Kovalainen optimistic on Renault form

Although the team are still far short of the form that they were expecting before the start of the season, a recent run of points for Kovalainen has left him in an optimistic mood for the rest of the campaign.

"Since the Nurburgring we've brought in some evolutions, and we were just waiting for the right opportunity to show that they represent a real step forward: I think we've proved that this weekend," Kovalainen told the Renault website.

"We have to stay concentrated and try and progress a little more between now and Monza. That's among the reasons why we'll be doing three days' testing in Italy this week."

Kovalainen is well aware, however, that sixth place is not where Renault expect to be.

"If I had to sum up this race in a word, it would be satisfaction. But, of course, it's not really the kind of result that the team and I are after. We're aiming higher. But it has to be said that it was a good race."

And referring to him leading the race during the pit stops, he said: "It's true that seeing P1 on the board was nice - but our aim is to see P1 as soon as possible at the end of the race."