Q & A with Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen: In the wet, we definitely got something out of it otherwise we wouldn't have been running. I did four or five laps in dry and then it rained again at the end of the day so I didn't get many laps. But we've been around here many times and Lewis and Pedro got a lot of stuff through so it shouldn't be any big concern for us.

Q. Do you feel you have closed the gap to the front?

HK: I hope so. It's impossible to predict but we hope we've made a step forward and it's better than the other teams. Anyhow, we didn't get the best out of our package in Malaysia and Bahrain, and other teams didn't get the best out of theirs in Australia. I don't see a reason to get concerned. I still feel we have a strong package and I think I am improving all the time so I'm not concerned and I need to keep focused like before and take as many points as possible at this stage in the season.

Q. Do you think the battle for wins is now between three teams?

HK: Yeah, absolutely - BMW are leading at the moment and they are as difficult to beat as anyone else. They've had a very strong start to the season. Already in the winter, you can't discount anyone - it's going to be very close all the time and if you don't get everything out of your package, it's very easy to drop out of the top three/top five. It's very strong and absolutely BMW can be strong all the way through the year. I don't see any reason why not.

Q. Do you feel a bigger responsibility to develop the car this year?

HK: It's no big difference from last year or when I was a test driver. I still had a big responsibility and the time you drive the car, regardless of your team-mates and the people around you, you need to try and do your best and I'm sure the experience I have is going to help me do that now and for the future. But it's no different compared to last year and I was trying to take that responsibility last year and I'm doing the same this year. There are other good drivers in our team and we're strong on experience/youth/excitement and we can push everybody forward like anybody else.

Q. How is it to have Lewis as a teammate?

HK: He's very easygoing. He's very strong and fast, committed, determined, confident. He's a generally nice guy and we get along very well and have no problems. We talk together and try and work together to help the team go forward. Of course, on the track we fight and I try to be ahead of him no matter what happens - I'd rather be ahead of him, and he's the same. But aside from that, we try and push the team forwards and work together as well as we can.

Q. Was it easy to feel comfortable in the team?

HK: Of course, this is a step forward. McLaren has a very strong past and has always been one of the best teams in Formula 1 and there have been many successful drivers. This is a step forward in my career and a bigger team. Taking nothing away from Renault, I had a very good time there and they gave me the break and my start in F1. They are very competitive and I am sure they will come back to the top eventually. But I really enjoy here and I feel it's good to be here at the moment.

Q. How do McLaren help you develop as a driver?

HK: Well, many things. There's a very strong technical team at the track and back at MTC in Woking. There's very big support from Mercedes and as a driver, physical and mental programme is very strong - probably on a bigger scale compared to Renault and it's been led by Aki Hinser. I've developed myself throughout this year and dealing with that's always very important.

Q. Do you feel more pressure now you are in a top team?

HK: I don't have any more pressure than earlier this season. I try and improve myself and my driving and technique and try to get more out of the car and out of the team all the time. And I think it's still a new relationship so there should be more to come. I go every weekend the same; regardless of the situation in the championship, you start from zero again. And prepare the same way and wind up towards qualifying and the race. I don't feel any different to be honest.

Q. Was the Barcelona test encouraging?

HK: I think so. I did 30-odd laps and most were in the rain so it's a little bit difficult to say - if it rains at the weekend it might be good! I think it was encouraging looking at the feedback from the other drivers and talking to the engineers and Pedro and Lewis when they were driving, we feel we've made a step forwards. But we don't know what the other teams have done and the best answer will be in qualifying.

Q. The last two races were not great for the team. Do you have a better understanding of the car's problems now?

HK: Yeah, I think we have reasonable confidence on why we didn't perform as we should have done. Part of that was a mistake by myself, difficult to comment on the other car, but in Bahrain I flat-spotted my tyre very badly at the beginning of the race and it compromised completely my first stint and also compromised the second stint a little bit too. We understand what went wrong. And in Malaysia... so hopefully we don't repeat those things and hopefully we can do a better job and we feel reasonably confident that we'll be strong again but you never know.

Q. Do you feel the car is fully capable of matching Ferrari?

HK: Yeah I think so. I have all the confidence that the team has the ability to do it and the car has the ability to do it but it's impossible to predict. You've got to stay positive, forget the past, look forward and we are flat out improving our package to make sure we get back on the top. That's where we want to be eventually.

Q. Is Lewis surprised by your level as a newcomer?

HK: No, I don't think so. I think he knows from the past that I can do strong results; I have the confidence in myself that I can be very competitive and I think in the winter I felt I was matching well against him.

He's still very strong and I don't think he's bothered about my pace and I honestly don't think he looks very much at the other side of the garage much at all. He's very focused on his own job and he really be strong here again and whatever went wrong in the last few races, I think he's worked them out and will be strong again. I don't think he's bothered what I'm doing. It will be tight again.