A former Formula 1 driver has marked a great achievement in the world of rallying over the weekend.
Heikki Kovalainen has been dabbling in rallying after a lengthy spell in Super GT following his retirement from F1 in 2013.
The Finn began his career in the pinnacle of motorsport with defending champions Renault in 2007, replacing two-time champion Fernando Alonso. Kovalainen would score one podium and beat his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella in the standings to finish seventh.
The 42-year-old swapped places with Alonso for 2008 and joined McLaren, and that year he grabbed his first and only win in Hungary as he matched his seventh-place finish from the year prior. A dismal 2009 campaign led to his departure from the team as he signed with newcomers Lotus for 2010.
Kovalainen spent the next three years at the back of the grid before leaving F1 full-time in 2012. He returned in 2013 to replace Kimi Raikkonen at, confusingly, Lotus Renault, for the final two races of the season, finishing 14th in both.
Peter Windsor congratulates Heikki Kovalainen after he finished third at the Rallylegend event in Italy
After leaving F1, Kovalainen moved to Super GT in 2015 with Lexus Team SARD. In his five years with the team, he registered four wins and nine podiums, winning the title in 2016.
The Finn moved to Toyota Gazoo Racing in 2020 and spent two years with the team, grabbing only one win and achieving a best finish of 11th in the standings before leaving the series at the end of 2021.
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Since then, the 42-year-old has been achieving his lifelong dream of competing in rallying. Kovalainen has stated that he was always more interested in rallying than F1, and he got his first full-time assault at the former in the Japan Rally Championship in 2021.
Kovalainen dominated the season with a class victory in all six races and won the title with a round to spare. In 2022, the Finn made his WRC debut at Rally Japan in a WRC2 Skoda Fabia R5 machine, finishing 10th overall before retiring from his second attempt in 2023.
Recently, Kovalainen returned to WRC2 machinery at the Rallylegend event in Italy, which celebrates the history of rallying with historic cars and legendary drivers. With the event being won by M-Sport Ford driver Adrien Fourmaux, Kovalainen finished second in class and third overall.
After this brilliant achievement, journalist Peter Windsor took to X to congratulate the Finn, writing: “Congrats to former #F1 McLaren and Renault star, Heikki Kovalainen, on his P3 in the Rallylegend event in Italy over the weekend.
“Heikki finished P2 in class in a WRC2 Citroen C3. The event was won by Ford’s Adrien Fourmaux, who was effectively testing for this week’s CER.”
Can Thierry Neuville win the WRC title at the Central European Rally?
The 2024 WRC season heads to the Central European Rally this weekend for the penultimate round of the year.
Thierry Neuville can grab his maiden WRC title at this event as he holds a 29-point lead over his Hyundai teammate Ott Tanak.
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Tanak is looking to fight his teammate all the way for the championship, while Neuville is hoping to avoid an ‘internal battle’ and wrap up the title as soon as he can.
Hyundai will also have to look out for Toyota in the Manufacturers’ Championship after the Japanese outfit cut their lead down to 17 points after their result in Chile with two rallies to go.