Heikki Kovalainen

Heikki Kovalainen made his debut in Formula One in the year 2006. He is known to have participated in the Grand Prix of Japan, Canada, United States, Turkey, Italy and Spain and held 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th positions respectively.

He was declared to be McLaren's second driver in 2008 Formula One Championship in December 2007.

Heikki Kovalainen started motor racing in the early Nineties, but it was only in 1999 that he was recognized as a car racer.In 1999, Kovalainen was declared the runner-up of Finnish Formula A. Heikki was declared the Nordic champion in the following year, after he acquired the Elf Masters title at Paris Bercy. This victory resulted in his participation in the British Formula Renault Championship, which took place in 2001. Heikki occupied the fourth position in the Renault Championship of 2001, after winning 3 fastest laps, 2 poles and 2 wins. He was awarded 'Rookie of the Year' by Finnish Automobile Sports Federation in 2001. In the same year, Heikki made his debut in F3. He acquired a 5th position in Macau Grand Prix.

Heikki Kovalainen competed in British F3 Championship in 2002 and acquired 3 fastest laps, 5 wins and 3 poles. He was again declared 'Rookie of the Year', after he came 3rd in drivers' standings. He occupied 2nd and 3rd positions in Macau and Zandvoort respectively. Heikki won the 2nd position in Japanese World Series in 2003. He also made a debut in Formula One test in the same year. In 2004, Heikki won the Nissan championship by 9 poles, 10 fastest laps and 6 wins and also received the Henri Toivonn Memorial Trophy. Kovalainen came to be known as the 'Champion of Champions' in 2004.

In 2005, Heikki Kovalainen participated in GP2 series. He won the first round; yet, occupied a 2nd position in the series, which was won by Nico Rosberg. Heikki made his debut in the Grand Prix of Australia in 2007. He won the championship that took place in Sepang in Malaysia. His participation in 2008 Formula One was confirmed in 2007 in the month of December.