Heikki Kovalainen says his personal best qualifying effort in Korea on Saturday was probably his best of the season so far, with the Team Lotus driver explaining that he ‘nailed every sector’ en route to 19th position on tomorrow afternoon's grid. As well as out-qualifying his closest rivals, the Finn closed the gap to the midfield runners ahead, finishing less than a second behind Williams man Rubens Barrichello.
"For me that was probably my best qualifying lap of the season," said a delighted Kovalainen. "Next to Hungary, I think I got as much as I possibly could out of the car and nailed every sector, so it’s a good feeling to know when you’ve wrung as much as you can from a single lap.
"We worked hard last night and today to find a balance that would suit the dry conditions today and tomorrow, and I think we’ve done that, so I’m feeling pretty good about the race. It’ll be very interesting to see how the tyre strategies play out, and if we can keep up the pace from Suzuka we’ll be there or thereabouts."
Meanwhile team-mate Jarno Trulli once again struggled with his power steering system, ending up in 20th place but mildly satisfied with his fastest lap.
"I think we did okay today, but there was definitely a bit more in the car. This morning I had a really good setup and found a lot of grip, but this afternoon it just didn’t feel quite the same so I wasn’t able to get as much out of the car as I could.
"Still, I’m reasonably happy with where we are - we’re well ahead of the cars behind and close enough on race pace to a couple of the teams just ahead, so another good start tomorrow and we’ll be okay."
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Heikki Kovalainen
Jarno Trulli
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| Pos. | Driver | Team | Time | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. |  L. Hamilton | McLaren | 01:35.820 | 14 |
| 2. | S. Vettel | Red Bull | 01:36.042 | 12 |
| 3. | J. Button | McLaren | 01:36.126 | 14 |
| 4. | M. Webber | Red Bull | 01:36.468 | 11 |
| 5. | F. Massa | Ferrari | 01:36.831 | 16 |
| 6. | F. Alonso | Ferrari | 01:36.980 | 11 |
| 7. | N. Rosberg | Mercedes | 01:37.754 | 12 |
| 8. | V. Petrov | Lotus Renault | 01:38.124 | 19 |
| 9. | P. di Resta | Force India | no time | 16 |
| 10. | A. Sutil | Force India | no time | 14 |
| Full results | ||||
| Jarno Trulli | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| More Jarno Trulli photos | |||
| Heikki Kovalainen | |||
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| More Heikki Kovalainen photos | |||
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