Australia's last grand prix winner effusive in his praise for McLaren star's performance in 2008 so far.
by Russell Atkins
To read the interview in full, click here
Casting an eye over the 2008 Formula 1 grid, former world champion Alan Jones admits that there have not been a great deal of surprises thus far - though he did have words of praise for McLaren-Mercedes new boy Heikki Kovalainen.
The Finn is back in Istanbul this weekend after his horrific smash in the Spanish Grand Prix two weeks ago, in which his MP4-23 became so heavily embedded in the Circuit de Catalunya's tyre barriers that even his head was no longer visible. The 26-year-old hit back to lap second-quickest in opening practice in Turkey, however, displaying a characteristic gutsiness that Jones clearly admires.
"Kovalainen has gone a lot better than what I thought he would," the straight-talking Aussie underlined, speaking exclusively to Crash.net Radio. "He's jumped in the McLaren and really taken it to them. I think he's been very impressive. Other than that I think all the people are in the same spots where they deserve to be.
"I think the status quo is beginning to take shape a little bit now - Ferrari and McLaren are proving to be strong, and it's the same old pretenders and contenders up there. I think it's really going to be between Kimi [Raikkonen] and Lewis Hamilton.
"I don't think [the spy scandal] will have affected them [McLaren] at all. They're not psychologically that tender, that a little thing like that is going to put them off their game. I think they've been around long enough and are now old enough and ugly enough that that's just water off a duck's back. I think they'll just get on with it.
"[BMW] are knocking on the door. At the end of the day you really can't dismiss a company like BMW or Mercedes. They're giants, they have built the odd racing engine over the years and I think if anyone's capable of doing it BMW are."
The 61-year-old - who clinched the drivers' laurels back in 1980, and is the last of his countrymen ever to triumph in the top flight - also suggested Australia's days as a fixture on the F1 calendar are numbered, regardless of whether the grand prix is held in Melbourne, Sydney or elsewhere. He did, however, have words of encouragement for habitually luckless compatriot Mark Webber and old team Williams, though he was less willing to commit himself on whether Renault have really turned a corner in their season on the basis of the Régie's Barcelona performance.
"They took a big step, didn't they?" Jones mused. "From being relatively uncompetitive to being up there on the front row is a big step. I don't know whether it was just a matter of circumstances for that one particular meeting - it will be interesting to see how they go in Turkey.
"I think he [Webber] has proven that if he's in a reliable car he's capable of doing the job. He's had an enormous amount of bad luck and unreliability, but I think Red Bull are probably now making inroads in that area and I think Mark will take advantage of that.
"I never underestimate Williams. I know the people, I know the facilities and I know their capabilities. Yes, they have been off the pace of late and have had a quiet time over the last couple of years, but they're just too good to discount. They will bounce back."
To read the interview in full, click here
