page_title: Heikki Kovalainen
section_title: 2008
hierarchical_section_title: Heikki Kovalainen / Formula One / McLaren (2008–2009) / 2008
caption_attribution_description: English: Heikki Kovalainen driving for McLaren at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix.
context_page_description: Heikki Johannes Kovalainen is a Finnish racing driver. He raced in Formula One between 2007 and 2013 for the Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus, Caterham and Lotus F1 teams, scoring a single victory at the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix. In August 2020, Kovalainen was listed as the 8th fastest driver from 1983 to 2020 by F1. Since then, he has raced in the Japanese Super GT series, where he won the championship in 2016.
  He was supported by the Renault Driver Development programme early in his racing career, during which he won the World Series by Nissan championship and finished runner-up in the GP2 series. Renault signed him on as a full-time Formula One test driver for 2006, and then promoted him to a race seat for 2007. He gained his first podium by finishing second in the Japanese Grand Prix that year.
  He moved to McLaren for the 2008 season, where he partnered Lewis Hamilton. His second season in Formula One saw him achieve his first pole position at Silverstone and his first victory at the Hungaroring, becoming the 100th driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix. He remained with the team for the 2009 season.
context_section_description: After his first official testing session occurred on 9 January 2008 at Jerez, Kovalainen made his McLaren race début at the Australian Grand Prix, where he was quickest in the first qualifying session and started third on the grid behind Lewis Hamilton and Robert Kubica. He overtook Fernando Alonso on the final lap, but then accidentally hit the pit lane limiter granting fourth place to Alonso, himself finishing fifth, but Kovalainen did set the fastest lap of the race.
  In Malaysia he was penalised five places for blocking Nick Heidfeld's BMW Sauber in the latter stages of qualifying, dropping to eighth. Kovalainen finished the race third as Hamilton faced problems in the pits, and Ferrari's Felipe Massa retired due to a spin. In Bahrain he flatspotted a tyre on the first lap and was consequently well off the pace of the Ferraris and the BMW Saubers. Towards the end he improved and recorded the fastest lap of the race again, coming home fifth.
  At the Spanish Grand Prix, Kovalainen had just taken the lead, when his front-left tyre suddenly deflated and his car crashed into the tyre wall on lap 22. Kovalainen's car was almost completely buried under the tyres. The Safety Car was deployed for six laps as the debris was removed, and he was finally removed from the car and placed on a stretcher, at which point he gave a "thumbs-up". He was then taken by helicopter to a Barcelona area hospital for further tests. His final condition was a minor concussion, whilst also complaining of a sore elbow and neck. Kovalainen apparently did not lose consciousness at any point, according to the people who assisted him at the scene, but he himself had no memory of the accident nor of giving the "thumbs-up". The first thing he remembered was waking up at the hospital and the team doctor telling him what had happened. Kovalainen was released from the hospital two days later and he was able to race in Turkey. The cause of the accident was later determined to have been a production error on the wheel rim.
  In the Turkish Grand Prix, evidence of the different driving styles used by the two McLaren drivers became apparent. Hamilton's more aggressive driving style meant that he had to adopt a three-stop strategy for the race due to concerns over his tyres' durability at Istanbul Park, while Kovalainen was able to use a two-stop strategy. Kovalainen qualified in second place, but suffered a puncture during a fight with Kimi Räikkönen in the first corner and dropped back to finish the race in 12th place.
  More disappointment was to follow in Monaco when a software glitch stalled his car on the grid. He was able to start from the pitlane after the mechanics changed his steering wheel, and he made his way up to score a point for eighth place. In Montreal, Kovalainen experienced difficulties with his tyres, as they seemed to degrade much more rapidly than Hamilton's, and the team was forced to tell him to take it easy in order to avoid a puncture. He finished ninth, and later described his race as a total catastrophe, suspecting the tyre issues had something to do with his driving style. At the French Grand Prix Kovalainen started tenth on the grid, after being docked five places for blocking Mark Webber in qualifying, and finished the race in fourth.
  At Silverstone, Kovalainen achieved his first pole position, and led the race for the first four laps, before Hamilton passed him at Stowe. Despite two spins due to losing grip on the wet circuit, Kovalainen finished fifth. After the race Kovalainen reported similar tyre problems that he suffered in Canada; after a few laps the rear tyres were completely degraded and had lost their grip.
  At the German Grand Prix Kovalainen finished fifth. In the week leading up to the Hungarian Grand Prix, McLaren confirmed that Kovalainen would remain with the team for 2009. He won his first race at Hungary and became the 100th driver to win a Formula One Grand Prix after race leader Felipe Massa retired due to an engine failure with three laps remaining. After the race Kovalainen commented: "In previous races my driving 
caption: Kovalainen driving the McLaren MP4-23
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