Heikki Kovalainen: Max reminded everyone of what he is capable of

      This year, Heikki Kovalainen returned to the paddock as an expert on the Viaplay channel, broadcasting to the Nordic countries, and highly appreciated Max Verstappen's performance in Japan.

      The shortcomings of the RB21 car did not prevent the four-time world champion from first winning pole, then confidently starting and bringing the race to victory, although, commenting on this achievement, Max said that a number of circumstances helped him. But this does not detract from the significance of the result, thanks to which Verstappen has almost caught up with the leading Lando Norris in the individual standings.

      "I think we saw an example of great skill in Max Verstappen's performance," said Kovalainen, taking part in the F1 Nation podcast. – I think the Red Bull car is still not as fast as the McLaren, but Max managed to complete an absolutely amazing lap in qualifying - he got everything out of his RB21 and probably even a little more.

      The race was like a 53-lap sprint, with the top three riders separated by intervals of no more than a second or two throughout the race. Max showed great pace and did not make a single mistake, demonstrated great skill.

      It was a good reminder to all of us of what he is capable of, because his personal standards are, of course, very high, even if he has spent several previous races at an average level. But Max reminded us why he became a four-time world champion and one of the best racers of all time.

      I would say that watching this demonstration of his capabilities was a real pleasure."

      Last spring, Heikki Kovalainen underwent a complex open–heart operation - it was successful, and after a long period of rehabilitation, the Finn was able to regain his fitness and returned to driving a rally car in the fall.

      At one time, Kovalainen held 111 Grands Prix with teams such as Renault, McLaren, Team Lotus and Caterham, and after completing his career in Formula 1, he successfully competes in various Japanese series.