F1 is still in the far east for this weekend Chinese Grand Prix, this is what a buzzing Heikki Kovalainen had to in the run-up to the event:

Heikki Kovalainen
Q: Heikki, you scored your first ever career podium last Sunday in Japan. A special moment?
HK: Absolutely. It was a good reward for me, but also the whole team. After a difficult start to the year, I think it was good for everyone in the team to have this small success, which is something they were used to during the past two seasons when they won the world titles. It is a good boost to the morale to try and finish the season in the best way possible.

Q: China is another new circuit for you, what are your expectations?
HK: It is another one of the new F1 races, and like in Japan there is a very special atmosphere. The spectators are still learning about the sport, and they are very enthusiastic. The whole Grand Prix week in Shanghai will be enjoyable but at the track, I want to get into a good rhythm as soon as possible on Friday and make the most of each practice session, because I have never driven here before.

Q: What do you think of the circuit itself?
HK: I have been watching and working from the recordings of past races, especially the on-board camera views, and I would say that the circuit is a bit like Bahrain. There are some long straights, quick changes of direction and some heavy braking areas. At this kind of circuit, you need a very good aero balance on the car to be quick through the fast, flowing sections.

We pay a lot of attention to achieving good braking stability because you can gain a lot of time there. The important thing will be to work well on Friday, to find the limits for qualifying and the race. We are determined to show what the car is really capable of during these final two races.

The weekend has already started in Shanghai and Heikki was p11 in both sessions, we have seen better starts to the weekend but this is a circuit he has to learn i believe and having been 3 tenths slower than Fisichella in the first session, he cut the gap to a tenth in the second, but as you know, we shouldn't read too much into these times of course.

The following is the report from Renault and Heikki on the two sessions earlier today:

The sessions were not trouble-free, as Heikki Kovalainen stopped out on track in second practice with a fuel pressure warning, but the Finn was able to complete two more runs before the end of the day as the problem was quickly fixed. There is still work to do overnight to fine-tune the car balance, but the drivers are confident the team is in its usual position in terms of overall competitiveness.

Heikki Kovalainen said about his session: "I think we had a decent day, in spite of my problem during second practice. I lost a little bit of running time but thanks to the mechanics doing a great job, I squeezed in a couple more runs before the end of the session, which was important. This was my first time at the track, and it is quite enjoyable to drive, with a very smooth surface and some good kerbs you can attack. It is just a normal modern style circuit, and I think I got to grips with it pretty fast. So in the end, I did most of our normal programme, and we know where to work on overnight to improve our competitiveness. It will be close again tomorrow in qualifying, but I think we are in our normal position.

Results from FP1:


Results from FP2:


Heikki Kovalainen (R27-05, T-car)
Free Practice 1: 1:38.551, 18 laps
Free Practice 2: 1:38.062, 21 laps

14...
Good Lucky tomorrow~~~

13 - Vettel got 5 place penalty.

Hope it will be raining, I think that's his only possibilty to get some points.

Again Heikki is better than Fisico. It's not a very good place 14º in grid, but I hope he will improve this position!

This was Heikki's post-qualifying response:

Heikki Kovalainen: Clearly my final timed lap could have been better: I made a mistake by running wide in turn 13 before the long back straight, so I then had only one real opportunity to make the time back up, which was in turn 16. I tried to carry too much speed, and it went wrong: the car ran over the rumble strip, and the lap was gone. It was touch and go whether I could have got into the top ten, but I had to be right on the limit all the way round the lap to make it, and unfortunately a little mistake cost me.

"The times were very close today, and I would imagine there have been some different approaches in terms of set-up, although the top speeds are all quite close so perhaps the variation is not that big. But the car has a pretty neutral balance, it's just that the speed wasn't there today. Now, we need to see wait and see what happens tomorrow."

P14 and P18 for the Renaults. Not too good. Let's wait for the Super-Taifun!

What a dissapointing result It was not great to see Heikki strugle with the car In the dry it was better but I hoped for more

What a shame : (
Heikki was again in front of Fisico but he had only 9th. He really needs better car for better races. I suppose this is the first race this season that two Renault cars could not score point...

It was a very difficult race for Heikki. It's a pity that he couldn't overtake Coulthard and get the last point.

I had the feeling that he drove the car from Australia. It was SO slow!

Well although Heikki had a difficult day yesterday..

I couldn't contain me, I was jumping, screaming and celebrating since lap 32.. I'm a bad girl..