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Kovalainen 'should have shown more respect' - Gascoyne

ESPN Staff
January 13, 2013 « Former F1 boss Forti dies | Petrov's Caterham talks stall »
It looks unlikely that Heikki Kovalainen will remain at Caterham in 2013 © Sutton Images
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Caterham's chief technical officer Mike Gascoyne has said Heikki Kovalainen "should have shown more respect" if he wanted to remain at the team in 2013.

Caterham has not yet announced who it will partner Charles Pic with next year, but it is looking increasingly unlikely Kovalainen will remain at the team. He has been a part of the outfit since its first season in 2010, but Gascoyne said the driver's relationship with the team had deteriorated towards the end of last season.

"It is actually a great shame," he told Crash.net. "Heikki is a very talented driver but, last year, his management did not handle him very well and he has not done himself any favours. It is a tough environment out there for everyone. He has had three years with Caterham, was paid well, and he should have shown more respect about that."

Talking to Autosport last week, Kovalainen admitted his chances of staying at Caterham were slim, but said the crux of the issue was that he did not have a budget to bring to the team.

"I'm still waiting for their decision," he told Autosport.com. "As it's getting this late I'm not too hopeful, and the fact that I don't bring money is the big problem. That's where we are at the moment, and where I think they are as well.

"I know that they would like me to stay, and they've been pushing some of the current sponsors that they have to see if they could fill the hole between myself and some pay drivers, and that's the answer that we're still waiting for.

"It's not about my salary - I'm not asking a big salary - that is not the problem. The problem is the difference between what someone brings and the zero that I bring. That's the big question."

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