Lewis Hamilton vs Heikki Kovalainen

2009·

Lewis Hamilton edged Heikki Kovalainen 12–5 in the races and 12–5 in qualifying at McLaren in 2009. Lewis Hamilton scored 49 points to 22.

Lewis HamiltonHeikki Kovalainen

12Qualifying5

17 shared races

12Race day5

17 shared races

49Points22

in shared races, as awarded at the time

126Points (today’s rules)60

in shared races, rescored 25-18-15…

Wins: 2/0
Podiums: 5/0
Poles: 4/0
Retirements: 3/5
Best finish: P1/P4
Avg. grid: 9.2/11

Race by race

Round-by-round comparison of Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen
R	Grand Prix	Grid	Lewis Hamilton	Heikki Kovalainen	Points
1	1Australian Grand Prix	18/12	Disqualified	Collision	0 / 0
2	2Malaysian Grand Prix	12/14	P7	Spun off	1 / 0
3	3Chinese Grand Prix	9/12	P6	P5	3 / 4
4	4Bahrain Grand Prix	5/11	P4	P12	5 / 0
5	5Spanish Grand Prix	14/18	P9	Gearbox	0 / 0
6	6Monaco Grand Prix	19/7	P12▼	Accident	0 / 0
7	7Turkish Grand Prix	16/14	P13▼	P14▼	0 / 0
8	8British Grand Prix	18/13	P16▼	Collision	0 / 0
9	9German Grand Prix	5/6	P18▼	P8	0 / 1
10	10Hungarian Grand Prix	4/6	P1▲	P5	10 / 4
11	11European Grand Prix	1/2	P2▲	P4▲	8 / 5
12	12Belgian Grand Prix	12/15	Collision	P6	0 / 3
13	13Italian Grand Prix	1/4	P12▼	P6	0 / 3
14	14Singapore Grand Prix	1/8	P1▲	P7	10 / 2
15	15Japanese Grand Prix	3/11	P3▲	P11	6 / 0
16	16Brazilian Grand Prix	17/16	P3▲	P9	6 / 0
17	17Abu Dhabi Grand Prix	1/18	Brakes	P11	0 / 0
	Average finish		P7.6	P8.2

How to read this table

The driver ahead in a round is shown in bold, the other in grey. Grid shows Lewis Hamilton / Heikki Kovalainen.
P1 a win,P3 a podium,DNF a retirement.
▲ a finish at least 4 places better than that driver’s own average finish this season (see the average row), ▼ at least 4places worse. Retirements are not counted in the average.

Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen in other seasons

Other seasons in which Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen were teammates
Season	Team	Matchup	Quali	Race	Points
2008	McLaren	Lewis Hamilton vs Heikki Kovalainen	13–5	12–6	98–53

Lewis Hamilton’s career Heikki Kovalainen’s career McLaren 2009 season All teammate battles

How these numbers are calculated

Only races both drivers started are counted. Entries that did not qualify, did not pre-qualify or were withdrawn are excluded, as are cars that never left the grid or the garage, and the Indianapolis 500 of 1950–1960.
Until the mid-1960s drivers could share a car during a race. Each driver is compared from the car they started (which sets their grid position), with the best result of any car they drove and the points from all of them, as officially credited.
Qualifying is compared on grid position rather than session times. Session-by-session qualifying data only exists from 1994, while grid position is recorded for over 99% of entries right back to 1950 — including every race of the 1950s, 60s and 70s.
On race day the driver classified ahead takes the round. If neither was classified, the one who completed more laps is credited; if both retired on the same lap it is scored as a tie and excluded from the tally.
Points are those awarded at the time and include sprint races from 2021. Where the season used an older system, a second points row rescores every round under the current system so seasons from different eras can be compared.
These are points scored in the races both drivers started, not their season totals: races either missed, or contested alongside a different teammate, are left out. Up to 1990 even full-season totals differ from the championship standings, because only a driver’s best results counted towards the title. In 1988 Alain Prost outscored Ayrton Senna 105 to 94 and still lost the championship. Theseason page has the final standings.