(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-10 10:48

LONDON - New signing Heikki Kovalainen made his McLaren debut on Wednesday with the Formula One team giving their 2008 car its first test run at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain.

"I always really enjoy the first day a new car runs, there is always a very unique atmosphere, you know a little bit tense, a little bit excited," said Kovalainen in a team statement.

McLaren Mercedes Formula One drivers Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain, right, and Heikki Kovalainen of Finland, left, pose next to the new McLaren Mercedes MP4-23 race car for the upcoming 2008 Formula One season at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, on Monday, Jan. 7, 2008. [Agencies]

"The first impressions of the new car are good," added the Finn, who joined the Mercedes-powered team from Renault in a straight swap with Spain's double world champion Fernando Alonso.

"We have a comprehensive development schedule to work through over the next couple of months. The car's performance today is definitely an encouraging starting point.

"Today was also my first real opportunity to meet the test team, which was good because we will be spending a lot of time together over the next few weeks."

McLaren, with Alonso and British rookie Lewis Hamilton, won eight races last season but were stripped of all their constructors' points and fined $100 million for a spying controversy involving Ferrari data.

Last year's runner-up Hamilton, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Monday, will test at Jerez with Kovalainen on Thursday.

McLaren had two of the new MP4-23 cars in action on Wednesday, with one flown to Jerez from Germany after Monday's launch in Stuttgart and the other from the factory in Britain.

Spanish test driver Pedro de la Rosa was the first to drive the new car in the morning, before Kovalainen joined him on track in the afternoon.

"We covered 69 laps in total today between Heikki and me, which is a good start," said De la Rosa. "The car felt positive and it has been an encouraging day."

McLaren have 18 days of testing scheduled before the season starts in Australia on March 16.