Kimi dismissive of Mclaren and Fernando

By Natasha Jay
November 13 2006

Kimi Raikkonen dismissed the threat of Mclaren and Fernando Alonso, claiming it will be Massa and not Alonso, who stand in his way of his first world title.

Kimi Raikkonen dismissed the threat of Mclaren and Fernando Alonso, claiming it will be Massa and not Alonso, who stand in his way of his first world title.

Just as Ron Dennis had presented Kimi Raikkonen with a tongue in cheek cardboard depiction of himself, waving an Italian flag with the words 'Ciao Kimi', Kimi Raikkonen obviously returned the favour with his comments.

As Norbert Haug told fans at the end of year Stars and Cars gathering, Mclaren want to see a lot more of Kimi Raikkonen, ''in our rear wing mirrors that is'', Kimi remarked to German magazine Bild: "From now on, I'll see McLaren-Mercedes only in my rear-view mirrors."

Kimi Raikkonen went further by insisting his main competitor is not two time world champion Fernando Alonso, instead it was two time grand prix winner Felipe Massa.

"My toughest rival won't be Fernando, but my teammate Felipe Massa."

Kimi went on to take a swipe at Mclaren, although he did proportion some blame to himself, ultimately it was the car.

"There are many reasons why in five years I only won nine times," he added. "Certainly I made a few mistakes too many, but the car was often not consistent enough, simply.

"I had opted for Ferrari a long time ago, and I'm convinced with this team I will become world champion. That's my objective, even though it's hard to say whether I'll manage that immediately."