Kovalainen happy with third
Heikki Kovalainen revealed his delight at securing third place on the grid at Hockenheim after running off the track on both of his qualifying laps. The McLaren driver raced across the gravel trap on the way into the stadium on his opening lap in Q3 before running wide across the grass at the final corner on his second.
"Yeah, it was a good effort from everybody," said Kovalainen. "The car has been performing very well in the last four or five weeks and we have made some significant steps forward.
"The car has felt the best its felt all week so far, and going into Q3 I was confident I could be challenging for pole.
"But arriving in Turn 12 on the first lap of Q3 I lost the rear end and went wide. I don't know what happened, it just turned in more suddenly than before. I think I damaged the car on the right hand underneath, because I saw it when I got out, although I didn't feel it when driving.
"On the second run also I had a bit of rallycross at the exit of the last turn. So third place I am very happy with, if you take into account those rallycross moments today."
Kovalainen starts just behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa on the grid and the Finn believes McLaren need to keep developing their car if they are to challenge for the title.
"I think it is still very close," he explained. "One day they (Ferrari) are ahead and one day we are ahead. It depends how we nail it at the moment. Today, Lewis nailed it perfect and everyone else was struggling at various moments.
"The important thing for us is to keep focus and keep pushing 100 percent, trying to develop the car and package. That will be the key to being champion at the end of the year."
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