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HEIKKI KOVALAINEN

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Friday 15th August 2008

Heikki Kovalainen says claiming his maiden race win in Hungary won't change his approach to racing as the F1 circus prepares for the European GP.

Having been outdone by his team-mate Lewis Hamilton throughout the first half of this season, Kovalainen finally got one back on the Brit when he took the chequered flag in Budapest two weeks ago.

And although he is still relishing the victory, Kovalainen says it won't change his approach to racing.

"The win doesn't change too much, really: I still believe I am improving and learning more about the team and the car at each race," he said.

"My aim for the last part of the season is to win more races and to perform regularly at the front.

"It's something I was able to do from time to time in the first half of the year, but I now feel more confident that I can be a consistent challenger in the remaining races, and I'm really looking forward to that."

The Finn is now gearing up for the European GP, which takes place at one of this year's two new circuits - Valencia. "It looks pretty fast, to be honest," he said of the track.

"You get used to street circuits being quite slow, with lots of slow- to medium-speed corners and very short straights, but this is almost the opposite.

"There are a lot of fast kinks and esses, a couple of decent straights and lots of high-speed stuff.

"It's too early to say yet whether there will be opportunities to overtake around here, but there are a couple of hairpins where it might be possible."