Raikkonen predicts tight battle in Britain

Despite Ferrari's total domination of the French Grand Prix, Raikkonen thinks that things are too close to call for the race at Silverstone - although he is sure BMW Sauber will not be part of the battle at the front.

When asked by autosport.com if he agreed with the common perception that Ferrari will be as quick at Silverstone as they were in Magny-Cours, he said: "I hope it will be. McLaren are always strong here, and I'm expecting that next weekend.

"I think it's going to be quite close between us and I don't see the other teams being close enough for the win, but with them (McLaren) it is going to be a tight fight."

Although Ferrari have shown strong speed this week, Raikkonen is well aware after his exhaust failure in France that just being quick is no guarantee of a win.

"We are going to try and do our best, but like we saw in the last race there are many things that can go against you, or can help you," he said.

"I expect to have a good car here, and for sure it would help with the points if we could win, but we need to have a good strong weekend and see where we finish. It will be a close fight. We will try to do another good weekend and hopefully one without any problems, and then have a good result."

Raikkonen also said that he was not bothered by the fact that teammate Felipe Massa was leading the world championship.

"There have been many leaders this year, and there is still a long way to go," he said. "It doesn't really matter who is leading right now, or who was leading before. It only counts at the end of the last race.

"Everybody is pretty close, and as we have seen in the last few races, it can change pretty quickly. Hopefully we can come back and lead the championship when it really matters."