FUJI SPEEDWAY, Japan, Sept 30, 2007 (AFP) - A delighted Heikki Kovalainen took his first Formula One podium after a superb drive to finish second behind Lewis Hamilton in a Japanese Grand Prix plagued by abysmal weather on Sunday.

Though Hamilton will attract most of the plaudits as he closes in on the drivers´ title, Kovalainen´s performance in the torrential rain was equally as good.

The 25-year-old rookie, whose position at Renault was rumoured to be under threat earlier this year, somehow fought off a sustained attack from Ferrari´s Kimi Raikkonen in the closing stages.

By clinching the French team´s first podium of the season after starting from 11th, the Finn underlined his potential.

"It has been a difficult year for us and again this weekend, taking a gamble with the car, then this morning it was raining more than yesterday, things didn´t look fantastic at start," he said.

"But you never give up. Our strategy worked well today and the team deserves the podium this weekend. Today the pace was good, I could fight with Kimi, although I couldn´t see him!

"The visor was misted up. I knew he was going to attack but I managed to keep him behind.

"I think everywhere he (Raikkonen) was a bit quicker. All I could do was just stay on the track. I really wanted to take second place. I kept flat out on aqua-planning moments. I managed to keep it on track and that was the key."