Heikki Kovalainen : Toughness, Courage, and, Above All, Revenge

Heikki Kovalainen's dire performance at the Turkish GP (dire because he finished 12th) will not help with his championship campaign—but his drive was more than praiseworthy.

Having to pit early thanks to a left rear puncture caused by a clip with Kimi Raikkonen before turn one, he rejoined the race and fought valiantly to come through all the way to 12th place. Heikki battled the psychological downturn of having to compete with the slowpokes—hard to swallow when the day before you secured P2 in qualifying...

Kovalainen is fast proving to be Formula 1's tough guy. And why not?

Two weeks ago the man endured a 140 miles/hour crash in a pitwall measured by telemetry at 26Gs, and yet a fortnight later, guess who is back in the ring, I mean on the track, looking for revenge, outpacing Hamilton in qualifying, securing P2 with authority?

Exactly.

Ever since he moved to McLaren, Heikki has been in the spotlight, and is now what I'd like to call "Mr Money in the Bank," for the opportunity of a lifetime he's been given to drive for one of the teams at the top of the pecking order.

It is a shame Heikki had to pit early in the race because, everything holding equal had he not suffered a puncture, the outcome of the Turkish GP would have been a different story altogether.

The McLaren outfit would have benefitted from it as well. Holding Raikkonen behind while focusing on Massa at the front was a possibility, BUT I doubt Kovalainen would have settled for this, despite Lewis' very strong start.

What would have probably happened would have been a four-way fight, with Heikki finishing 2nd at least.

Heikki Kovalainen was probably the most gutted driver this Sunday evening, bar Rubens Barrichello, for his lackluster performance on his record-breaking 257th GP start.

Heikki must have felt this was not his day, but how hard he fought back to grab 12th place is nothing short of impressive.

Heikki Kovalainen may be left reeling with only 14 points. That's a hefty gap of 21 points behind his fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen, and 14 points behind the duo of Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa.

Big deal? Not really. Raikkonen was in a similar situation towards the end of the season last year, and went on to win the World Championship.

As for Heikki Kovalainen, if his toughness is anything to go by, expect Mr. Money In The Bank to avenge himself and get back in the title chase sooner rather than later.