It is only a matter of time before Heikki Kovalainen climbs onto the top step of the podium, according to McLaren chief Martin Whitmarsh.

The unlucky Finn has suffered a catalogue of mechanical problems and incidents in the last few races and has failed to score points befitting of the blistering pace he has demonstrated behind the wheel of his MP4-23.

A delayed approval for Heikki Kovalainen to unlap himself during the safety car period in Sunday’s Monaco Grand Prix, ruined the Finn’s race and left him in “no man’s land”, McLaren CEO Martin Whitmarsh has said.

The diamond encrusted helmets that Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainen will sport in today’s Monaco Grand Prix have been rigorously proofed for aerodynamic efficiency, Forumula1.net has learned.

The McLaren-Mercedes duo will make the dash around the Monte Carlo streets this year in special personalised helmets; their signatures paved in a line of hundreds of Steinmetz diamonds.

Heikki Kovalainen insists he has yet to show his true colours around the bumpy streets of Monte Carlo.

The Finn lapped the demanding 3.4km street circuit a full seven tenths of a second slower than team-mate Lewis Hamilton in Thursday warm up, the McLaren driver struggling to hit the sweet spot in his setup.

Heikki Kovalainen has been given the all-clear to race at this weekend’s Turkish Grand Prix following a medical examination on Thursday morning.

A McLaren spokesperson has confirmed that the Finn escaped his huge crash at the Spanish Grand Prix without injury and that he has been cleared to race alongside team-mate Lewis Hamilton at this weekend’s race.

McLaren Mercedes CEO Martin Whitmarsh believes new boy Heikki Kovalainen still has to raise his game despite a string of fine early season performances. The 26-year-old Finn recorded the fastest laps in Australia and Bahrain and a podium finish in Malaysia to emerge as one of the front-runners for this year’s World Championship.

After setting the fastest time on the second day of testing in Valencia yesterday, Heikki Kovalainen has conceded that his car was running on low fuel loads. Times recorded during testing are not always a sign of true race pace - but the Finn’s performance, 0.6 seconds ahead of the Ferraris and over one second ahead of his team-mate, Lewis Hamilton, had a number of journalists talking.

Heikki Kovalainen topped the timesheets on the second day of testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Spain. The Finn secured the position with an unofficial time of one minute, eleven seconds exactly.

F1 veteran David Coulthard will start 13th on the grid following a penalty by the race stewards that deemed the Scot “blocked” the onrushing Renault of Heikki Kovalainen.

At the invitation of Renault’s sponsor, ING, Heikki Kovalainen made a trip to Warsaw in Poland last week. Kovalainen spoke to ING employees, and also inspected the streets of Warsaw where he will be racing in just over a month’s time.