Heikki Kovalainen says there is no guarantee Kevin Magnussen will thrive at McLaren, insisting 2014 could make or break the Danish rookie. The famous British team, for whom Finn Kovalainen drove alongside Lewis Hamilton in 2008 and 2009 before losing his seat, recently made the surprise decision to oust Sergio Perez in favour of the 21-year-old Magnussen.
"I'm still surprised by the team's decision," Mexican Perez, who it is believed will switch to Force India for 2014, told Brazil's Totalrace this week. "I didn't know the news was coming and, in fact, my contract was already signed. So I was surprised. Time will tell if it was the right decision," added Perez, referring to McLaren's signing of the new Formula Renault 3.5 champion Magnussen over him.
Finn Kovalainen, who is also hoping to find a race seat for 2014, told the Finnish newspaper Turun Sanomat he also cannot be sure that McLaren's gamble on Magnussen will pay off. "There are two possibilities: Kevin will do well, or he will do badly," said the 32-year-old, who despite his experience struggled late in 2013 when he replaced Kimi Raikkonen in the competitive Lotus cockpit.
"It is difficult to say which one of the possibilities is the most likely," added Kovalainen, referring again to Magnussen's chances. "McLaren seems to really believe in him, but I don't really know him, other than knowing that he is fast and a good driver," he continued.
McLaren is hoping Magnussen can emulate the feats of its impressive 2007 rookie Lewis Hamilton, but Kovalainen warned that the team's most recent experiment with a new driver - Perez - appeared not to pay off. "Hamilton was able to fight for the podium from the first race, but in the past season Sergio Perez has not met expectations," he explained.
"They were expecting they could polish the diamond, but it didn't turn out like that. In any case, McLaren is a very strong team with excellent facilities and vast resources, so at least in theory they can create the conditions to solve all of a driver's problems. There is no guarantee that Magnussen will succeed, but at least he will have a great chance," added Kovalainen. (GMM)
No guarantee that Magnussen will succeed - Kovalainen
- Published on 11 Dec 2013 12:10
-
0
- By: Rob Veenstra
.
Trending news
-
Why McLaren is ready to hand Norris a contract beyond 2030Lando Norris is expected to become the latest driver to commit his long-term future to a single team, with McLaren pr...
26 Aug 2026 12:57 -
Why Verstappen's rare Zandvoort mistake shocked Timo GlockMax Verstappen's heavy crash at the Dutch Grand Prix left Timo Glock relieved the Red Bull driver escaped unscath...
26 Aug 2026 17:04 -
Max Verstappen's wildest racing challenge yet revealedMax Verstappen will return to karting next month in a format never seen before. The Red Bull Racing driver will face ...
26 Aug 2026 16:02 -
Why Verstappen's rare Zandvoort error stunned his ex-Red Bull mechanicMax Verstappen's heavy first-lap crash at Zandvoort has left those closest to him visibly shaken, with former Red...
26 Aug 2026 15:00 -
New F1 circuit sees nineteen red flags in single day of testingFormula 3's first proper test at Madrid's new street circuit descended into chaos this week, with nineteen re...
26 Aug 2026 13:58
Dutch Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Dutch Grand Prix
Local time
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
-
Friday
-
Saturday
-
Sunday
Test calendar
Circuit de Catalunya - Winter testing
-
Jan 26
I. Hadjar
- 1:18.159
-
-
-
Jan 27
M. Verstappen
- 1:19.578
-
-
-
Jan 28
A. Antonelli
- 1:17.362
-
-
-
Jan 29
G. Russell
- 1:16.445
-
-
-
Jan 30
L. Hamilton
- 1:16.348
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 11
L. Norris
- 1:34.669
-
-
-
Feb 12
C. Leclerc
- 1:34.273
-
-
-
Feb 13
A. Antonelli
- 1:33.669
-
-
Bahrain International Circuit - Winter testing
-
Feb 18
G. Russell
- 1:33.459
-
-
Feb 19
A. Antonelli
- 1:32.803
-
-
Feb 20
C. Leclerc
- 1:31.992
-
-
World Championship standings 2026
Pos
Driver
Team
Points
Pos
Team
Points
Related news
Give your opinion!
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Spain
-
Bahrain
-
Bahrain
Formula 1 Calendar - 2026
Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
-
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
-
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
6 - Mar 8
Australia
Albert Park
13 - Mar 15
27 - Mar 29
Japan
Circuit Suzuka
10 - Apr 12
Bahrain
Bahrain International Circuit
17 - Apr 19
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street Circuit
1 - May 3
United States of America
Miami International Autodrome
22 - May 24
Canada
Gilles Villeneuve
5 - Jun 7
Monaco
Monte Carlo
12 - Jun 14
Spain
Circuit de Catalunya
26 - Jun 28
Austria
Red Bull Ring
3 - Jul 5
United Kingdom
Silverstone
17 - Jul 19
Belgium
Spa-Francorchamps
24 - Jul 26
Hungary
Hungaroring
21 - Aug 23
Netherlands
Circuit Zandvoort
Driver profile
- Team Ferrari
- Points 3,716
- Podiums 137
- Grand Prix 244
- Country United Kingdom
- Date of b. Jan 7 1985 (41)
- Place of b. Tewin, United Kingdom
- Weight 68 kg
- Length 1.74 m
- 485,261 comments on Ferrari
67 members have this team as their favourite
Tweets about Lewis Hamilton
Team profile
- Team name Lotus F1
- Base Enstone, United Kingdom
- Daniel Ricciardo 3
- Kimi Räikkönen 7
- Romain Grosjean 8
- Kimi Räikkönen 9
- Romain Grosjean 10
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Pastor Maldonado 13
- Kevin Magnussen 20
- Nico Hülkenberg 27
- Jolyon Palmer 30
- Esteban Ocon 31
- Carlos Sainz jr 55
- 65,124 comments on Lotus F1
- 17 members have this team as their favourite
- Tweets about Lotus F1
Replies (0)
Login to reply