Kovalainen says he is happy to have beaten Vitaly Petrov

Heikki Kovalainen and Team Lotus were happy to beat Vitaly Petrov in the Singapore Grand Prix, as the Finn finished sixteenth.

The team felt very happy to beat one of the best known and most historic teams in the circus, with the Finn suggesting that the upgrades brought to Singapore proved crucial.

“I'm really happy with today's performance and we should all be happy about it, as this was a great race for the team.”

“The stopping strategy worked well and the guys worked really well to be able to get me out quickly every time, so that I could stay in front of Petrov every time. The car was balanced and the tires worked well. I was thus able to distance myself from Petrov and finish sixteenth."

“It's good that the updates brought have helped us take a small step forward and we'll see it even better in Suzuka.”

Jarno Trulli initially managed to position himself ahead of the Renaults and Toro Rossos, but got a puncture in a collision with Alguersuari and had to retire due to a breakdown.

“I had another good start and was ahead of both the Renaults and the Toro Rosso. They were on me, but the car was running well and I was able to keep them away easily, even after the first pit stop. Then Jaime hit my left rear tire and it was disappointing – bad luck, but it meant I had to do it all over again, until the failure occurred.”

Alessandra Leoni