How SUPER GT helped heal Kovalainen’s F1 "scars"

By:

Jamie Klein

Jan 17, 2022, 10:21 AM

After exiting the Formula 1 paddock underappreciated and then narrowly missing out on a next logical step to the DTM, Heikki Kovalainen became an unlikely SUPER GT refugee. But the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix winner went big in Japan, winning the title in 2016 and finding peace with his racing career.

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When the 2022 SUPER GT season gets underway at Okayama in April, the Japanese championship will be without its most recognisable international star of the last two seasons following Heikki Kovalainen's decision to quit the series late last year.

The ex-Renault, McLaren, Lotus and Caterham Formula 1 man's decision brought down the curtain on a stint in Japan spanning seven full seasons, one more than he spent as a full-time grand prix driver, all of which came as part of the SARD Toyota team. Alongside Kohei Hirate, he won the 2016 title and scored a total of five victories in his 54 starts in the series.

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Jamie Klein

Jamie Klein is one of Motorsport.com’s Global News Editors, reporting primarily on the FIA World Endurance Championship, Super Formula and SUPER GT. He took his first steps into motorsport journalism in 2013 as a freelancer before joining Motorsport Network full-time in 2015 as UK Editor. In 2016, he moved into a more wide-ranging role as he became a regular in the paddocks of the WEC and MotoGP. After a two-month trip to Japan in late 2018 gave him his first taste of reporting live on Super Formula and SUPER GT, he made the move to Tokyo permanently in 2019, and has been a regular presence in both paddocks since 2020. Away from motorsport, he is studying the Japanese language and can often be found relaxing in an ‘onsen’ (hot spring) or gorging on ramen, occasionally at the same time. He can be found on Twitter at @JamieKlein_.