‘Car To Blame, Not Lewis’ – Kimi

From SetantaSports.com

Lewis Hamilton is making more mistakes this year because his McLaren
is not as fast as it was in 2007, according to reigning World Champion
Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton got off to the perfect start when winning in Australia but
a poor performance in Malaysia was followed by another stressful
weekend in Bahrain.

The young Briton first crashed in testing and then bumped into former
team-mate Fernando Alonso after a slow start. The collision meant that
Hamilton was pushed down the field and despite his best efforts he
could only finish 13th.

Raikkonen, meanwhile, moved five points clear of Hamilton at the
head of the drivers’ standings and the Ferrari driver believes that the
car is the reason for his rival’s poor start.

"Lewis did not make many mistakes last year. This year they are not
in as strong a position with the car," Raikkonen told the Daily Mirror.

"Maybe it makes it more difficult when you do not have such a good
package and you try to push more and more – especially during a race
when your weekend has not been as good."

Raikkonen is pleased with the start he has made but he is not taking
anything for granted, insisting that the 2008 season is wide open with
Robert Kubica, Nick Heidfeld and Heikki Kovalainen set to challenge the
top three of Raikkonen, Hamilton and Felipe Massa.

"After three races, I am leading the championship and after three races last year I wasn’t. So I am very happy," he continued.

"I was in a new team and you had to expect a learning curve. The
first year was difficult as it takes time to get used to people.

"Last year was tough for me. It is now much easier as they know what
I want and I know what they want. Everything is very smooth and
everything is improving.

"I am very happy. So far it has been very good. I go into every race
expecting to win but any one of six drivers from the three teams [BMW,
McLaren and Ferrari] can do well. We are pretty fast at the moment but
let’s see what happens."

Even the world champion can be a realist you know – the McLaren isn’t as fast as the Ferrari after looking at the races at Malaysia and Bahrain, and Lewis is on his back foot as a result. We remember Kimi in 2005 when the McLaren was indeed the fastest but not the most reliable compared to the Renault. It left Kimi playing the role of the cat chasing the mouse, so he can understand Lewis’s situation. Maybe Kimi is a bit too kind about it and I’m sure the fans who can’t stand Hamilton would say otherwise, but that’s Kimi for you. Not a bad word to say about anyone – especially when it comes to racing. They’re all opponents but also brothers in arms in a way! The new champion is doing pretty well, maintaining a great sportsmanship between his rivals.