McLaren

After finishing third on the rostrum at the Hungarian Grand Prix almost three weeks ago, reigning world champion Kimi Raikkonen sits second in the 2008 driver’s standings and is just five points behind championship leader, Lewis Hamilton. Only a few races ago, the Finn was touted to win his second successive crown, but even he knows this season is still too close to call.

While he may be somewhat disheartened that things haven’t fallen his way every race, giving up is not an option, instead more consistency is needed so that he finishes with at least one more point than his nearest rivals when the curtain comes down in Brazil …
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McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen took his first Formula One victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix at the Hungaroring on Sunday afternoon when he finished eleven seconds clear of Toyota’s Timo Glock after Felipe Massa was forced to retire three laps from the chequered flag.

Heikki’s maiden win marks the third successive victory for the team and makes the young Finn the 100th Formula One winner since the World Championship began in 1950, making his victory even more special.

“There have been races this year where I’ve been in a position to challenge for victory but had something go wrong for me. Halfway through this race, things started working for me and I started pushing Felipe hard - and it worked. I feel sorry for Felipe because he drove a great race, but my car felt good and I knew I could push for the victory. This is a great moment for me, something I’ve been targeting for many years. Hopefully, this victory will be the first of many.”
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Lewis Hamilton returned to testing duties for the McLaren Mercedes squad today and promptly set the pace around the 4.428km Jerez circuit, despite an off in the morning session. The championship runner-up recorded a best time of 1:19.371s, three-tenths off Nick Heidfeld’s Tuesday best, and completed 73 laps.

David Coulthard posted the second fastest time in his Red Bull Renault and was one of a number of drivers who tested the slick tyres on offer from Bridgestone as the sole tyre supplier gears up for a possible return in 2009. Coulthard lapped within 0.050s of Hamilton’s best in his RB3 while team-mate Mark Webber was down the order in 15th position.

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