By Renault F1
September 6 2006

Finn Heikki Kovalinen has been named by Renault F1 as one of their drivers for the 2007 season. Kovalinen will replace world drivers champion Fernando Alonso who is to leave the team at the end of this season for Mclaren Mercedes Blending Youth and Experience in the Cockpit

Having confirmed Giancarlo Fisichella as a 2007 race driver last June, the Renault F1 Team is pleased to announce that current test driver Heikki Kovalainen, 24, will race alongside him in 2007. The latest in a proud tradition of Flying Finns, Heikki has completed over 28,000 km of testing for the Renault F1 Team since 2004, and was vice-champion of the GP2 Series in 2005. He is now ready to make the step up to a Formula 1 race drive, and will have the unique opportunity to do so in a top-line team.

Heikki Kovalainen commented: “I am thrilled to get the opportunity to race with a world champion team like Renault. I have been a member of the Renault Driver Development programme since 2002, when I had the distant ambition of one day becoming an F1 driver. It is a fantastic feeling to have finally achieved that. My two seasons testing for the team, as well as my time in GP2, have allowed me to build my technical knowledge and to understand what it takes to win in Formula 1. I have also had the opportunity to show the team what I can do, and it is a great motivation to know that they believe in me. It will be a fantastic feeling to line up on the grid in Melbourne, but that is still a long way off. At the moment, I am totally focused on helping Renault win the 2006 championship.”