern? Lifting the lid on Red Bull’s Tsunoda scepticism
The paradox of change as F1 2027 decision nears
Top 10 F1 drivers of the 1950s
"The most fun I've had all year" - Verstappen's F1 colleagues envy his Nurburgring bid
The underlying reasons why Russell won't be alarmed yet by Antonelli's start to F1 2026
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments