There was much talk surrounding the replacement of injured Lotus driver Kimi Raikkonen for the final two races of the season. Eventually, his compatriot Heikki Kovalainen was called up to do the job.
However, scoring zero points in both races has seen the tides turn on Kovalainen, as well as any prospects he may have had for a full time Formula One return in 2014.
The 32-year-old Finn is supposedly in the picture to return to the Caterham team in 2014, with the high chance of incumbent Charles Pic to be out of the sport all together.
“These two races were not the best,” he told Finnish paper Turun Sanomat.
“I knew it was a bit of a risk (in replacing Raikkonen) but I did not think it would be so difficult.”
While the results may not have been up to Lotus’ expectations, Kovalainen remains optimistic about being on the the grid in 2014.
“Nothing has been signed yet, but I don’t think these two races with Lotus changes things too much,” he told MTV3.
“Caterham is still the most likely option for me.”
On the other side of the spectrum, Lotus’ reserve driver Davide Valsecchi expressed his disappointment in not being chosen as Raikkonen’s replacement.
He took to social media to say, “I told the team it would have been better to choose my heart and my motivation than the experience of Kovalainen, I’m really sorry they didn’t do it.”
I told to @Lotus_F1Team that was better to choose my heart and my motivation than the experience of Kova. I'm really sorry they didn't do it
— Davide Valsecchi (@davidevalsecchi) November 24, 2013
Lotus finished the season fourth in the standings, behind Mercedes and Ferrari, while Kimi Raikkonen slipped from third in the driver standings to fifth, having not competed in the last two races.
Romain Grosjean meanwhile ends his season with a DNF in Brazil, but ends up seventh in driver standings with 132 points, his best season finish in his career.
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