'Racing alongside Hamilton was great, but it was also the end of my career'

Lewis Hamilton is one of the biggest talents in Formula 1, he immediately showed in his first season in  F1. At McLaren he was able to compete with two-time world champion Fernando Alonso and the Briton was only one point away from the championship in his rookie season. The fierce battle in the team also caused Alonso to leave for Renault.

To fill the gap, the Finn Heikki Kovalainen was recruited, who just came from Renault. "I had the momentum when I went to McLaren. The first year in Formula 1 had started badly, but in the second half I managed to turn that around, which I could take with me to 2008. Unfortunately I couldn't hold on to that and in 2009 I fell apart completely", says the former driver in Beyond the Grid.

No energy left

Kovalainen's relapse was mainly due to teammate Hamilton. "I've had two great seasons with him and we never had any really big problems. Maybe that was also because I never really challenged him. Against me he never really had to go all the way. He was always a bit faster than me and I had to make the most of it. After a year and a half I just ran out of energy," the Finn explains about his difficult collaboration with Hamilton.

"I don't mind admitting that Lewis was faster than me. He is one of the best, if not the best driver of all time. On the one hand I'm happy to have raced with him, but at the same time it's been the deathblow for my career". According to Kovalainen it was impossible to fight against the 'incredible fighting spirit' that the British have in them.