It is not often where a Formula 1 driver ventures into the world of rallying – but they have sure made an impact when they have.
The most notable names to do so include the 2007 F1 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who switched the tarmac for the dirt and ice in the WRC from 2010 to 2011 before returning to the pinnacle of motorsport with Lotus, Robert Kubica and Carlos Reutemann, who only ever competed in two rallies in his native Argentina, finishing third both times.
Another name to add to that list is former McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen, who spent six years in F1 from 2007 to 2013.
And speaking on the WRC Backstories Podcast, the Finn revealed that rallying has always appealed to him more, despite his career mostly being on race circuits.
Heikki Kovalainen has admitted that rallying has always been a passion
Kovalainen began his F1 career in 2007 when he debuted with defending constructors’ championship Renault, where he achieved one podium and beat his experienced teammate Giancarlo Fisichella in the standings.
The Finn moved to McLaren in 2008, swapping places with Fernando Alonso, and he would achieve his first and only win in F1 in Hungary and match his best finish in the standings with seventh.
After enduring a difficult 2009 season, Kovalainen left McLaren and joined new entry Lotus Racing, where he languished at the back of the grid.
The 42-year-old spent three years with the team before departing at the end of the 2012 season, where they had rebranded as Caterham,
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Kovalainen did return to Enstone in 2013, where the team were now, confusingly, Lotus, and raced the final two races of the season in place of Raikkonen due to back surgery.
But despite having a long career in F1, Kovalainen revealed that his passion was always with rallying and that he could have even gone down that path earlier in his career.
“It could well have been that the path I was heading for was rallying because [as a child], I was really more interested in rallying and wasn’t following Formula 1 until the early nineties when Häkkinen joined McLaren,” he said.
“Rallying was the passion from the very beginning for me – I have always followed what’s been going on in the rally world. Although my career went to the racing side, my passion has always been there.”
Heikki Kovalainen made his rallying debut in 2022
As well as spending seven years in Super GT, which he won in 2016 with Lexus Team SARD, Kovalainen also made regular rallying appearances in Japan.
In 2021, the Finn competed full time in the Japan Rally Championship and dominated the season with a class victory all six races and clinched the title with a round to go.
A year later, Kovalainen made his WRC debut at the final round at Rally Japan in a Skoda Fabia R5, where he finished 10th overall and fourth in the WRC-2 class.
The 42-year-old returned to Rally Japan the following year, but he retired from the race at SS14 with a transmission failure.