Q & A with Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen: Just the normal way really - it's not a new thing for me that the track is new because it's been like that many times this season, and I can look at the DVDs from Formula One. I've done some training with the Renault trainer, but it was quite casual, and I went to Finland last weekend to do the commentary for Formula One. So it was all pretty normal.

Q. Would you say that this is the biggest weekend of your career?

Kovalainen: I don't know - I think all of the weekends have been important, so I don't think about it that way. To me, if I win the championship or not, I don't think it affects my future anyway. Of course I want to win it, because personally it is important for me to win it, and for everybody at the team, but if it doesn't go that way then it doesn't go that way, and I'm not going to be too upset about it. I've got no pressure at the moment, so I can relax and just fight, and I am attacking now instead of defending, so that's good. I think it's not the biggest weekend of my life, just because I don't see it like that.

Q. Do you think having no free practice and going straight into qualifying will have an effect on the weekend?

Kovalainen: I don't think so - I think it will be pretty much the same as it was before. The same guys are still going to be quick, so I'd be surprised if it made any major difference. Maybe in the first session there will be a small advantage for the ones who have been here before, like Nico has raced here last year and should be strong straight away, but I think I'll pick it up pretty quickly, and the other guys will be the same, so after qualifying I think all of the guys who are normally strong will be here as well.

Q. What do you see happening in the races on Thursday and Friday?

Kovalainen: I think we should have a good opportunity here - I think it will be a slightly different weekend because there won't be any Formula One rubber down, so the track will be a bit slippery and it won't be as quick, but I think we have a good chance - we have a good car and we should be quick, although whether we will be quick enough I don't know. It hasn't been too bad this year - we always seem to get up there, and hopefully we'll be there again, be the quickest and win. We'll see - there's nothing we've any different this weekend, and we haven't changed the car a lot - it's just a normal weekend to prepare for, and it should go the same as before.

Q. How is the feeling within the team?

Kovalainen: It's good - I'm very happy with them, and I have been all year. Obviously we've had some ups and downs, but we suffer them together and we win together. I think they've done a good job, and especially lately we've had some really good pitstops, such as in Monza which probably won the race for us, so I've got no complaints at all. And it's not the first time for them to fight for the championship, so I don't think that will be a problem at all - in fact I think that they will be stronger than some others in this situation, so I've got no worries with the team at all.