McLaren has revealed that Heikki Kovalainen was unable to perform at the level he showed in the opening two grands prix of 2008 after problems with his tyres in each of his first two stints in Bahrain.
With team-mate Lewis Hamilton hampered by a poor start and subsequent collision with Kovalainen's predecessor, Fernando Alonso, the Finn was McLaren's best hope of a decent point score, but the Woking squad failed to match either ferrari or BMW-Sauber at the Sakhir circuit, and Heikki was not helped by difficulties that spoiled two-thirds of his race.
"For a reasonable proportion of the race, his car was wounded by a very bad flat spot, after he locked up on the opening lap," team CEO Martin Whitmarsh revealed, "By the time he pitted, his front right tyre was worn down to the canvas. Then, for his second stint, with hindsight, we were maybe on the wrong type of tyre, but we went long and heavy just to try something different. It didn't benefit us, but there was no harm done either.
"Heikki eventually set the fastest lap, which added a positive sheen, but also underlined that we didn't unleash the car's full potential throughout the race. It's a further illustration that you have to get every element of the weekend absolutely right."
Despite finishing only fifth, as 'best of the rest' behind Ferrari and BMW-Sauber, Kovalainen continued to impress his new paymasters, with Whitmarsh convinced that there is more to come from the Finn, who has matched Hamilton at least in terms of qualifying pace so far this year.
"In all, he has been with us for eleven weeks and he's just getting stronger and stronger - the feeling within the team is that we still haven't seen the best of him," the CEO commented, "Lewis thinks as much, too, and that's good, because he knows he'll have to raise his game.
"Heikki eventually set the fastest lap, which added a positive sheen, but also underlined that we didn't unleash the car's full potential throughout the race. It's a further illustration that you have to get every element of the weekend absolutely right."
Despite finishing only fifth, as 'best of the rest' behind Ferrari and BMW-Sauber, Kovalainen continued to impress his new paymasters, with Whitmarsh convinced that there is more to come from the Finn, who has matched Hamilton at least in terms of qualifying pace so far this year.
"In all, he has been with us for eleven weeks and he's just getting stronger and stronger - the feeling within the team is that we still haven't seen the best of him," the CEO commented, "Lewis thinks as much, too, and that's good, because he knows he'll have to raise his game.
"Both Heikki and Lewis have learned a lot in the 20 grands prix they've done. They are deeply ambitious and, while I know teams always claim their drivers love each other, everyone at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes can sense the mutual admiration that exists between them. They want to beat each other but they are open and fair, so there are lots of positives."
crash.net