Todt not underestimating Raikkonen

McLaren ace Raikkonen is in his second season with the team, and just his third full year of grand prix racing. Prior to entering F1, he had competed in just 23 car races in Formula Renault.

Despite this, Todt believes Raikkonen is a strong challenger for the world title. "I don't think he's that inexperienced," said Todt. "He's in his third year in grand prix racing. He has a good car, he's in a good team, he has the whole package. There's no reason to underestimate his qualities and talents and if, after seven grands prix, he's in the lead of the championship with a four point lead, it means that he's driven some remarkable races."

Michael Schumacher had taken victories in the three races prior to Monaco, but could only manage third after Ferrari struggled with its Bridgestone tyres. "Quite simply, we were too inconsistent," said Todt. "We had some up and down sides during the race. It wasn't possible to catch the cars in front."

Todt, however, is refusing to panic after the team's poor showing, which allowed McLaren back into the lead of the constructor's championship. "We're not saying we're particularly worried," said Todt. "We're simply conscious that it's a very open and difficult championship and so we would prefer to have a 40 point lead as we had last year, but we are aware that what happened last year was something which happens once in an era."