As teammates — same car
Race finishesahead
Qualifyingahead
Heikki Kovalainen · Lewis Hamilton
Qualifying compares starting grid position, which covers every era — it includes any grid penalties.
Qualifying gap in the same car
+0.256s
Lewis Hamilton faster by the median gap over 35 sessions
2008
+0.289s
18
2009
+0.256s
17
last segment both reached, median gap — same constructor only
Race H2H
26
—
86
112 shared
Qualifying H2H
13
—
99
112 shared
Championship record
0
World titles
7
0
Runner-up
3
0
Top-3 finishes
12
P7
Best championship
P1
Finished ahead in the standings:
0 · 7
2007
P2
2008
P1
2009
P5
2010
P4
2011
P5
2012
P4
2013
P4
Teammate battle by season
6
12
2008
6
11
2009
Career totals
Heikki Kovalainen
Lewis Hamilton
Championships
0
7
Wins
1
106
Poles
1
104
Podiums
4
208
Fastest laps
2
69
Career points
105
5,157.5
Starts
112
397
Rate-adjusted · per start
Heikki Kovalainen
Lewis Hamilton
Win rate
0.9%
26.7%
Podium rate
3.6%
52.4%
Pole rate
0.9%
26.2%
Points / start
0.9
13.0
Avg grid
P13.7
P4.7
Avg finish
P13.3
P5.2
Finish rate
82.1%
92.2%
Rates reward peak form; totals reward longevity. Avg grid/finish: lower is better.
On-track overtaking
Heikki Kovalainen
Lewis Hamilton
Overtakes
1,028
2,667
Overtakes / race
9.4
6.8
Places lost
952
1,957
Sum of lap-by-lap positions gained on track — start lap and own pit laps excluded.
Only races with lap data count, so the per-race figure is the fair comparison across eras.
Why they retired
Heikki Kovalainen
Lewis Hamilton
Mechanical retirements
10
10
Crash retirements
9
14
Classified from the finishing status. Mechanical covers car failures, crash covers accidents, collisions and damage — fewer is better on both.
Retirements with an unclear cause: 1 · 7
Milestones & racecraft
2007
Debut season
2007
2008 · aged 26
First win
2007 · aged 22
2008
First pole
2007
—
First title
2008 · aged 23
P1
Best finish
P1
+0.5
Avg places gained
-0.6
Season points trajectory
Heikki Kovalainen
Lewis Hamilton
Final points each season — scoring systems changed over the eras.
Track by track
| Circuit | Heikki Kovalainen | Lewis Hamilton |
|---|---|---|
| W · Pod · Best | W · Pod · Best | |
| W · Pod · Best W · Pod · Best | ||
| Silverstone Circuit | 0 · 0 · P5 | 9 · 16 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P5 9 · 16 · P1 HAM | ||
| Hungaroring | 1 · 1 · P1 | 8 · 12 · P1 |
| KOV 1 · 1 · P1 8 · 12 · P1 HAM | ||
| Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya | 0 · 0 · P7 | 7 · 13 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P7 7 · 13 · P1 HAM | ||
| Circuit Gilles Villeneuve | 0 · 0 · P4 | 7 · 11 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P4 7 · 11 · P1 HAM | ||
| Shanghai International Circuit | 0 · 0 · P5 | 6 · 10 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P5 6 · 10 · P1 HAM | ||
| Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps | 0 · 0 · P6 | 5 · 11 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P6 5 · 11 · P1 HAM | ||
| Bahrain International Circuit | 0 · 0 · P5 | 5 · 11 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P5 5 · 11 · P1 HAM | ||
| Yas Marina Circuit | 0 · 0 · P11 | 5 · 10 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P11 5 · 10 · P1 HAM | ||
| Autodromo Nazionale di Monza | 0 · 1 · P2 | 5 · 8 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 1 · P2 5 · 8 · P1 HAM | ||
| Circuit of the Americas | 0 · 0 · P15 | 5 · 9 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P15 5 · 9 · P1 HAM | ||
| Marina Bay Street Circuit | 0 · 0 · P7 | 4 · 7 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P7 4 · 7 · P1 HAM | ||
| Suzuka Circuit | 0 · 0 · P11 | 4 · 7 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P11 4 · 7 · P1 HAM | ||
| Circuit de Monaco | 0 · 0 · P8 | 3 · 8 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P8 3 · 8 · P1 HAM | ||
| Autódromo José Carlos Pace | 0 · 0 · P7 | 3 · 7 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P7 3 · 7 · P1 HAM | ||
| Hockenheimring | 0 · 0 · P5 | 3 · 4 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P5 3 · 4 · P1 HAM | ||
| Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit | 0 · 0 · P5 | 2 · 10 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P5 2 · 10 · P1 HAM | ||
| Istanbul Park | 0 · 0 · P6 | 2 · 3 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P6 2 · 3 · P1 HAM | ||
| Nürburgring | 0 · 0 · P8 | 2 · 2 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P8 2 · 2 · P1 HAM | ||
| Sepang International Circuit | 0 · 1 · P3 | 1 · 7 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 1 · P3 1 · 7 · P1 HAM | ||
| Fuji Speedway | 0 · 1 · P2 | 1 · 1 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 1 · P2 1 · 1 · P1 HAM | ||
| Indianapolis Motor Speedway | 0 · 0 · P5 | 1 · 1 · P1 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P5 1 · 1 · P1 HAM | ||
| Valencia Street Circuit | 0 · 0 · P4 | 0 · 3 · P2 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P4 0 · 3 · P2 HAM | ||
| Korean International Circuit | 0 · 0 · P13 | 0 · 2 · P2 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P13 0 · 2 · P2 HAM | ||
| Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours | 0 · 0 · P4 | 0 · 1 · P3 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P4 0 · 1 · P3 HAM | ||
| Buddh International Circuit | 0 · 0 · P14 | 0 · 0 · P4 |
| KOV 0 · 0 · P14 0 · 0 · P4 HAM | ||
Team history
Basis
Head-to-head counts races where both drivers were classified, compared by final position (post-penalty). Teammate section counts only seasons in the same car. Career totals mirror the source data. Data: Jolpica-F1 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).