Raikkonen hoping sun doesn't go down on his chances

Thu, Jul 17 01:01 PM

Defending drivers world champion Kimi Raikkonen of Finland is hoping the weather forecasts are wrong this weekend and that Germany will be bathing in warm sunshine and not heavy rain.

The 28-year-old Ferrari driver knows his car will perform far better in the dry than in the wet conditions that handed his McLaren Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton a chance to shine and triumph in his home British Grand Prix at Silverstone two weekends ago.

The Ferrari F2008 car is said to be much more forgiving to its tyres than the MP4-23 car driven by Hamilton - a factor that will assist Raikkonen on the high-speed track in the forests south of Heidelberg.

"I hope it will be hot, as it usually is at Hockenheim," said Raikkonen.

"Our car goes really well at high temperatures and also the tyre-wear is not too high. So I really hope it will be hot.

"It's hard to overtake, but the qualifying doesn't determine the result as (much as) on other tracks - although starting from the first row will make life much easier."

The flip side of Ferrari's greater consistency in hot weather is that McLaren may be faster on a single lap before the tyre-wear hits them - and that if it is mild, or cold, that also will favour McLaren.

"I've always said that the championship will be very uncertain," said Raikkonen, reflecting on his prospects for the weekend.

He, Hamilton and his Ferrari team-mate Felipe Massa of Brazil are all level at the top of the championship standings on 48 points.

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