Heikki: Better because of Caterham

Heikki Kovalainen believes his decision to choose Caterham over a midfield team has made him a “better person, a better driver”…

Heikki Kovalainen believes his decision to choose Caterham over a midfield team has made him a “better person, a better driver.”

Despite racing for Renault and McLaren, at the end of the 2009 season Kovalainen opted to join newcomers Lotus Racing, now known as Caterham.

The Finn’s move was questioned by many as it was a dramatic swap from a front-runner to an unknown entity that would most likely be lapping at the back of the grid.

But, looking back at his decision, the 30-year-old believes he made the right choice.

“I had other options but none with the big teams,” Kovalainen said.

“They were teams that were in the middle of the pack. I didn’t see any great opportunity, so I preferred to go with a brand new team.

“(Caterham) was a risky move, but I don’t see that I would have been in a much better situation had I chosen a middle [of the grid] team.

“I chose to start from scratch, changing my routine, my training – basically everything. For me, choosing to start with a new team made me a better person, a better driver.”

However, having spent time at the back of the grid, Kovalainen says he’s now ready to return to the front or at least to a team that can fight for points and even podiums.

“I want to go back to always fighting for the podium, but I don’t know what the future holds for me,” crash.net reports him as having told TotalRace.

“I don’t have much to say about it but at some point I will have the conversation (with Caterham).”