F1 News: Lewis Hamilton ‘prays’ for McLaren rival following major surgery

Lewis Hamilton is praying for his former Formula 1 rival’s recovery after emergency heart surgery.

Brit ran over McLaren between 2007-2012, winning the single driver’s championship and taking 21 victories with the Woking-based squad.

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In 2008 and 2009, he was paired with a Finnish driver Heikki Kovalainen, whom he thoroughly outplayed in their two seasons as teammates.

Kovalainen went on to drive for Lotus and Caterham, before losing his full-time seat in the sport at the end of 2012.

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Heikki Kovalainen was Lewis Hamilton’s teammate for two seasons

Heikki Kovalainen won one Formula 1 race

What happened to Heikki Kovalainen?

Finnish driver Kovalainen returned for two more races to take over fellow countryman Kimi Raikkonen at Lotus Renault in 2013, but that was his last F1 appearance.

Recently, he underwent surgery to repair an ascending aortic aneurysmand he has been resting since he was discharged from the hospital.

He had no symptoms at the time and the problem was discovered in the examination, which prevented him from participating in any more rounds of the Japan Rally Championship due to the risk of rupture.

“So we removed the diseased portion of the ascending aorta and put a prosthetic graft in its place,” Kovalainen said in a video on his social network. “Everything went well, obviously it was a big operation.

“I was a few days after the operation feeling bad, but things have improved a lot since then. I’m actually back home now I’m already recovering.”

Now, seven-time champion Hamilton has shared his positive wishes with Kovalainen, saying: “Get well soon Heikki, praying for you.”