Heikki Kovalainen burst onto the international stage by winning the Race of Champions in December 2004. Taking on and beating no less than Sebastien Loeb in his own WRC rally contender in the final.

On the cusp of a drive in Formula One, the Finn rose up through the ranks of Karting before moving to the British Formula Renault series in 2001. A move to British Formula 3 the following season saw him take five wins and finish third in the championship. Significantly, he joined the Renault Driver Development programme.

A move to World Series by Nissan (Now World Series by Renault) in 2003 saw Kovalainen take the runner-up position in 2003, before taking the title the next year. Following his success at Stade de France at the end of the season, he joined Arden International to compete in the fledging GP2 series.

After a strong start to the season, Kovalainen lost out to Nico Rosberg in the championship, but now under the guidance of Flavio Briatore and Renault, was busy testing for the Anglo-French team.

Kovalainen took a step back from racing activities in 2006 and continued his testing role with Renault, and with Fernando Alonso moving to McLaren Mercedes, the team wasted little time in announcing Kovalainen as Giancarlo Fisichella's team-mate at Renault in 2007.

Kovalainen's debut season can be split into two and the defining moment was the Canadian Grand Prix, the sixth race of the season.

Kovalainen struggled in his first five Grand Prix and then in practice and qualifying in Montreal made a catalogue of errors that at the time made the Finn look out of his depth in Formula One. It was however something of a turning point for Kovalainen and a solid and sensible race saw him finish in fourth position.

The result provided a much-needed confidence boost for Kovalainen who raised his game in both qualifying and race conditions. Nine straight finishes in the points followed, the best result being a super second position in the rain-hit Japanese Grand Prix, Renault's only podium position of the season.

Having seen off team-mate Fisichella, Kovalainen made clear he was not willing to play a supporting role for the returning Fernando Alonso is 2008. Renault duly announced Alonso and Renault tester Piquet as race drivers for 2008, but soon after Kovalainen was confirmed as Lewis Hamilton's team-mate at McLaren Mercedes.

Kovalainen improved throughout his debut season with Renault and now has the chance to push for race wins, and possibly the championship in 2008…