Thursday, June 12, 2008

Raikkonen wary of BMW title threat

World champion Kimi Raikkonen believes Robert Kubica and BMW Sauber cannot be ruled out as realistic championship contenders in 2008, following the Pole's breakthrough maiden victory in Canada on Sunday.

The Ferrari driver, who was taken out of the race in a pitlane incident when Lewis Hamilton failed to stop for a red light, believes that while BMW may not have the fastest car in the field, their consistency has made them a threat to his hopes of retaining the title.

"They are scoring points all the time," said Raikkonen of BMW. "Nobody can count them out. Kubica is five points ahead of Lewis and Massa and seven ahead of me."

Asked what he thought of Kubica leading the championship, the Finn replied: "We've seen that they've been fast all year, more or less there all the time.

"Now they finish one and two, when things go wrong with the guys at the front, it gives them a nice lead. I think with our car we should be able to win races and come back.

"It's still early in the season, and we're not in the strongest position right now, but we just need to start winning races again."

Raikkonen has now dropped to fourth in the championship after two non-scored races in Monaco and Canada. The Finn trails Kubica by seven points.



  • Kovalainen hopeful of step forward
  • Kubica: BMW reliability is crucial factor
  • Maldonado: I could have gone quicker
  • Raikkonen not thinking of title yet
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