The McLaren that gave F1 its 100th grand prix winner

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For Heikki Kovalainen, the McLaren MP4-23 will ceaselessly be remembered because the automotive that guided him to his solely Method 1 victory on the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix. However that isn’t the one motive why it’s his favorite.

Kovalainen’s profession has had a number of chapters. He made 111 begins in F1 earlier than tackling Japan’s Tremendous GT scene and changing into champion in 2016. Now he’s again competing in rallying with a nationwide title in Japan already below his belt.

Not unusually for a Finn, the World Rally Championship was his past love – at the least till he discovered himself distracted by the sight of a red-and-white McLaren being tamed by countryman Mika Hakkinen in 1993.

“The MP4-23 was a championship-winning automotive [with Lewis Hamilton], and to be a part of the McLaren group with Ron Dennis and Martin Whitmarsh there working the group was sort of my childhood dream,” explains Kovalainen, who joined McLaren after a rookie F1 season with Renault in 2007 that had peaked with a superb second in torrential rain at Fuji.

Kovalainen’s 2008 marketing campaign was one in all highs and lows. Pole at Silverstone and changing into the a hundredth world championship race winner on the Hungaroring, after a late engine failure for erstwhile chief Felipe Massa, contrasted with a tyre failure within the Spanish Grand Prix that resulted in a hospital go to.

However, in Kovalainen’s eyes, the MP4-23 is likely one of the most engaging F1 automobiles of a interval when the automobiles had sprouted a number of aerodynamic appendages, because of its Silver Arrows livery.

“I feel it was one of many best-looking automobiles as properly so far,” he notes. “The present McLaren doesn’t enchantment to me just like the chrome McLaren, however in fact, I’m just a little bit biased!”

Kovalainen took his only F1 win at the 2008 Hungarian GP in the MP4-23

Kovalainen took his solely F1 win on the 2008 Hungarian GP within the MP4-23

Photograph by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images

This period of F1 got here with the unmistakable scream of V8 engines and the MP4-23 had arguably one of the best within the subject at that time. The Mercedes FO 108V powerplant significantly stood out for the 2005 GP2 runner-up.

“In comparison with the Renault engine I drove the 12 months earlier than, it felt so racy,” says Kovalainen, now again behind the wheel after recovering from open-heart surgery. “The Mercedes engine had much more vibration so once they began up the automotive it sounded and felt rougher. After they began it up I used to be like ‘Wow’! However it had numerous grunt and simply sounded actually cool.”

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Kovalainen reckons it was the automotive’s stability that basically suited his fashion. It had loads of entrance grip “and I’ve all the time favored a automotive that has numerous entrance grip”.

He explains: “Very often in Method 1 you’re working most entrance wing after which you must begin shifting the mechanical stability. That takes one thing away from the rear, it will get unstable and it often goes the mistaken method.

“It was so properly balanced, it was only a disgrace that I couldn’t take full benefit of it extra usually”
Heikki Kovalainen

“However the McLaren naturally had numerous entrance grip, so we had a margin on the entrance wing. Throughout qualifying, for instance, if the circuit was rubbering in, we might sneak a bit extra entrance wing. That was one of many foremost issues that I favored about that automotive.

“It was so well-balanced, it was only a disgrace that I couldn’t take full benefit of it extra usually. Lewis Hamilton gained the championship clearly, however it had the potential to be a top-three automotive just about on all types of circuits. I simply wasn’t as much as it, however the automotive was nice.”

Whereas the McLaren holds delight of place in Kovalainen’s dream storage, the 42-year-old has a couple of honourable mentions with regards to machines he’s pushed. All hark again to his first motorsport love.

His present Toyota GR Yaris Rally2, which he plans to contest occasions within the Japanese Rally Championship, is on his listing alongside the Citroen C4 and the Peugeot 307 WRC automobiles. These French-built rally automobiles, famously pushed by Sebastien Loeb and Marcus Gronholm respectively, have two attention-grabbing tales connected to them, for differing causes.

Kovalainen relished how the MP4-23 had margin on the front wing for tuneability, which helped him secure pole at Silverstone

Kovalainen relished how the MP4-23 had margin on the entrance wing for tuneability, which helped him safe pole at Silverstone

Photograph by: Andrew Ferraro / Motorsport Images

“I’ve pushed some WRC automobiles, I drove the Citroen C4 in 2007,” he says. “I had a promotional occasion organised by Whole with Dani Sordo and Sebastien Loeb. We went to the Paul Ricard Circuit in France they usually drove the Renault F1 automotive that I used to be driving that 12 months. We spent half a day at Paul Ricard after which half a day on a stage.

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“We nonetheless discuss it with Dani after I noticed him at Rally Japan final 12 months. I went as a passenger with him and he reduce one nook and took a front-right wheel off, so that they needed to come and choose us up. It was a humorous day, however it was a very nice automotive.

“And within the [2004] Race of Champions I drove the Peugeot 307 that Marcus Gronholm and Harri Rovanpera drove. That was very good and I truly beat Loeb with that automotive!”