Formula One news

Symonds support for Kovalainen

Renault engineering director Pat Symonds has come out in defence of his driver Heikki Kovalainen after the young Finn had a distinctly unimpressive debut in Melbourne, qualifying and finishing well behind even team mate Giancarlo Fisichella.

"It is fair to say that he was on the back foot from the very beginning," said Symonds in a stark contrast to the harsh words spoken on Sunday by Renault boss Flavio Briatore. "The car problems in practice 2 and 3 cost him track time, and this very likely contributed to his poor qualifying position. When you start back in the pack, you end up in traffic for a large part of the race - and I think some of the mistakes we saw were probably born of the frustration of being in that position."

"At the time we signed Heikki, we full accepted that as a rookie, he would make mistakes in his first year," he added. "We have seen some of them in Melbourne, but one of the many reasons we believe in him, is that we know he is realistic, honest and intelligent. Without a doubt, he will learn from Sunday - and I don't think it will be repeated."

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