Heikki Kovalainen is cautiously optimistic ahead of a British GP that sees Caterham looking to build upon progress made in Valencia.
Finn says Caterham need to get new exhaust working properly
Heikki Kovalainen is cautiously optimistic ahead of a British Grand Prix weekend that sees Caterham looking to build upon the progress they made at the last race in Valencia.
The Finn outqualified both Toro Rossos on merit at the European Grand Prix, the battle between the two outfits albeit getting too close for comfort in the race when Kovalainen and team-mate Vitaly Petrov respectively clashed with Jean-Eric Vergne and Daniel Ricciardo.
Caterham's most recent performance was seen as another milestone in their quest to join Formula 1's midfield, but Kovalainen knows that such a step can only be seen as genuine when they can beat their nearest rivals on a regular basis.
They are hoping for further progress this weekend as a result of major aerodynamic upgrades, including new rear bodywork, a new exhaust plus new front and rear wings.
"Valencia was obviously a significant step forward for our team, but you've got to bear in mind that the last three races have been at quite different circuits to what it is here," Kovalainen said on Thursday. "This is a proper high-speed circuit, with very different demands on the car than we've had in the last three events, so we've to first of all make sure our car is performing as well as it was in Valencia here and then go from there.
"It was a great boost for everyone in the team. I think to outqualify other cars we don't normally outqualify, it was a great feeling for everyone and in the race we were racing them as well. That was all positive, so we gained a little bit of momentum and we've just got to try and keep that up."
That Kovalainen sounds cautious might be explained by Caterham not having made the progress they had initially hoped for this season.
In particular, he sees their attempts to harness the exhaust on the CT01 to boost downforce as being crucial - Caterham having struggled in this regard to date.
"In theory it looks pretty good," Kovalainen said of the upgrade. "But we know that when we're working with the exhausts and with the aerodynamics generally, it's a sensitive area and it's not always easy to get it working.
"In Mugello, we had a package there we couldn't get working and since then we've always been modifying it and we've got better understanding. So we've got more confidence now that it works but I think we'll see how it performs on track...it's better not to rave about it too much.
"Once we start working with the exhausts , those areas of the car are sensitive and it's easy to get it wrong. So I think we need to wait and see the performance on track and then we can judge better."
Of course, Caterham's attempts to gauge the success of their updates might be thwarted by the weather. Yet even if the rain forecast for Friday materialises, Kovalainen hopes they can still salvage something from the practice sessions.
"It is what it is. You can't expect to have a dry weekend. Ideally it would be better for us - especially at this moment, in this position where we are evaluating the updates," he added.
"Hopefully it's either one: if there's a few damp patches and a few dry patches then it's more difficult to get any running done, because you've got to also look after your tyres.
"But I think we'll get an idea regardless of the weather."
