Straight line pace the issue at McLarenKimi Raikkonen insisted McLaren can only get stronger after he finished third at the British Grand Prix.
Raikkonen clinched a place on the podium for the first time in five races at Silverstone. Although he is confident the
team is improving, he was still unhappy with the straight-line speed of his McLaren-Mercedes.
Raikkonen's car was no match for race-winner
Fernando Alonso's Renault or runner-up
Michael Schumacher's Ferrari and he said: "We were not as quick as Alonso and Schumacher, so third place was the maximum possible... The good news is that this weekend has shown that we are moving in the right direction and getting more and more competitive.”
“I think the car has improved a bit from Barcelona and that is good because we struggled there."
Raikkonen recorded the fifth fastest lap of the race – over eight-tenths of a second off the pace of Alonso and half a second slower than Schumacher.
Raikkonen's result does however move him back ahead of
Giancarlo Fisichella and into third place in the drivers' championship.
He admitted he never felt he could win the race but insists the team are doing as well as can be expected.
"We were really a bit too slow in a straight line to challenge anyone. I got quite close to Fernando after the safety car and on the first lap I just couldn't quite pass him.”
"It wasn't an easy race, we weren't quick enough so there wasn't much we could do, but I did the best I could and we finished third. I think that was the maximum that we could have done today."
Source AFP
