Heikki Kovalainen’s debut season in Formula One is going from strength to strength and the young Renault rookie is now looking forward to the upcoming Italian Grand Prix. While he has never raced a Formula One car here, the Finn is no stranger to the Italian track and is looking forward to yet another strong performance….

You put in a strong drive in Turkey…
Yes, it was. We did a very good job all weekend with the team, and it paid off because we brought home three points. Of course, we all want to be capable of more, but it was important to get the maximum out of the car at the last race. We managed to do it, so that's a genuine reason to be pleased. It was a good race for me, chasing down Lewis in the final laps, and hopefully I can keep up the momentum in Italy.

Monza is a very unusual circuit. Do you enjoy driving here?
I think it is a very exciting race, because of the layout and also the atmosphere. This is a special weekend in the F1 season. The circuit is very fast, you run very light downforce and the drivers need to maintain total concentration throughout. You often see quite dramatic races here as well, and the Ferrari supporters will be out in force this weekend to cheer on their team. Our goal will be to put on a strong performance for the fans who are supporting us out in the stands too.

What is the impact of the low downforce levels?
It is very demanding for the drivers and the teams. The car feels very "light" to drive, and slides very easily in the corners. Lesmo 1 and Lesmo 2 are particularly tricky, because you take them in 4th gear at high speed and when the tyres are already a bit worn, like in race conditions, it is very difficult to control the car. Those are the unique challenges Monza offers.

What will be the keys to a strong performance?
Monza is a high-speed circuit, and it goes without saying that good top speed is essential. But I think it will be even more important to concentrate on the corner exit, so we can put the power down as soon as possible without sliding and losing time… We looked at these areas during the test and collected lots of data, which we will use to build our programme for Friday practice. We want to show once again that we are making progress, just like we did in Istanbul.