Formula One news

Double points finish for McLaren's new line-up

McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen finished fifth in today's French Grand Prix. In only his first race for over a year Pedro de la Rosa put in a steady performance to come seventh. Both drivers were on three-stop strategies with. Kimi remains fourth in the Drivers' Championship with 43 points and Pedro scored two points for the team on his 2006 race debut. McLaren Mercedes is third in the Constructors' standings with 71 points.

"A disappointing race as the car was handling really well," said Raikkonen. "We were lacking the speed to win, but I lost a few tenths in the second pit-stop which cost me fourth place today, so we definitely could have done better today. The car is steadily improving and we have further developments at the next test so we now look forward to the next race at Hockenheim in two weeks time, where hopefully we will score better in front of the Mercedes-Benz home crowd."

De la Rosa commented, "The car had the speed today and felt really good to drive. I feel I really could have scored more points if I had not lost position to Mark Webber at the start of the race. This meant that I lost a lot of time in the opening stint trying to pass him and when I eventually got passed during the pit stop I was behind a lot of traffic on different strategies. As a result following the first round of stops I was over 20 seconds behind Ralf Schumacher, so it was very difficult for me to improve on my position. I really enjoyed the race and I am pleased to have scored some points for the team and be one of the fastest of the Michelin runners."

Team boss Ron Dennis added, "We had a much more competitive pace today which indicates the continued improvement of the car. Unfortunately Bridgestone had an advantage and we will work hard with Michelin to reverse the situation at Hockenheim. We varied our race strategy in an attempt to improve the outcome of the race but to no avail. Both Kimi and Pedro drove well and as always we look forward to getting better results at the next grand prix."

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